1 Samuel 4:1-22

Capture of the Ark by the Philistines. Death of Eli

The reason which led to 1 Samuel 4:1; being detached from its proper context is that without it this chapter seems to begin with inexplicable abruptness. The explanation of this lack of connexion is that the editor is now using a different document. This section is in no sense a continuation of the preceding. It does not proceed with the history of Samuel, whose name does not even occur in it, but relates the journeyings of the ark. Alike in style and in conception it is totally distinct from the section which precedes and the section which follows it. In many respects it resembles the history of Samson more closely than any other part of OT.