1 Samuel 4 · Verse 21

1 Samuel 4:21

And she named the child I–chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.

1 Samuel 4:21, King James Version

1 Samuel 4:21 in other translations

BSB	And she named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband had been killed.
WEB	She named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because God’s ark was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
ASV	And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel; because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
YLT	and she calleth the youth I-Chabod, saying, ‘Honour hath removed from Israel,' because of the taking of the ark of God, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
DARBY	And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel; because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
BBE	And she gave the child the name of Ichabod, saying, The glory has gone from Israel: because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
Webster	And she named the child I-chabod, saying, The glory hath departed from Israel. (Because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.)

What does 1 Samuel 4:21 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 21 She named the child I-chabod - The versions are various on the original words כבוד I-chabod; the Septuagint, ουαιβαρχαβωθ ouaibrachaboth; the Syriac, yochobor; the Arabic, yochabad. But none of these give us much light on the subject. It is pretty evident they did not know well what signification to give the name; and we are left to collect its meaning from what she says afterwards, The glory is departed from Israel; the words literally mean, Where is the glory? And indeed where was it, when the armies of Israel were defeated by the Philistines, the priests slain, the supreme magistrate dead, and the ark of the Lord taken? This is a very eventful, interesting, and affecting chapter, and prepares the reader for those signal manifestations of God's power and providence by which the ark was restored, the priesthood re-established, an immaculate judge given to Israel, the Philistine yoke broken, and the people of the Most High caused once more to triumph. God humbled them that he might exalt them; he suffered his glory for a time to become eclipsed, that he might afterwards cause it to break out with the greater effulgence.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 4:19-22

The wife of Phinehas seems to have been a person of piety. Her dying regret was for the loss of the ark, and the departure of the glory from Israel. What is any earthly joy to her that feels herself dying? No joy but that which is spiritual and divine, will stand in any stead then; death is too serious a thing to admit the relish of any earthly joy. What is it to one that is lamenting the loss of the ark? What…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 4:19-22 →

1 Samuel 4:21 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַתִּקְרָ֣אva.tik.Ra'and she calledH7121

לַנַּ֗עַרla.Na.'ar<to> the ladH5288

אִֽי\־'i-I-H350

כָבוֹד֙kha.Vod-chabodH350

לֵאמֹ֔רle.Mor<to> sayingH559

גָּלָ֥הga.Lahit has gone into exileH1540

כָב֖וֹדkha.VodgloryH3519

מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֑לmi.Yis.ra.'Elfrom IsraelH3478

אֶל\־'el-because ofH413

הִלָּקַח֙hi.la.Kach[the] being taken ofH3947

אֲר֣וֹן'a.Ron[the] ark ofH727

הָאֱלֹהִ֔יםha.'E.lo.Him<the> GodH430

וְאֶל\־ve.'el-and because ofH413

חָמִ֖יהָcha.Mi.hafather-in-law herH2524

וְאִישָֽׁהּ\׃ve.'i.Shahand husband herH376

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 4:21

Psalms 26:8
Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.
Psalms 78:61
And delivered his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy’s hand.
Jeremiah 2:11
Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
Psalms 78:64
Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.
Hosea 9:12
Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!
1 Samuel 4:11
And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
Psalms 106:20
Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

I-chabod. that is, Where is the glory?. or, There is noglory. The glory.
Ps 26:8; 78:61,64; 106:20; Jer 2:11; Ho 9:12

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

1 Samuel 4:20
And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it.
1 Samuel 4:21
And she named the child I–chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband.
1 Samuel 4:22
And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

Read all of 1 Samuel 4

1 Samuel 4:21 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y llamó al niño Ichâbod, diciendo: ¡Traspasada es la gloria de Israel! por el arca de Dios que fué tomada, y porque era muerto su suegro, y su marido.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	et elle appela l’enfant I-Cabod, disant: La gloire s’en est allée d’Israël; – parce que l’arche de Dieu était prise, et à cause de son beau-père et de son mari.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und sie nannte den Knaben Ikabod, indem sie sprach: Die Herrlichkeit ist von Israel gewichen! weil die Lade Gottes genommen war, und wegen ihres Schwiegervaters und ihres Mannes.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et vocabit puerum Ichabod, dicens: Translata est gloria de Israël, quia capta est arca Dei, et pro socero suo et pro viro suo;