Difference between revisions of "Eli"

<p> [[Eli]] (''Ç'Li'' ), ''Summit, The Highest,'' according to some, ''Adopted Of The Lord.'' A noted high priest and judge of Israel. He was of the family of Ithamar, Aaron's youngest son; for his descendant [[Ahimelech]] or Abiathar, &nbsp;1 Samuel 14:3; &nbsp;1 Samuel 22:20; &nbsp;2 Samuel 8:17, is expressly said to be of that house. &nbsp;1 Chronicles 24:3. We do not know how or when the high priesthood passed from Eleazar's family to that of Ithamar; but because of Eli's sin in not restraining his ungodly sons, it reverted again to the elder line. &nbsp;1 Samuel 2:22-25; &nbsp;1 Kings 2:35. With the exception of this great fault, of which he was repeatedly warned, Eli appears to have been a holy man. To him was committed the charge of Samuel the prophet when a child. And his anxiety for the ark of God, carried with the [[Israelitish]] army to battle, is graphically depicted in the sacred history. He sat watching for news in the open road; and when he heard the disastrous intelligence, the death of his two sons, and, worst of all the capture of the ark by the Philistines, he who could have borne the desolation of his own house sank down in grief, and his neck brake, and he died. He was 98 years old, and had judged Israel 40 years: some of these years probably including the time of Samuel. &nbsp;1 Samuel 1:1-28; &nbsp;1 Samuel 2:1-36; &nbsp;1 Samuel 3:1-21; &nbsp;1 Samuel 4:1-22. Part of the fulfillment of the threatening against Eli's house is noted in &nbsp;1 Kings 2:27. </p>

<p> (Hebrews Eli', עֵלַי . i.e., עֵַלי, ''Ascent;'' Sept. ᾿Ηλι [so N.T. (See [[Heli]]) ], [[Josephus]] Ηλεί,Vulg. ''Heli),'' the high-priest of the [[Jews]] when the ark was in [[Shiloh]] (&nbsp;1 Samuel 1:3; &nbsp;1 Samuel 1:9). He was descended from Aaron through Ithamar, the youngest of his two surviving sons (&nbsp;Leviticus 10:1-2; &nbsp;Leviticus 10:12), as appears from the fact that Abiathar, who was certainly a lineal descendant of Eli (&nbsp;1 Kings 2:27), had a son Ahimelech, who is expressly stated to have been "of the sons of Ithamar" (&nbsp;1 Chronicles 24:3; compare &nbsp;2 Samuel 8:17). With this accords the circumstance that the names of Eli and his successors in the high-priesthood up to and including Abiathar are not found in the genealogy of Eleazar (&nbsp;1 Chronicles 6:4-15; compare &nbsp;Ezra 7:1-5). As the history makes no mention of any high-priest of the line of 4thamar before Eli, he is generally supposed to have been the first of that line who held the office (Josephus, ''Ant.'' 8:1, 3). From him, his sons having died before him, it appears to have passed to his grandson Ahitub (&nbsp;1 Samuel 14:3; compare however Josephus, ''Ant.'' 5:11, 2), and it certainly remained in his family till Abiathar, the grandson of Ahitub, was "thrust out from being priest unto the Lord" by Solomon for his share in Adonijah's rebellion (&nbsp;1 Kings 2:26; &nbsp;1 Kings 2:2-7; &nbsp;1 Kings 1:7), and the high-priesthood passed back again to the family of Eleazar in the person of Zadok (&nbsp;1 Kings 2:35). How the office ever came into the younger branch of the house of Aaron we are not informed; perhaps it was through the incapacity or minority of the then sole representative of the elder line, for it is very evident that it was no unauthorized usurpation on the part of Eli (&nbsp;1 Samuel 2:27-28; &nbsp;1 Samuel 2:30). (See Ithamar). </p> <p> Eli also acted as regent or civil judge of Israel after the death of Samson, being the immediate predecessor of his pupil Samuel (&nbsp;1 Samuel 7:6; &nbsp;1 Samuel 7:15-17), the last of the judges. This function, indeed, seems to have been intended, by the theocratical constitution, to devolve upon the high-priest, by virtue of his office, in the absence of any person specially appointed by the divine King to deliver and govern Israel. He is said to have judged Israel 40 years (&nbsp;1 Samuel 4:18): the Septuagint makes it 20. It has been suggested, in explanation of the discrepancy, that he was [[Sole]] judge for 20 years, after having been co-judge with Samson for 20 years (&nbsp;Judges 16:31). But the probability is that the number 40 is correct, but that it comprehends only the period of his administration as judge; for not only does the whole tenor of the narrative imply that this immediately succeeded the judgeship of Samson (as indeed Josephus evidently understood it; a fact apparent not only from his history, but also from the summing up of his numbers as computed by himself, Ant. 5:9; 10:3; title to book 5), but this view is evidently taken by Paul in his assignment of the period of 450 years to the judges (&nbsp;Acts 13:20), a number that immediately results from simply adding together the items as given in the O.T. history, including Samson and Eli as continuous to the others. (See [[Judges]]). As Eli died at the age of ninety-eight (&nbsp;1 Samuel 4:15), the forty years (B.C. 1165-1125) must have commenced when he was fifty-eight years old. (See Lightfoot's ''Works,'' 1:53, 907, fol. Lond. 1684; Selden, ''De Success. In Pontif. Hebr.'' lib. 1, cap. 4). (See [[High-Priest]]). </p> <p> Eli seems to have been a religious man, and the only fault recorded of him was an excessive easiness of temper, most unbefitting the high responsibilities of his official character. His sons Hophni and Phinehas, whom he invested with authority, misconducted themselves so outrageously as to excite deep disgust among the people, and render the services of the tabernacle odious in their eyes (&nbsp;1 Samuel 2:27-36; &nbsp;1 Kings 2:27). Of this misconduct Eli was aware, but contented himself with mild and ineffectual remonstrances (&nbsp;1 Samuel 2:22-25), where his station required severe and vigorous action (&nbsp;1 Samuel 3:13). For this neglect the judgment of God was at length denounced upon his house, through the young Samuel (q.v.), who, under peculiar circumstances, had been attached from childhood to his person (&nbsp;1 Samuel 2:29; &nbsp;1 Samuel 3:18). Some years passed without any apparent fulfillment of this denunciation, but it came at length in one terrible crash, by which the old man's heart was broken. The Philistines had gained the upper hand over Israel, and the ark of God was taken to the field, in the confidence of victory and safety from its presence. But in the battle which followed the ark itself was taken by the Philistines, and the two sons of Eli, who were in attendance upon it, were slain. The high-priest, then blind with age, sat by the wayside at Shiloh, awaiting tidings from the war, "for his heart trembled for the ark of God." A man of Benjamin, with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head, brought the fatal news: and Eli heard that Israel was defeated-that his sons were slain-that the ark of God was taken — at which last word he fell heavily from his seat, and died (&nbsp;1 Samuel 4:1-22). According to Schwarz (Palest. page 142), an erroneous tradition locates his grave in an elegant building at the village Charim ben-Elim, eight miles N.N.E. of Jaffa, on the shore. The ultimate doom upon Eli's house was accomplished when Solomon removed Abiathar (the last high-priest of this line) from his office, and restored the line of Eleazar, in the person of Zadok (&nbsp;1 Kings 2:27). (See Abiathar). Another part of the same sentence (&nbsp;1 Samuel 2:31-33) appears to have been taking effect in the reign of David, when we read that "there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar" — sixteen of the former, and only eight of the latter (&nbsp;1 Chronicles 24:4). </p>

