Discovery Box1 Samuel 4:2
Context4:2 The Philistines arranged their forces to fight 1 Israel. As the battle spread out, 2 Israel was defeated by 3 the Philistines, who 4 killed about four thousand men in the battle line in the field.
1 Samuel 4:11
Context4:11 The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were killed.
1 Samuel 4:17-20
Context4:17 The messenger replied, “Israel has fled from 5 the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!”
4:18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli 6 fell backward from his chair beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he 7 was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years.
4:19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas, was pregnant and close to giving birth. When she heard that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she doubled over and gave birth. But her labor pains were too much for her. 4:20 As she was dying, the women who were there with her said, “Don’t be afraid! You have given birth to a son!” But she did not reply or pay any attention. 8
[4:2] 2 tn The MT has וַתִּטֹּשׁ (vattittosh), from the root נטשׁ (ntsh). This verb normally means “to leave,” “to forsake,” or “to permit,” but such an idea does not fit this context very well. Many scholars have suspected that the text originally read either וַתֵּט (vattet, “and it spread out”), from the root נטה (nth), or וַתִּקֶשׁ (vattiqesh, “and it grew fierce”), from the root קשׂה (qsh). The former suggestion is apparently supported by the LXX ἔκλινεν (eklinen, “it inclined”) and is adopted in the translation.
[4:2] 4 tn Heb “the Philistines, and they killed.” The pronoun “they” has been translated as a relative pronoun (“who”) to make it clear to the English reader that the Philistines were the ones who did the killing.
[4:18] 6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
