At this point, Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. When the troops returned to camp, the elders questioned why the Lord had defeated them before the Philistines. So, they decided to take the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, and put it among them so they could be saved from the power of their enemies.
The people went to Shiloh and retrieved the ark. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. As soon as the ark came into the camp, all of Israel gave a mighty shout.
When the Philistines heard the shout, they wondered what it could’ve meant. When they learned that the ark of the Lord was in Israel’s camp, they were afraid. They had heard the stories of what the Lord had done for Israel, and they had to find their courage.
So, the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated. There was a great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty-thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh. He found Eli sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. The man came into the city and told the people the news.
When Eli heard the uproar, the man was coming to tell him what had happened. Eli was ninety-eight years old and he could no longer see. As soon as Eli heard about the ark, he fell backward from his seat and his neck was broken and he died. Eli had judged Israel for forty years.
His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard that the ark of God was captured and her husband and father-in-law were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her.
About the time of her death, the women attending her told her that she had borne a son. She did not answer or pay attention. The child was named Ichabod, and she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
The Philistines that captured the ark took it to Ashdod and set it in the house next to Dagon. The next day though when the people woke up, they saw that Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So, they took Dagon and put it back in its place.
But the next day the same thing had happened, except now its head and both hands were lying cut off on the threshold. As a result, the priests of Dagon and all who entered the house of Dagon did not tread on the threshold.
The hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod. He terrified and afflicted them with tumors. They realized that the ark of God could not stay with them. They sent it to Gath. But, the hand of God was still against the city. So, they sent the ark to Ekron, but the people were terrified.
They decided to return the ark of God to the people of Israel. The ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines seven months. They knew that they could not return the ark empty, for they needed to send a guilt offering. It was decided that it would be five golden tumors and five golden mice according to the number of the lords of the Philistines.
They took two milk cows and yoked them to the cart and put the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the images of their tumors. They went on their way and came to a field of Joshua in Beth-shemesh and stopped there.
There was a great stone there, so they split up the wood from the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. And the Levites took down the ark and the box that was beside it and took it to the house of Abinadab. They consecrated Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord.
Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaraoth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
All of Israel gathered at Mizpah to pray and fast, and they admitted their sins against the Lord. Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. When the Philistines heard that they had gathered there they decided to go up and attack them.
As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering to the Lord, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound against the Philistines and it threw them into confusion. The men of Israel went out and pursued the Philistines and struck them. The Philistines were subdued and did not enter the territory of Israel again.
The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. All the cities the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel. Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life