撒母耳记上 4:18

Chinese NCV (Simplified)

因為以利年老體重，報信的人一提到　神的約櫃，以利就從椅子上往後跌倒在門旁，頸骨折斷而死。以利治理了以色列四十年。

Parallel Translations

Chinese Union (Simplified)
他 一 提 　 神 的 约 柜 ， 以 利 就 从 他 的 位 上 往 後 跌 倒 ， 在 门 旁 折 断 颈 项 而 死 ； 因 为 他 年 纪 老 迈 ， 身 体 沉 重 。 以 利 作 以 色 列 的 士 师 四 十 年 。

Contextual Overview

¹² That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle. He tore his clothes and put dust on his head to show his great sadness. ¹³ When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was by the side of the road. He was sitting there in a chair, watching, because he was worried about the Ark of God. When the Benjaminite entered Shiloh, he told the bad news. Then all the people in town cried loudly. ¹⁴ Eli heard the crying and asked, "What's all this noise?" The Benjaminite ran to Eli and told him what had happened. ¹⁵ Eli was now ninety-eight years old, and he was blind. ¹⁶ The Benjaminite told him, "I have come from the battle. I ran all the way here today." Eli asked, "What happened, my son?" ¹⁷ The Benjaminite answered, "Israel ran away from the Philistines, and the Israelite army has lost many soldiers. Your two sons are both dead, and the Philistines have taken the Ark of God." ¹⁸ When he mentioned the Ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair. He fell beside the gate, broke his neck, and died, because he was old and fat. He had led Israel for forty years.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when he made: 1 Samuel 4:21, 1 Samuel 4:22, Psalms 26:8, Psalms 42:3, Psalms 42:10, Psalms 69:9, Lamentations 2:15-19

his neck: 1 Samuel 2:31, 1 Samuel 2:32, 1 Samuel 3:12, 1 Samuel 3:13, Leviticus 10:3, 1 Corinthians 11:30-32, 1 Peter 4:17, 1 Peter 4:18

And he had: "He seems to have been a judge to do justice only, and that in south-west Israel.

Reciprocal: Genesis 44:31 - when he 1 Samuel 1:3 - And the 1 Samuel 5:1 - took 1 Kings 13:21 - thou hast disobeyed 1 Kings 14:17 - when she came 1 Chronicles 10:6 - Saul Psalms 71:18 - Now Ecclesiastes 12:2 - the sun

Cross-References

Genesis 5:21
When Enoch was 65 years old, he had a son named Methuselah.

Genesis 36:2
Esau married women from the land of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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 under it:

that he fell from off the seat backward, by the side of the gate; which confirms the sense of 1 Samuel 4:13 though whether it was the gate of his own house, or of the tabernacle, or of the city is not certain; the latter is most probable: it seems the seat on which he sat had no back to it, and might be placed only for present convenience:

and his neck brake; the back part of it, the "vertebrae" of it, which has its name in Hebrew from the several joints in it:

and he died; not through the breaking of his neck, for it is very probable he died directly upon hearing the ark was taken, and which was the reason of his falling backward, and that brake his neck:

for he was an old man, and heavy; full of flesh, a very fat man, and so fell heavy, which occasioned the breaking of his neck:

and he had judged Israel forty years; had governed them in the capacity both of an high priest and judge, so that he must enter on his government when fifty eight years of age; the Septuagint version has it very wrongly twenty years. According to the Jews i, he died on the tenth of Ijar, answering to part of April and May, and his two sons and the ark taken; for which a fast was kept on it.

i Schulchan Aruch, par. 1. c. 580. sect. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A comparison of 2 Samuel 18:4, explains exactly the meaning of the “side of the gate,” and Eli’s position. His seat or throne, without a back, stood with the side against the jamb of the gate, leaving the passage through the gate quite clear, but placed so that every one passing through the gate must pass in front of him.

Forty years - This chronological note connects this book with that of Judges. (Compare Judges 3:11, etc.) It is an interesting question, but one very difficult to answer how near to the death of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the High Priest, Eli’s forty years of judgeship bring him. It is probable that at least one high priesthood intervened.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 4:18. When he made mention of the ark of God — Eli bore all the relation till the messenger came to this solemn word; he had trembled before for the ark, and now, hearing that it was captured, he was transfixed with grief, fell down from his seat, and dislocated his neck! Behold the judgments of God! But shall we say that this man, however remiss in the education of his children, and criminal in his indulgence towards his profligate sons, which arose more from the easiness of his disposition than from a desire to encourage vice, is gone to perdition? God forbid! No man ever died with such benevolent and religious feelings, and yet perished.

He had judged Israel forty years — Instead of forty years, the Septuagint has here εικοσι ετη, twenty years. All the other versions, as well as the Hebrew text, have forty years.