Study Desk

Now Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of his words fail.

So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent; and the defeat was very great, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.

Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn, and dust on his head.

When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road keeping watch, because his heart was anxious about the ark of God. And the man came to give a report in the city, and all the city cried out.

Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were fixed and he could not see.

When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. And so he judged Israel for forty years.

Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, because her pains came upon her.

When the Ashdodites got up early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place.

But when they got up early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon and both palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the torso of Dagon was left.

When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, because His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god."

And they said, "If you are going to send the ark of the God of Israel away, do not send it empty; but you shall certainly return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be revealed to you why His hand does not leave you."

"So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that are ruining the land, and you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps He will lighten His hand from you, your gods, and your land.

"But watch: if it goes up by the way of its own territory to Beth-shemesh, then He has done this great evil to us. But if not, then we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance."

And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the LORD and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated his son Eleazar to watch over the ark of the LORD.

Now Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

Then he would make his return to Ramah, because his house was there, and there he also judged Israel; and there he built an altar to the LORD.

Now it came about, when Samuel was old, that he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba.

His sons, however, did not walk in his ways but turned aside after dishonest gain, and they took bribes and perverted justice.

And he said, "This will be the practice of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and put them in his chariots for himself and among his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots.