Chapter 3: The Glory Has Departed

A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield to Shiloh that same day, his clothes torn and dirt on his head. (1 Samuel 4:12) When he reached the city and told what had happened, the whole city cried out in grief.

Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes were so weak he could no longer see. He was sitting on a seat by the side of the road, waiting. His heart trembled, because the Ark of God was out there, in the hands of his two sons, on a battlefield he could not see. (1 Samuel 4:13)

When Eli heard the outcry of the city, he asked what the noise was. The runner came to him.

ELI“How did it go, my son?”— 1 Samuel 4:16

THE RUNNER“Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead. And the Ark of God has been captured.”— 1 Samuel 4:17

When the man mentioned the Ark, Eli fell backward off his seat beside the gate, broke his neck, and died. He had judged Israel for forty years. (1 Samuel 4:18)

His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When the news reached her, she collapsed and gave birth. The women attending her tried to comfort her, telling her she had given birth to a son. But she did not answer. With her last breath, she named the boy Ichabod, which in Hebrew means "no glory."

PHINEHAS' WIFE“The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured.”— 1 Samuel 4:22

Then she died.