12 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 . 13 When he came , behold , Eli was sitting on his seat by the road eagerly watching , because his heart was trembling for the ark of God . So the man came to tell it in the city , and all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry , he said , "What does the noise of this commotion mean?" Then the man came hurriedly and told Eli . 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight e years old , and his eyes were set so that he could not see . 16 The man said to Eli , "I am the one who came from the battle line . Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today ." And he said , " How did things go , my son ?" 17 Then the one who brought the news replied , "Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people , and your two sons also , Hophni and Phinehas , are dead , and the ark of God has been taken ." 18 When he mentioned the ark of God , Eli fell off e the seat backward beside e the gate , and his neck was broken and he died , for he was old and heavy . Thus he judged Israel forty years .
19 Now his daughter-in-law , Phinehas's wife , was pregnant and about to give birth ; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died , she kneeled down and gave birth , for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, " Do not be afraid , for you have given birth to a son ." But she did not answer or pay attention . 21 And she called the boy Ichabod , saying , " The glory has departed from Israel ," because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband . 22 She said , "The glory has departed from Israel , for the ark of God was taken ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Samuel 4:12-22
Commentary on 1 Samuel 4:12-18
(Read 1 Samuel 4:12-18)
The defeat of the army was very grievous to Eli as a judge; the tidings of the death of his two sons, to whom he had been so indulgent, and who, as he had reason to fear, died impenitent, touched him as a father; yet there was a greater concern on his spirit. And when the messenger concluded his story with, "The ark of God is taken," he is struck to the heart, and died immediately. A man may die miserably, yet not die eternally; may come to an untimely end, yet the end be peace.
Commentary on 1 Samuel 4:19-22
(Read 1 Samuel 4:19-22)
The wife of Phinehas seems to have been a person of piety. Her dying regret was for the loss of the ark, and the departure of the glory from Israel. What is any earthly joy to her that feels herself dying? No joy but that which is spiritual and divine, will stand in any stead then; death is too serious a thing to admit the relish of any earthly joy. What is it to one that is lamenting the loss of the ark? What pleasure can we take in our creature comforts and enjoyments, if we want God's word and ordinances; especially if we want the comfort of his gracious presence, and the light of his countenance? If God go, the glory goes, and all good goes. Woe unto us if he depart! But though the glory is withdrawn from one sinful nation, city, or village after another, yet it shall never depart altogether, but shines forth in one place when eclipsed in another.