EBEN-EZER (‘the stone of help’ (LXX [Note: Septuagint.] ‘of the helper’]). 1. The scene of a disastrous battle in which the ark was lost ( 1 Samuel 4:1; 1 Samuel 5:1 ). 2. The name of the stone erected to commemorate an equally glorious victory ( 1 Samuel 7:12 ). The precise situation is uncertain, but if Shen ( 1 Samuel 7:12 ), i.e. Yeshana (according to LXX [Note: Septuagint.] and Syriac) is the modern ‘Ain Semije a little N. of Bethel, the locality is approximately defined. Samuel s explanatory words should be read thus: ‘This is a witness that Jahweh hath helped us.’
J. Taylor.