841 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army,.... Out of the rank in which he was, before the whole army was quite broken up. This was a young man as Josephus (b) says, which is highly probable; though not at all to be depended on is what the Jews (c) say, that this was Saul, later king of Israel: and came to Shiloh the same day; which,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when he came,.... To Shiloh; he either passed by Eli, who being blind could not see him, 1 Samuel 4:15 or he came in at another gate of the city on the other side of it, as Abarbinel thinks; though the former seems more likely by what follows, he not choosing to deliver the bad news to Eli first, whom he knew it would very much grieve, and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when Eli heard the noise of the crying,.... The shrieks of the men and women, which were very clamorous and terrible. Eli had his hearing, though not his sight; he could not see the distress in their countenances, but he heard the lamentations they made: and said, what meaneth the noise of this tumult? it seems the people ran about, wringing...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Now Eli was ninety eight years old,.... Which is very properly observed, he being now come to the end of his days, and which also accounts for his blindness after mentioned: and his eyes were dim, that he could not see; could not see the messenger, and read in his countenance, and perceive by his clothes rent, and earth on his head, that he was a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army,.... It is very probable that the people Eli inquired of told him there was a messenger come from the army, though they did not choose to relate to him the news he brought: and I fled today out of the army; so that as he was an eyewitness of what was done in the army, the account he...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the messenger answered and said,.... He delivered his account gradually, beginning with generals, and then proceeding to particulars, and with what he thought Eli could better bear the news of, and so prepared him for the worst; in which he acted a wise part: Israel is fled before the Philistines; they have given way and retreated, and which...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God,.... Of the taking of that, it struck him to the heart, and killed him; the rest he bore tolerably well, the flight of Israel before the Philistines, the great slaughter made of them, the death of his two sons; but the taking of the ark was so dreadful to him, that he could not support...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And his daughter in law, Phinehas's wife, was with child, near to be delivered,.... Was near her time, as it is commonly expressed. Ben Gersom derives the word from a root which signifies to complete and finish (k); denoting that her time to bring forth was completed and filled up; though Josephus (l) says that it was a seven months' birth, so...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And about the time of her death,.... Which quickly came on after she was brought to bed: the women that stood by her; who were called to her labour, and assisted at it: said unto her, fear not, for thou hast born a son; perceiving that she was very low spirited, endeavoured to cheer and comfort her, by observing to her that the worst was over; and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And she named the child Ichabod,.... Which some render, "where is the glory?" as in the margin of our Bibles; but it signifies "no glory", as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; her husband being dead, she gives her child its name; the reason for which name follows: saying, the glory is departed from Israel: the God of glory, or the glorious Lord, was...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And she said,.... Repeating what she had said before, for the confirmation of it, or as correcting what the women had said; and so may be rendered, but she said; giving her own and only reason for the name of the child: the glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken; so when the word, worship, and ordinances of God are removed from...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 5 This chapter relates how that the ark being brought by the Philistines to Ashdod, and placed in the temple of their idol, that fell down before it, 1 Samuel 5:1, that the hand of the Lord was upon the men of Ashdod, and smote them with emerods, 1 Samuel 5:6 and being carried to Gath, the men of Gath were smitten...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the Philistines took the ark of God,.... Which fell into their hands, Israel being beaten, and caused to flee, and the priests that had the care of the ark slain; and when possessed of it, they did not destroy it, nor take out of it what was in it, only took it up: and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. Ebenezer was the place where the camp...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
When the Philistines took the ark of God,.... And had brought it to Ashdod: they brought it into the house of Dagon; a temple dedicated to that idol, and in which his image stood; of which [See comments on Judges 16:23], and set it by Dagon; by the side of him, either in honour to the ark, as Abarbinel, designing to give it homage and adoration,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, e.] Either the people, the inhabitants of the place, who came early to pay their devotions to their idol, before they went on their business or the priests of the idol, who came to sacrifice in the morning: and, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the Lord; as if...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when they arose early on the morrow morning,.... For the same purpose as before; unless they had any curiosity to indulge, to see whether the ark and Dagon agreed better together, if they had any suspicion that the former mischance was to be attributed to some variance and disagreement between them: behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house,.... Neither the priests that continually attended the worship and service of Dagon, nor the people that came there to pay their devotions to him: tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day: but used to leap over it, either reckoning it sacred because touched...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But the hand of the Lord was heavy on them of Ashdod,.... Not only on their idol, but on themselves; it had crushed him to pieces, and now it fell heavy on them to their destruction: and he destroyed them; either by the disease after mentioned they were smitten with, or rather with some other, since that seems not to be mortal, though painful; it...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so,.... That many of their inhabitants were taken away by death, and others afflicted with a painful disease; all which they imputed to the ark being among them: they said, the ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; like the Gergesenes, who besought Christ to depart their coasts, having more...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them,.... The other four lords, for there were five with this; see Joshua 13:3, and said, what shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? they no doubt told them what they and their idol had suffered on account of it, and the resolution they were come to that it should be...