ELKANAH AND HANNAH OFFER UP THEIR SACRIFICE AT SHILOH: HANNAH PRAYS FOR A SON, AND SAMUEL IS GIVEN HER. SHE LEAVES HIM AT THE TABERNACLE. THE LORD SPEAKS TO SAMUEL. THE PHILISTINES TAKE THE ARK, AND HOPHNI AND PHINEHAS ARE SLAIN. ELI FALLS DOWN AND DIES. THE ARK IS SENT BACK TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL.
THERE was a man of the children of Israel named Elkanah, who went every year from the city of Ramah, where he lived, to offer up a sacrifice at the tabernacle in Shiloh. And his wife, whose name was Hannah, went with him. Now Elkanah loved his wife, and gave her a present whenever he went to offer up his sacrifice; yet she was unhappy, because the Lord had given her no child.
And she came to the tabernacle and prayed, arid made a vow to the Lord, that if he would give her a son, she would give that son back to him, and he should be a Nazarite, and set apart to serve the Lord all the days of his life. Eli was the high priest at that time. And Hannah came with her husband to Shiloh and prayed at the tabernacle, and wept while she prayed. And Eli saw her lips moving, but could not tell what she said, for she spoke softly, so that her voice was not heard.
Then Eli thought she was drunken, and muttering words to herself, and he said to her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. But Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman in trouble. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have been praying with my heart to the Lord. Then Eli answered her kindly, and said, Go in peace, and may God give thee what thou dost ask him for. And Hannah was glad at the high priest's words, and went away and looked sad no more. And she and her husband left Shiloh, and came to their home in the city of Ramah.
And the Lord remembered Hannah's prayer, and sent her a son, and she called his name Samuel, which means, Asked of God; because she had asked God for him, and God gave him to her. After Samuel was born, the time came for his father to go up to Shiloh again, and offer up his sacrifice as he did each year. But Hannah would not go; she said she would wait till the boy was weaned, and then would take him up, that he might stay there always. For she had given Samuel to the Lord, that he might live at the tabernacle and wait on the priests, and serve the Lord as long as he lived. And her husband told her to do as seemed right to her; so Hannah stayed at their home until her son was weaned.
When she had weaned him, she took him up to the tabernacle, and she and her husband offered a bullock as a sacrifice. And they brought the child to Eli, and Hannah spoke to Eli, saying, O my lord! I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me what I asked him for. Therefore I have given the child back to the Lord; as long as he liveth, he shall be given to the Lord. And she left Samuel to stay with Eli at the tabernacle.
And Eli had two sons, whose names were Hophni and Phinehas; they were priests at the tabernacle. Now the Lord had said that the priests should be holy, because they were his ministers who offered up sacrifices to him; but Hophni and Phinehas were not holy, they were wicked men.
We have read that when any man offered up a peace offering, only a part of it was burned on the altar; the rest was given, some of it to the priest, for him to eat, and some of it to the man who brought the offering, for him to eat. But Hophni and Phinehas took more than their share of the peace offerings, and if any man were unwilling they should have so much, they would take it from him by force. Therefore the people did not care to come any more to the tabernacle with their offerings, because of the wicked things which were done by Hophni and Phinehas.
But Samuel, who was only a child, did what was right and pleased the Lord. And his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him each year, when she came up with her husband to offer their sacrifice. And Eli spoke kindly to them, and asked that the Lord would bless them, because they had given Samuel to the Lord. So his parents came every year to Shiloh and worshipped, and afterward went away again to their own home; but Samuel stayed with Eli at the tabernacle.
Now Eli was very old, and he heard of the evil things which his sons did, and he said to them, Why do you such things? for he was grieved at their wickedness Yet he did not punish them, nor put them away from being priests, as he ought to have done, but allowed them to go on in their sin.
And there came a prophet to him with a message from the Lord. The Lord asked why he allowed his sons to take the best part of all the offerings that the people brought. Eli cared more to please his sons, the Lord said, than he did to please him; therefore the Lord declared, that he would not have Eli for his high priest, but would choose another man who should do his will, and that Eli and his sons should both die in one day.
And Samuel stayed at the tabernacle, doing as he was bidden by the high priest. And one night he lay down to sleep, and Eli lay down also. And Samuel heard a voice calling to him, and he answered, Here am I. Then he rose up and ran to Eli, and said that he had come because Eli called him, for he thought it was Eli's voice. But Eli said, I called not, lie down again; and he went and lay down.
And he heard the voice again, and arose and went to Eli, and said, Here I am, for thou calledst me. Eli answered, I called thee not, my son, lie down again. And Samuel heard the voice a third time, and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for thou didst call me. Then Eli knew that it was the Lord who had called the child; therefore he said to him, Go, lie down; and if he call thee, say, Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth.
So Samuel went and lay down. And the Lord came and called as before, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel answered, Speak, for thy servant heareth. Then the Lord told him, that he was going to do a thing which would make every one who should hear of it afraid; for he would punish Eli and his sons as he had said, because his sons had made themselves wicked and Eli had not kept them from doing so; and though they should offer up sacrifices and burnt offerings for their sins, he would not forgive them.
