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Place

Ebenezer

Site of Israel's catastrophic defeat and loss of the ark to the Philistines, and later the place of their decisive victory where Samuel raised a memorial stone called Ebenezer.

site of Israelite and Philistine battles1 Bible book3 chapters3 verse appearances

What and where is this?

Ebenezer is a site in Israel associated with two pivotal encounters with the Philistines. In 1 Samuel 4, the encamp at Ebenezer before being defeated twice by the Philistines at Aphek, with four thousand men killed in the first battle and thirty thousand in the second; in that second rout the ark of the covenant is captured. Decades later, after Israel repents under Samuel's leadership, the LORD throws the Philistines into confusion at the same location (1 Sam 7:10–12). Samuel commemorates the victory by setting up a stone and naming it Ebenezer — 'Stone of Help' — saying, 'Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.'

People, places, and events in this story

These connections are explicitly linked in this entity's source description.

Places in this story

Modern location: Izbet Sartah. Coordinates from OpenBible.info.

Where this appears in Scripture

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Key passages

All appearances3