of Ephraim and Benjamin having been defeated once between Eben-ezer and Aphek, bore the ark in state to the battle-field, that its presence might inspire them with confidence.  The Philistines were alarmed at its advent, and exclaimed, “God is come into the camp.  Woe unto us!  Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods?...  Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you."** In response to this appeal, their troops fought so boldly that they once more gained a victory.  “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.  And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon his seat by the wayside watching:  for his heart trembled for the ark of God.  And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out.  And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult?  And the man hasted, and came and told Eli.  Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were set, that he could not see.  And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to-day out of the army.  And he said, How went the matter, my son?  And he that brought the tidings answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phineas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken.  And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died:  for he was an old man, and heavy."***

     * Sam. iv. 12-18.

     ** This is not mentioned in the sacred books; but certain
     reasons for believing this destruction to have taken place
     are given by Stade.

     *** The Philistine garrison at Geba (Gibeah) is mentioned in
     1 Sam. xiii. 3, i.

The defeat of Eben-ezer completed, at least for a time, the overthrow of the tribes of Central Canaan.  The Philistines destroyed the sanctuary of Shiloh, and placed a garrison at Gibeah to keep the Benjamites in subjection, and to command the route of the Jordan;* it would even appear that they pushed their advance-posts beyond Carmel in order to keep in touch with the independent Canaanite cities such as Megiddo, Taanach, and Bethshan, and to ensure a free use of the various routes leading in the direction of Damascus, Tyre, and Coele-Syria.**

* After the victory at Gilboa, the Philistines exposed the dead bodies of Saul and his sons upon the walls of Bethshan (1 Sam. xxxi. 10, 12), which they would not have been able to do had the inhabitants not been allies or vassals.  Friendly relations with Bethshan entailed almost as a matter of course some similar understanding with the cities of the plain of Jezreel.

** 1 Sam. vii. 16, 17.  These verses