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1 Samuel 4 General Notes
Structure and formatting
The Ark of the Covenant in Philistine country
This chapter begins a new section on the Ark and the Philistines. It recounts two battles between Israel and the Philistines. In both battles, Israel was badly defeated and, in the second, the Ark was captured.
Special concepts in this chapter
The Ark is captured
The Philistine army invaded Israel, and Israel's army went to fight them but was defeated. Israel decided that if they took the Ark into the next battle, God would cause them to win. When Eli's sons took the Ark into the next battle and the Philistines won the battle, they killed Eli's two sons and captured the Ark. When Eli heard the Ark was captured, he fell over, broke his neck, and died. Hearing this news, his daughter-in-law named her baby "the glory has departed."
Important figures of speech in this chapter
Rhetorical Question
The Philistines expressed their fear using a rhetorical question: "Who will protect us from the strength of this mighty God?" (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-rquestion)