Bible Strands
1 Samuel 4:18
As soon as the ark of God was mentioned, Eli fell backward from his chair by the city gate, and being old and heavy, he broke his neck and died. And Eli had judged Israel forty years.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes Eli's physical collapse at the city gate immediately after a messenger reports Israel's defeat, the deaths of Eli's sons, and the capture of the ark.
The words — The Hebrew כְּ/הַזְכִּיר֣/וֹ (ke/haz.ki.R/o) literally means "when it was mentioned," which triggers וַ/יִּפֹּ֣ל (va/i.yi.Pol), "and he fell," from הַ֠/כִּסֵּא (Ha./ki.se'), "the seat."
The thread — The ark's capture and the subsequent naming of Ichabod ("The glory has departed from Israel") are recorded in 1 Samuel 4:21, while the principle that judgment begins with God's own household is noted in 1 Peter 4:17.
Why it lands — The text states Eli broke his neck and died the moment the ark's loss was announced, then records his forty-year judgeship, requiring the reader to acknowledge that the loss of God's presence brings immediate judgment and ends an era of leadership.
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 it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 4:21 And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband had been killed.
- 1 Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
- Psalms 69:9 because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.
- Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I will reveal My glory.’” But Aaron remained silent.
- 1 Samuel 2:31 Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that no one in it will reach old age.
- 1 Samuel 3:12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his house, from beginning to end.
- 1 Samuel 4:13 When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the whole city cried out.
- Psalms 26:8 O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.
- Psalms 42:3 My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Psalms 42:10 Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”