HOPHNI, and Phinehas, sons of Eli 1 Sam. ii. 12, 13, &c. Levit. iii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. Levit. vii. 31, 32. 1 Sam. ii. 22, 23, &c. In the year of the World 2851, before J. C. 1149, before the Vulgar Æra 1153.the High-Priest, were, says the Scripture, sons of Belial, wicked, dissolute, and perverse men, whose will and lust were the only rule they acted by. They knew not the Lord, they did not pay him the honour which was due to him, nor performed the functions of their Ministry in the Tabernacle, as they ought to do; for when any Israelite had sacrificed a Peace-offering, the son or servant of the Priest came while they were dressing the flesh of it, and holding a fork with three teeth belonging to it in his hand, he put it into the pot, and all that he could take up with it was the Priest’s. They treated thus all the people of Israel, who came to sacrifice at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. In like manner also before the fat was burnt, the Priest’s servant came, and said to him, who sacrificed, Give me flesh to roast, for I will have none sodden, but raw. Let us first burn the fat, said he who sacrificed, according to custom, and after that take as much flesh as you will. But the servant replied, no; you shall give it me presently, or I will take it by force. Wherefore the sin of Eli’s sons was great before the Lord; because they diverted the Children of Israel from coming to offer their sacrifices. That we may have a right understanding of this place, it is necessary to observe, that the Text takes no notice of Burnt-offerings, or Sacrifices for sin, but only of Peace -offerings, or those presented out of mere devotion; the blood whereof, the fat, the kidneys, and the caul which covers the intestines, were offered to the Lord. After this, all the rest of the Sacrifice belonged to him, at whose expence the offering was made. He was to give the Priest for his fee, the right shoulder and the breast of the victim. Moses does not say, whether this should be given dressed, or raw: but it appears from this place, 1. That it was not given to the Priest till it was dressed; and, 2. that the Priest had no right to demand it, till the fat was offered upon the fire of the Altar.
Now the High-Priest Eli was no stranger to his sons irregularities: he knew besides, that they lay with the women, who came to watch at the door of the Tabernacle. He reproved them for it, but so faintly, that they took no care at all to change their behaviour. Wherefore the Lord sent a Prophet to him, who said, Why do you trample under foot my Sacrifices and Offerings, which I have commanded to be presented to me in my Tabernacle? And why have you honoured your sons more than me, by thus eating with them the best of what is offered by all Israel? Therefore thus saith the Lord, I promised indeed that thy house should serve before me for ever; but now I am very far from designing this, says the Lord: for them that honour me, I will honour; and they that despise me, shall be lightly esteemed. The time is coming when I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house, and there shall not be an old man in thy family; and when all Israel shall be in prosperity, thou shalt see a man in the Temple, who shall be the object of thine envy. Thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall both die in the same day, and I will raise up a faithful Priest for my service, who shall act according to my own heart.
About the year of the World 2861, before J. C. 1139, before the Vulg. Æra 1143. 1 Sam. x. 11, 12, &c.Some years after, the Lord caused Eli and his sons to be threatned by the young Prophet Samuel, to whom he said, that since Eli had not reproved and corrected his sons as he ought, the iniquity of his house should be never expiated, either by Sacrifices or Offerings, but that he would pour out all the evils upon it, wherewith he had threatned it. Accordingly, the Philistins having declared war against the Israelites, and they in the first action with In the year of the World 2888, before J. C. 1112, before the Vulgar Æra 1116the Philistins having fled, and lost about four thousand men, the Elders of Israel said; Bring hither the Ark of the Lord, that being placed among us, it may save us from the hand of our enemies. The people therefore sent to Shiloh, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, brought the Ark into the camp. But God permitted the Philistins to obtain another victory over the Israelites, so that they killed thirty thousand men, among the rest Hophni and Phinehas, and took the Ark of the Covenant, and carried it away with them into their own country. The news of this misfortune being brought to Shiloh, the wife of Phinehas, who was ready to lie in, was suddenly seized with her bearing pains, and died in labour. Eli being informed that his two sons were dead, and the Ark taken, fell backwards from his seat, and broke his neck. Thus the threatnings of God were verified against the house of Eli.