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

13When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair watching by the side of the road, for he was very worried about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report, the whole city cried out. 14When Eli heard the outcry, he said, “What is this commotion?” The man quickly came and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead; he was unable to see. 16The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!” Eli asked, “How did things go, my son?” 17The messenger replied, “Israel has fled from the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!”

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 begun to fail, so that he was unable to see well. At that time he was lying down in his place,
• Psalms 90:10The days of our lives add up to seventy years, or eighty, if one is especially strong. But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. Yes, they pass quickly and we fly away.
• Genesis 27:1When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau replied.

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