1 Samuel 4:12

Contextual Overview

¹² And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent, and with earth on his head. ¹² A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefield and arrived at Shiloh later that same day. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head to show his grief. ¹² And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. ¹² That same day a man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battle. He tore his clothes and put dust on his head to show his great sadness. ¹² On that day a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and dirt was on his head. ¹² And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. ¹² There ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn, and with earth on his head. ¹²Now a man [from the tribe] of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh that same day with his clothes torn and dust on his head [as signs of mourning over the disaster].¹² A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. ¹² Sotheli a man of Beniamyn ran fro the scheltrun, and cam in to Silo in that dai, with his cloth torent and his heed bispreynt with dust; and whanne he was comen,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

with his clothes rent: These, as we have already remarked, were the general signs of sorrow and distress. 2 Samuel 1:2

with earth: Joshua 7:6, 2 Samuel 13:19, 2 Samuel 15:32, Nehemiah 9:1, Job 2:12

Reciprocal: Genesis 14:13 - one 1 Samuel 22:20 - escaped 2 Kings 19:1 - he rent Proverbs 3:6 - In Jeremiah 51:31 - post Ezekiel 24:26 - General Ezekiel 27:30 - cast Revelation 18:19 - they cast

Cross-References

Genesis 4:3
In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground,

Genesis 4:3
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to Yahweh.

Genesis 4:3
Later, Cain brought some food from the ground as a gift to God.

Genesis 4:3
At the designated time Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering to the Lord .

Genesis 4:3
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD.

Genesis 4:3
As time passed, it happened that Cain brought an offering to Yahweh from the fruit of the ground.

Genesis 4:3
And in the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground.

Genesis 4:3
Sotheli it was don after many daies, that Cayn offride yiftis to the Lord of the fruytis of erthe;

Genesis 4:3
And it cometh to pass at the end of days that Cain bringeth from the fruit of the ground a present to Jehovah;

Genesis 4:3
So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army,.... Out of the rank in which he was, before the whole army was quite broken up. This was a young man as Josephus b says, which is highly probable; though not at all to be depended on is what the Jews c say, that this was Saul, later king of Israel:

and came to Shiloh the same day; which, according to Bunting d, was forty two miles from Ebenezer, near to which the battle was fought; and that it was a long way is pretty plain by the remark made, that this messenger came the same day the battle was fought; though not at such a distance as some Jewish writers say, some sixty, some one hundred and twenty miles e; which is not at all probable:

with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head; which were both tokens of distress and mourning, and showed that he was a messenger of bad tidings from the army; :-.

b Antiqu. l. 5. c. 11. sect. 3. c Shalshalet Hakabala. fol. 8. 1. Jarchi in loc. d Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 123. e Midrash Schemuel apud Abarbinel in loc.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Runners who were swift of foot, and could go long distances were important and well-known persons (compare 2 Samuel 18:19-31). There seem to have been always professional runners to act as messengers with armies in the field (2 Kings 11:4, 2 Kings 11:6,2 Kings 11:19, the King James Version “guards”).

Earth upon his head - In token of bitter grief. Compare the marginal references.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 4:12. Came to Shiloh the same day — The field of battle could not have been at any great distance, for this young man reached Shiloh the same evening after the defeat.

With his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head. — These were signs of sorrow and distress among all nations. The clothes rent, signified the rending, dividing, and scattering, of the people; the earth, or ashes on the head, signified their humiliation: "We are brought down to the dust of the earth; we are near to our graves." When the Trojan fleet was burnt, AEneas is represented as tearing his robe from his shoulder, and invoking the aid of his gods: -

Tum pius AEneas humeris abscindere vestem,

Auxilioque vocare Deos, et tendere palmas.

VIRG. AEn. lib. v., ver. 685.

"The prince then tore his robes in deep despair,

Raised high his hands, and thus address'd his prayer."

PITT.

We have a remarkable example in the same poet, where he represents the queen of King Latinus resolving on her own death, when she found that the Trojans had taken the city by storm: -

Purpueros moritura manu discindit amictus.

AEn. lib. xii., ver. 603.

She tears with both her hands her purple vest.

But the image is complete in King Latinus himself, when he heard of the death of his queen, and saw his city in flames: -

_______ It scissa veste Latinus,

Conjugis attonitus fatis, urbisque ruina,

Canitiem immundo perfusam pulvere turpans.

Ib., ver. 609.

Latinus tears his garments as he goes.

Both for his public and his private woes:

With filth his venerable beard besmears,

And sordid dust deforms his silver hairs.

DRYDEN.

We find the same custom expressed in one line by Catullus: -

Canitiem terra, atque infuso pulvere foedans.

EPITH. Pelei et Thetidos, ver. 224.

Dishonouring her hoary locks with earth and sprinkled dust.

The ancient Greeks in their mourning often shaved off their hair: -

Τουτο νυ και γερας οιον οΐζυροισι βροτοισι,

Κειρασθαι τε κομην, βαλεειν τ' απο δακρυ παρειων.

HOM. Odyss. lib. iv., ver. 197.

"Let each deplore his dead: the rites of wo

Are all, alas! the living can bestow

O'er the congenial dust, enjoin'd to shear

The graceful curl, and drop the tender tear."

POPE.

And again: -

Κατθεμεν εν λεχεεσσι καθηραντες χροα καλον

Ὑδατι τε λιαρῳ και αλειφατι· πολλα δε σ' αμφις

Δακρυα θερμα χεον Δαναοι, κειροντο τε χαιτας.

Ib., lib. xxiv., ver. 44.

"Then unguents sweet, and tepid streams, we shed;

Tears flow'd from every eye; and o'er the dead

Each clipp'd the curling honours of his head."

POPE.

The whole is strongly expressed in the case of Achilles, when he heard of the death of his friend Patroclus: -

Ὡς φατο· τον δ' αχεος νεφεος νεφελη εκαλυψε μελαινα

Αμφοτερῃσι δε χερσιν ἑλων κονιν αοθαλοεσσαν,

Χευατο κακ κεφαλης, χαριεν δ' ῃσχυνε προσωπον·

Νεκταρεῳ δε χιτωνι μελαιν' αμφιζανε τεφρη.

Iliad, lib. xviii., ver. 22.

"A sudden horror shot through all the chief,

And wrapp'd his senses in the cloud of grief.

Cast on the ground, with furious hands he spread

The scorching ashes o'er his graceful head:

His purple garments, and his golden hairs.

Those he deforms with dust, and these with tears."

POPE.

It is not unusual, even in Europe, and in the most civilized parts of it, to see grief expressed by tearing the hair, beating the breasts, and rending the garments; all these are natural signs, or expression of deep and excessive grief, and are common to all the nations of the world.