joined, that victory which the Hebrews expected was gained by
the Philistines, and that defeat the Philistines were afraid of fell
to the lot of the Israelites, and thereby they found that they had put
their trust in the ark in vain, for they were presently beaten as soon
as they came to a close fight with their enemies, and lost about thirty
thousand men, among whom were the sons of the high priest; but the ark
was carried away by the enemies.

3. When the news of this defeat came to Shiloh, with that of the
captivity of the ark, [for a certain young man, a Benjamite, who was
in the action, came as a messenger thither,] the whole city was full of
lamentations. And Eli, the high priest, who sat upon a high throne at
one of the gates, heard their mournful cries, and supposed that some
strange thing had befallen his family. So he sent for the young man;
and when he understood what had happened in the battle, he was not much
uneasy as to his sons, or what was told him withal about the army, as
having beforehand known by Divine revelation that those things would
happen, and having himself declared them beforehand,--for what sad
things come unexpectedly they distress men the most; but as soon as [he
heard] the ark was carried captive by their enemies, he was very much
grieved at it, because it fell out quite differently from what he
expected; so he fell down from his throne and died, having in all lived
ninety-eight years, and of them retained the government forty.

4. On the same day his son Phineas's wife died also, as not able
to survive the misfortune of her husband; for they told her of her
husband's death as she was in labor. However, she bare a son at seven
months, who lived, and to whom they gave the name of Icabod, which name
signifies disgrace,--and this because the army received a disgrace at
this thee.

5. Now Eli was the first of the family of Ithamar, the other son of
Aaron, that had the government; for the family of Eleazar officiated as
high priest at first, the son still receiving that honor from the father
which Eleazar bequeathed to his son Phineas; after whom Abiezer his son
took the honor, and delivered it to his son, whose name was Bukki,
from whom his son Ozi received it; after whom Eli, of whom we have been
speaking, had the priesthood, and so he and his posterity until the thee
of Solomon's reign; but then the posterity of Eleazar reassumed it.

BOOK VI. Containing The Interval Of Thirty-Tw