4:14-18
Eli heard the uproar, but didn’t know what had happened. One could maybe see him as the Joe Biden of his day! The Benjamite told Eli all that had happened. This included the great losses, the death of his two sons, and the capture of the Ark. On hearing of the loss of the Ark Eli fell backwards, broke his neck and died. It seems that the loss of the Ark was of most concern to him. He had probably written off his two sons, they got what they deserved. We are now told that Eli had “led” or “judged” the nation for forty years.
4:19-22
The death in the family of Eli continued. The wife of Phinehas was pregnant and about to give birth. The news of the death of her husband and father-in-law sent her into labour. She gave birth, but died as a result. She did, however, have time to name the child in a meaningful way. She called him Ichabod, which means “no glory”, and declared that “the Glory has departed from Israel”, because the ark had been captured. Our reaction may well be to think it unfair of God to take her life, but the wife saw the true meaning and importance of the event more clearly. It is also interesting that both the wife here, and Eli, saw the capture of the Ark as the more significant event, more significant than the death of their loved ones.
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