Passage Research
1 Samuel 4 — Sermon Preparation
Israel brings the ark to the battlefield but is defeated; Eli's sons are killed, the ark is captured, and Eli dies on hearing the news. Below is a research summary for 1 Samuel 4, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.
- 22
- verses
- 370 / 153
- Hebrew words / lemmas
- 11
- classic sermon excerpts
- 4
- preachers & commentators
1 Samuel 4 in the Hebrew
Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Strong's | Count | Glosses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָרוֹן | ʼârôwn | H727 | 12 | box |
| פְּלִשְׁתִּי | Pᵉlishtîy | H6430 | 10 | Pelishtite |
| עֵלִי | ʻÊlîy | H5941 | 7 | Eli |
| מַעֲרָכָה | maʻărâkâh | H4634 | 4 | arrangement, pile |
| פִּינְחָס | Pîynᵉchâç | H6372 | 4 | Pinechas |
| מַחֲנֶה | machăneh | H4264 | 5 | encampment, army |
| לָקַח | lâqach | H3947 | 6 | take |
How preachers through history handled this text
11 public-domain excerpts on 1 Samuel 4, from the church fathers to the Puritans.
“The wife of Phinehas seems to have been a person of piety. Her dying regret was for the loss of the ark, and the departure of the glory from Israel. What is any earthly joy to her that feels herself dying? No joy but that which is spiritual and divine, will stand in any stead then; death is too serious a thing to admit the relish of any earthly joy. What is it to one that is lamenting the loss of the ark? What pleasure can we take in our creature comforts and enjoyments, if we want God's word and ordinances; …”
— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise), on 1 Samuel 4:19–30 (Public Domain)
Places in the text
Based on ancient-geography data
- Aphek 2— 1 Sam 4:1
- Ebenezer 1— 1 Sam 4:1
- Shiloh— 1 Sam 4:12
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