<p> '''''ē´lı̄''''' ( עלי , <i> '''''‛ēlı̄''''' </i> ): A descendant of Ithamar, the fourth son of Aaron, who exercised the office of high priest in Shiloh at the time of the birth of Samuel. For the first time in Israel, Eli combined in his own person the functions of high priest and judge, judging Israel for 40 years (&nbsp;1 Samuel 4:18 ). The incidents in Eli's life are few; indeed, the main interest of the narrative is in the other characters who are associated with him. The chief interest centers in Samuel. In Eli's first interview with [[Hannah]] (&nbsp;1 Samuel 1:12 ), she is the central figure; in the second interview (&nbsp;1 Samuel 1:24 ), it is the child Samuel. When Eli next appears, it is as the father of Hophni and Phinehas, whose worthless and licentious lives had profaned their priestly office, and earned for them the title "men of Belial" (or "worthlessness"). Eli administered no stern rebuke to his sons, but only a gentle chiding of their greed and immorality. Thereafter he was warned by a nameless prophet of the downfall of his house, and of the death of his two sons in one day (&nbsp;1 Samuel 2:27-36 ), a message later confirmed by Samuel, who had received this word directly from [[Yahweh]] Himself (&nbsp;1 Samuel 3:11 ). The prophecy was not long in fulfillment. During the next invasion by the Philistines, the Israelites were utterly routed, the ark of God was captured, and Hophni and Phinehas were both slain. When the news reached Eli, he was so overcome that he "fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck brake, and he died" (&nbsp;1 Samuel 4:18 ). The character of Eli, while sincere and devout, seems to have been entirely lacking in firmness. He appears from the history to have been a good man, full of humility and gentleness, but weak and indulgent. His is not a strong personality; he is always overshadowed by some more commanding or interesting figure. </p>