1 Samuel 4:15

1 Samuel 4:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.
• New International Version (NIV)who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see.

Context of 1 Samuel 4:15

13Eli was sitting on his chair by the side of the road in Shiloh. He was waiting for news of the battle. He wanted to know if God's Covenant Box was safe. When the soldier arrived in the city, he told the people what had happened in the battle. All the people started to cry loudly. 14Eli heard the people's loud voices. He asked, ‘What is causing all the noise?’ The soldier quickly went to tell Eli the news. Eli was now 98 years old and he could not see at all. 16The soldier said to Eli, ‘I am the man who ran here today from the battle.’ Eli asked him, ‘What happened, my son?’ 17The soldier replied, ‘The Israelites ran away while the Philistines chased them. The Philistines killed many of our soldiers. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead. And the Philistines have taken away God's Covenant Box.’

1 Samuel 4:15 word by word

וְעֵלִ֕י בֶּן־תִּשְׁעִ֥ים וּשְׁמֹנֶ֖ה שָׁנָ֑ה וְעֵינָ֣יו קָ֔מָה וְלֹ֥א יָכ֖וֹל לִרְאֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Now Eliעֵלִי‛êlîy · EliH5941
• was ninetyתִּשְׁעִיםtish‛îym · ninetyH8673
• and eightשְׁמֹנֶהshemôneh shemôneh shemônâh shemônâh · eightH8083
• yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
• oldבֵּןbên · son: agedH1121
• and his eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• were dimקוּםqûm · to arise: establishH6965
• that he couldיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• not seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 4:15

• 1 Samuel 3:2Eli's eyes had become weak. He could not see very well. One night, he was sleeping in his usual place.
• Psalms 90:10The number of our days make 70 years, or maybe 80 years if we are strong enough. But even in the best years of our lives, we have trouble and pain. Our lives quickly pass, and we hurry towards death.
• Genesis 27:1Isaac became old. He could not see anything because his eyes were weak. He called for his older son, Esau. Isaac said, ‘My son.’ Esau replied, ‘Yes, I am here.’

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 4:15

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Dim - Rather, “set.” The word is quite different from that so rendered in 1 Samuel 3:2. The phrase seems to express the “fixed” state of the blind eye, which is not affected by the light. Eli‘s blindness, while it made him alive to sounds, prevented his seeing the ripped garments and dust-besprinkled head of the messenger of bad news.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-18Verses 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…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15could not see: See 1 Samuel 3:2 and study note on 1 Samuel 3:2.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1813-18. Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside--The aged priest, as a public magistrate, used, in dispensing justice, to seat himself daily in a spacious recess at the entrance gate of the city. In his intense anxiety to learn the issue of the battle, he took up his usual place as the most convenient for meeting with passers-by. His seat was an official chair, similar to those of the ancient Egyptian judges, richly carved, superbly ornamented, high, and…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 4:15

• Ark
• Blindness
• Eli
• Judgments
• Longevity
• Parents

In the dictionaries

• Blind
• Eli
• Glory
• Mean
• Pain
• Philistines
• Tabernacle
• Tumult
• Ark of the Covenant
• Blindness

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings