1 Samuel 4 in the early church
[LXX: 1 Kingdoms; Vulgate: 1 Kings]
30 passages quote, allude to, or echo 1 Samuel 4, grouped by verse; passages on the same verse are in date order. Verse text from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain). References use the Protestant English Bible's numbering, with a writer's own numbering in brackets where it differs.
Verses: 1 · 7 · 10 · 11 · 16 · 18 · 19
1 Samuel 4:1
Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now the Israelites went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 4:1–4 | On Saint Athanasius 1.11 · Lucifer of Cagliari | quotation, high confidence | ca. 356–361 |
| 1 Sam 4:1–11 | Against Parmenian the Donatist 7.1 · Optatus of Milevis | allusion, high confidence | ca. 366–385 |
| 1 Sam 4:1 | On the Duties of the Clergy 1.29 · Ambrose | quotation, high confidence | ca. 386–390 |
| 1 Sam 4:1–11 | Part 2, chapter 24 · Quodvultdeus of Carthage | allusion, high confidence | ca. 445-450 |
1 Samuel 4:7
the Philistines were afraid. “The gods have entered their camp!” they said. “Woe to us, for nothing like this has happened before.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 4:7–9 | Demonstration 14.20 · Aphrahat | quotation, high confidence | 337-345 |
1 Samuel 4:10
So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great—thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 4:10–11 | Demonstration 14.20 · Aphrahat | allusion, high confidence | 337-345 |
| 1 Sam 4:10–11 | On Saint Athanasius 1.11 · Lucifer of Cagliari | quotation, high confidence | ca. 356–361 |
1 Samuel 4:11
The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 4:11 | Homilies on Exodus 9.2 · Origen | allusion, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Rufinus's translation ca. 400–410) |
| 1 Sam 4:11 | Demonstration 14.25 · Aphrahat | allusion, medium confidence | 337-345 |
| 1 Sam 4:11 | Tractates on the Psalms 131.16 · Hilary of Poitiers | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 360–367 |
| 1 Sam 4:11 | Oration 22.2 · Gregory of Nazianzus | allusion, high confidence | ca. 362–383 |
| 1 Sam 4:11 | On the Destruction of Jerusalem 5.16 · Anonymous | allusion, high confidence | ca. 370 |
| 1 Sam 4:11–18 | Question 46, section 4 · Ambrosiaster | allusion, high confidence | ca. 370–384 |
| 1 Sam 4:11 | Letter 133.9 · Jerome | allusion, high confidence | ca. 370–419 |
| 1 Sam 4:11 | City of God 10.17 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | 413–426 |
| 1 Sam 4:11 | City of God 17.5 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | 413–426 |
1 Samuel 4:16
“I have just come from the battle,” the man said to Eli. “I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son?” Eli asked.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 4:16–18 | On Saint Athanasius 1.11 · Lucifer of Cagliari | quotation, high confidence | ca. 356–361 |
1 Samuel 4:18
As soon as the ark of God was mentioned, Eli fell backward from his chair by the city gate, and being old and heavy, he broke his neck and died. And Eli had judged Israel forty years.
1 Samuel 4:19
Now Eli’s daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news of the capture of God’s ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth, for her labor pains overtook her.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 4:19–21 | Letter 66.4 · Jerome | allusion, high confidence | ca. 370–419 |