Bible Strands
1 Samuel 4:17
The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The bearer of news responds to Eli’s direct inquiry after fleeing the battlefield, standing beside the road near Eli’s residence.
The words — נָס (nas) = it has fled, and וְ/גַם (ve./Gam) = and/ also.
The thread — The flight of Israel and the ark’s capture echo the earlier defeat in 1 Samuel 4:10 and fulfill the impending judgment announced in 1 Samuel 3:11.
Why it lands — The verse records the exact sequence of military collapse, priestly death, and sacred object loss before any theological commentary, demanding the reader weigh the factual report against the stated divine warning.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 3:11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of all who hear it will tingle.
- 1 Samuel 4:10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great—thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.