1 Samuel - Odessa, Missouri Community of Christ

22 Dr. Constable's Notes on 1 Samuel 2007 Editionthe whole country prior to the emergence of the Israelite state which couldstill accentuate Yahweh's supremacy as an unconquerable deity. The storyexplains how Yahweh finally became superior to his captors." 56The major historical element of continuity in this section is the fate of Eli's sons (4:9-11).The theological theme of fertility continues to be the primary unifying factor in thenarrative.1. The battle of Aphek 4:1b-11The Philistines, as we have already seen in Judges, were Israel's primary enemy to thewest at this time. Samson, too, fought the Philistines (Judg. 13—16). 57 There are about150 references to the Philistines in 1 and 2 Samuel. They originally migrated fromGreece primarily by way of Crete (Caphtor, cf. Gen. 10:14; Jer. 47:4; Amos 9:7). Theirmajor influx into Canaan occurred about 1200 B.C., about 100 years before the eventsrecorded in this chapter. However there were some Philistines in Canaan as early asAbraham's day (Gen. 21:32; et al.). 58The town of Aphek (cf. 29:1; New TestamentAntipatris, Acts 23:31) stood on the borderbetween Philistine and Israelite territory. Itwas about 11 miles east and a little north ofJoppa (and modern Tel Aviv). Archaeologistshave not yet located Ebenezer, but it wasobviously close to Aphek and on Israel's sideof the border. 59In the first encounter with the Philistines, theenemy slew 4,000 Israelite soldiers (v. 2), andin the second, 30,000 Israelites fell (v. 10).Between these two encounters the Israelitessent to Shiloh for the ark. The ark had alwaysbeen the place where God dwelt in a specialway among the Israelites. It contained thetablets of the Decalogue and the mercy seatwhere the high priest atoned for the sins ofthe nation. It was for these reasons a symbolof God and His presence. During the longAshdod *MOVEMENTS OF THE ARKIN 1 SAMUELPHILISTINETERRITORYEbenezer (?)Aphek * ** ShilohEkron Kiriath-jearim** ** Beth-shemeshGathISRAELITETERRITORY56 G. W. Ahlstrom, "The Travels of the Ark: A Religio-Political Composition," Journal of Near EasternStudies 43 (1984):143. See also Antony F. Campbell, "Yahweh and the Ark: A Case Study in Narrative,"Journal of Biblical Literature 98:1 (1979):31-43.57 For a good, brief history of the Philistines, see Edward Hindson, The Philistines and the Old Testament.58 For further study, see Trude Dothan, The Philistines and Their Material Culture, especially pp. 13-16,21-24, 289-96.59 Moshe Kochavi and Aaron Demsky, "An Israelite Village from the Days of the Judges," BiblicalArchaeology Review 4:3 (1978):19-21, believed it was the modern Izbet Sarteh about two miles east ofAphek on the road to Shiloh.