| Battle of Aphek | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofPhilistine-Israelite wars | |||||
 The battle depicted inRudolf von Ems'Weltchronik | |||||
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| Belligerents | |||||
| Israelites | Philistines | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Hophni † Phinehas † (on behalf of judgeEli) | unknown | ||||
| Strength | |||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 34,000 | Light | ||||
TheBattle of Aphek is a biblical episode described in theFirst Book of Samuel4:1–10 of theHebrew Bible. During this battle thePhilistines defeated theIsraelite army and captured theArk of the Covenant. Among biblical scholars, the historicity of the early events in theBooks of Samuel is debated, with some scholars leaning toward many events in Samuel being historical, and some scholars leaning towards less.[1] (See alsoBiblical minimalism andBiblical maximalism.)
TheBook of Samuel records that the Philistines were camped atAphek and the Israelites atEben-Ezer. The Philistines defeated the Israelites during the first battle, killing 4,000 Israelites. The Israelites then brought up the Ark of the Covenant fromShiloh, thinking that through this "they should have the presence of God with them, and so success",[2] but the Philistines again defeated the Israelites, this time killing 30,000 and capturing the Ark.
Samuel records that the two sons of the judgeEli,Hophni and Phinehas, died that day, as well as Eli. "And it came to pass, when [a messenger] made mention of the ark of God, that [Eli] fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate, and hisneck broke, and he died; for he was an old man, and heavy. And he hadjudged Israel forty years." (1 Samuel 4:18)
Most scholars agree that there were more than one Aphek.C. R. Conder identified the Aphek of Eben-Ezer[3] with a ruin (Khirbet) some 3.7 miles (6 km) distant fromDayr Aban (believed to be Eben-Ezer[4]), and known by the nameMarj al-Fikiya; the nameal-Fikiya being an Arabic corruption of Aphek.[5]Eusebius, when writing about Eben-ezer in hisOnomasticon, says that it is "the place from which the Gentiles seized the Ark, between Jerusalem and Ascalon, near the village of Bethsamys (Beit Shemesh)",[6] a locale that corresponds with Conder's identification.
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