When the Lord was done speaking, Samuel lay still until the morning; then he rose up and opened the doors of the tabernacle. And he was afraid to tell Eli of what the Lord had said. But Eli called him, and asked, saying, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? hide it not from me. God do so to thee (that is, God punish thee, too), if thou hide anything from me of all that the Lord has spoken. Then Samuel told him every word, and hid nothing from him. When Eli heard it, he said, It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good; that is, It is my heavenly Father who has said he will punish me. I deserve it, let him do to me whatever he thinks best.
And Samuel grew, and the Lord blessed him, and all the people knew that he was chosen to be a prophet.
And the words which God spoke to Samuel came true; for the children of Israel went out to fight against the Philistines, and made their camp at a place called Ebenezer. The Philistines made their camp at Aphek, and they fought against the children of Israel, and slew of them about four thousand men. When the army of Israel came back to their camp after the battle, the elders asked why the Lord had allowed so many of them to be slain. Then they said to one another, Let us bring the ark out of the tabernacle to save us from our enemies. Perhaps they remembered how it was carried around Jericho, when the children of Israel took that city. But the Lord had commanded them to carry it then; he did not command them to send for it now, and it was foolish to think that the ark could save them: the Lord alone could do that.
Yet they sent to Shiloh for the ark, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, came with it. When it was brought into the camp, the people were glad and shouted with a great shout, and the noise sounded far off on every side. And the Philistines heard it, and said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? They were told that the ark had come into the camp; and they were afraid, and cried, Who shall save us? Then they said to one another, Let us be strong, and fight like men, that we may not be servants to the Hebrews.
And they fought again with the men of Israel, and slew thirty thousand of them; they took the ark away from the Israelites, also, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. And there ran a man out of the army to Shiloh that same day; his clothes were rent, and he had put earth on his head to show his grief. Eli, the high priest, sat upon a seat by the way-side. watching; for he was afraid, since the ark had been carried to the battle, lest some evil might happen it, and he waited to hear what word should come.
And the man came into the city, and told the people that the ark was taken, and they all cried out with fear. When Eli heard them, he said, What meaneth this noise among the people? Now Eli was very old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see. And the man came in quickly to him, and said, I am he that fled to-day out of the army. Eli asked him what had happened there. The man answered, The men of Israel have fled from the Philistines, and a great many of them have been slain, and thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. When the man spoke of the ark, Eli fell off from his seat backward, down to the ground, and his neck broke, and he died; for his grief was greater than he could bear, when he heard that the ark was taken.
Eli was not only high priest, but he was judge also over the children of Israel, for forty years.
And the Philistines took the ark and carried it to one of their cities, called Ashdod, where they had a house for their idol whose name was Dagon. And they brought the ark into the house of Dagon, and set it down by the idol and left it there all night. But when they rose early in the morning, and came into Dagon's house, they found that the idol had fallen upon its face on the ground before the ark. Then they lifted it up, and set it in its place, and left the ark there another night. And when they came, early in the morning, Dagon was fallen down before the ark again; but this time his head and his hands were cut off, only his body was left.
After that, there came a great sickness upon the people of Ashdod, and many of them died. Then they said to one another, The ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us. They said this, because they believed it was God who had sent the sickness among them, and thrown down their idol. Therefore they called all the lords of the Philistines together, and spoke to them, saying, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? They answered, Let it be carried to Gath. Gath was another city of the Philistines. And they carried it to Gath, but there came a great sickness among the people of that city also.
And the Philistines kept the ark for seven months, but during all that time the Lord sent great trouble upon them. Then they called for their wise men, and asked how they should send it back to the land of Israel, for they were afraid to keep it any longer.
Now in that country cows were used for drawing carts, as oxen are here. And the wise men told the Philistines to make a new cart, and take two cows and tie them to it, but to bring their calves home from them. Then, they said, the people should lay the ark upon the cart, and send it away, letting the cows draw it wherever they chose, without any one to guide them. If the cows should go, of their own accord, away from their homes and from their calves, and take the ark into the land of Israel, the wise men said it would show that the Lord made them go there; and that he was angry with the Philistines for keeping the ark, and had sent all their troubles, as a punishment, upon them. But if the cows should not take the ark to the land of Israel, then it would show that the Lord did not want it sent back, and that he had not punished the Philistines for keeping it, but that their troubles had come by chance upon them.
And the Philistines did as their wise men said. They took two cows and tied them to a new cart, but shut up their calves at home. Then they laid the ark on the cart and let the cows loose, to go wherever they chose,—the lords of the Philistines following after them to see which way they would go. And as soon as the cows were let loose they went straight into the land of Israel, lowing as they went, and they came to a city called Beth-shemesh. The children of Israel who lived there, were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley near to the city. And they looked up and saw the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
And the cows brought it into the field of a man named Joshua, and stood still beside a great stone that was there. Then some men of the tribe of Levi came, and took the ark down from the cart and laid it on the stone. And they broke up the cart for wood, and killed the cows for a burnt offering, and offered them to the Lord. The Levites took the ark down from the cart, because, as we have read, the Lord had chosen them to take care of it, and of all the things in the tabernacle. If the men of any other tribe should come near to those sacred things, God said they must be put to death. But the men of Beth-shemesh disobeyed God; they wanted to see the ark, and they came near to it and looked into it, and many of them died for their sin.
Then the ark was taken to the city of Kirjath-jearim, into the house of a man named Abinadab, and was left there for many years.