1 Samuel 4 22

1 Samuel 4:22 kjv

And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

1 Samuel 4:22 nkjv

And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

1 Samuel 4:22 niv

She said, "The Glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

1 Samuel 4:22 esv

And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

1 Samuel 4:22 nlt

Then she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured."

1 Samuel 4 verses

1 Samuel 4 22 Meaning

This verse pronounces a deeply significant name, Ichabod, upon the newborn son of Phinehas' wife. The name, meaning "No Glory" or "Where is the Glory?", explicitly declares that the divine presence, blessing, and honor of God have departed from Israel. This catastrophic loss is attributed to the capture of the Ark of God, the supreme symbol of God's covenant presence among His people, and is further amplified by the deaths of her father-in-law Eli and her husband Phinehas. It encapsulates Israel's spiritual decline and the profound consequences of national sin and a corrupt priesthood.

1 Samuel 4 22 Context

First Samuel Chapter 4 narrates a devastating series of events for Israel. Following significant national sin, particularly among the priesthood through Eli's corrupt sons Hophni and Phinehas, Israel goes to war against the Philistines. Initially defeated, they foolishly bring the Ark of the Covenant onto the battlefield, treating it as a magical charm rather than reverencing God's holy presence. This act of presumption is met with further defeat: 30,000 Israelite foot soldiers are killed, Hophni and Phinehas die, and most significantly, the Ark of God is captured by the Philistines. News of these events causes Eli to fall backward, break his neck, and die. It is in this atmosphere of unparalleled national calamity and divine judgment that Eli's daughter-in-law, Phinehas's wife, gives birth prematurely. Her dying words, naming her son Ichabod, serve as the climactic and most profound statement of the nation's spiritual ruin. The loss of the Ark, embodying God's glory, was considered the ultimate catastrophe, overshadowing even the deaths of her husband and father-in-law.

1 Samuel 4 22 Word analysis

• She named the child Ichabod: This naming is highly symbolic. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, names often reflected circumstances, hopes, or prophecies. Here, it is a declarative, sorrowful, and prophetic summary of the nation's spiritual state. The mother's profound despair finds expression in this name, making her an involuntary prophetess of Israel's current and immediate future.
• Ichabod (אִי כָבוֹד, 'i kābôd): This Hebrew name is derived from 'i, a particle that can mean "where?" or serve as a negative prefix "no" or "not," and kābôd, meaning "glory," "honor," or "weight." Thus, the name means either "Where is the glory?" indicating a profound yearning or bewilderment over its absence, or more starkly, "No glory," signifying that the glory is definitively gone. Both interpretations point to the utter devastation and divine withdrawal experienced.
• saying, 'The glory (כָבוֹד, kābôd) has departed (גָלָה, gālâ) from Israel,':
  • 'The glory (כָבוֹד, kābôd)': This is not mere human honor or fame. In this context, kāvôd refers specifically to the manifest presence and power of God, often associated with His visible splendor, authority, and blessing (the "Shekinah glory"). It signifies God's dwelling among His people, protecting, guiding, and blessing them. Its departure means the visible, active presence of God has been withdrawn due to their sin.
  • 'has departed (גָלָה, gālâ)': The verb gālâ is often used for going into exile, being uncovered, or being revealed. In its Niphal stem, as used here, it often signifies being carried away or revealed. Its use implies not just a quiet exit but a public and punitive removal or absence, emphasizing the judgment involved in God's manifest presence leaving. It suggests the loss is complete and evident.
  • 'from Israel': This refers to the entire nation, not just a specific place or group. The loss affects all God's covenant people.
• 'because the ark of God had been captured':
  • 'the ark of God': The Ark of the Covenant was the holiest object in Israel, representing the very throne and footstool of God. It contained the tablets of the Law, Aaron's staff, and a pot of manna. Its capture was far more than losing a religious artifact; it was understood as God himself having departed or having allowed Himself to be "captured" as a judgment against His people's unfaithfulness. It shattered their misconception that God's presence was automatically secured by merely possessing the Ark, regardless of their conduct.
  • 'had been captured': This shocking event marked the deepest national humiliation and spiritual catastrophe. It demonstrated God's sovereignty even over His own symbolic presence, and His willingness to judge His people by allowing His presence to be "taken" from them when they profaned His holiness.
• 'and because of her father-in-law and her husband.': While the deaths of Eli and Phinehas are painful personal losses for her, they are secondary to the loss of the Ark. The verse highlights the hierarchical nature of her grief: the ultimate tragedy is the departure of God's glory, then the deaths of her loved ones, which confirm and deepen the tragedy of the glory's departure. Eli died because of the Ark's capture, and Phinehas died with the Ark's capture; their deaths are therefore intimately linked to the overarching disaster of God's glory departing.

1 Samuel 4 22 Bonus section

The immediate cultural shock of "Ichabod" would have been immense, given that a name carries significant weight and often serves as a mini-prophecy for an individual's life or surrounding circumstances. For a child to be named "No Glory" from birth implies a deep sense of national doom. The phrase "the glory has departed" (גָלָה כָבוֹד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, galâh kāvôd mîyisrâ'ēl) could also subtly imply that the lack of reverence for God's presence had been "uncovered" or "revealed" by the disaster, bringing their spiritual sickness into plain view. This dark chapter underscores a critical theological principle: God's presence (His glory) is a gift and not an entitlement, and His covenant people must maintain holiness and reverence, lest He withdraw it. This foreshadows Ezekiel's later vision of the Glory of the Lord gradually departing the Temple in Jerusalem (Eze 10-11), another instance where the manifestation of God's presence is withdrawn due to His people's escalating sin and idolatry.

1 Samuel 4 22 Commentary

1 Samuel 4:22 serves as a pivotal summary of Israel's spiritual nadir. It encapsulates the consequences of disobedience, specifically the abuse of sacred objects and office, exemplified by Eli's wicked sons and the nation's reliance on ritual rather than genuine faith. The cry of "Ichabod" is more than a lament; it is a prophetic statement affirming God's judgment by withdrawing His manifest presence and protection, symbolizing the breaking of the covenant relationship due to sin. The Ark's capture signals God's abandonment of the apostate worship at Shiloh. This loss of glory highlights that God is not bound by physical objects or human expectations but acts in sovereignty, even when His people bring Him dishonor. Yet, even in this despair, it sets the stage for God to raise up Samuel, a faithful priest and prophet, hinting that God would not entirely forsake His people, eventually bringing His glory back, most profoundly through the Messiah, Jesus Christ.