Cheshvan 3- All Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook…

Cheshvan 3, 5785; from sunset November 3, 2024, to sunset November 4, 2024

(The third day of the eighth month)

This is the name “Shemu’el” (שְׁמוּאֵל – Samuel) as seen in the Aleppo Codex, written over one thousand years ago.

We’re picking up the story of the Israelites and the Philistines from where we left off last week. Once again, we don’t know the exact date, but it likely occurred sometime in the autumn. Israel had been routed at the battle at Ebenezer; four thousand of her men died there. They returned to camp, licking their wounds, wondering why the LORD had allowed defeat. Then, a light bulb came on! (Or rather, “an ember flared up?”) They formulated a plan to go to Shiloh and bring the Ark of the Covenant to the camp – hoping it would save them from the hand of their enemies.

So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. And when the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook.

Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the Ark of the LORD had come into the camp. So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight! – 1 Samuel 4:4-9 (NKJ)

Though hundreds of years had passed since God performed His mighty wonders to deliver Israel from her bondage in Egypt, His exploits were still known and feared by the Philistines. Even so, they mustered their courage to face the fight ahead of them.

There are some interesting Hebrew words found throughout the story of the Israelites, the Philistines, and the Ark of the Covenant. Let’s take a look at a two of them now… “teruah” and “gedolah.”

תְּרוּעָה גְדוֹלָה

The word “teruah” (תְּרוּעָה) comes to us from the root word “rua” (רוּעַ) which means “to shout, raise a noise, or cry out.” It’s really about the sound that is made, whether it’s a shout or a trumpet blast.

Gedolah (גְדוֹלָה) is an adjective that comes to us from the root word “gadal” (גָּדַד), meaning “to be or become great, to grow, to do great things.”

A “teruah gedolah” is a “great shout” or a “great noise.”

Now let’s plug these words into the text.

And when the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly (teruah gedolah – a great shout) that the earth shook. Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout (teruah), they said, “What does the sound of this great shout (teruah gedolah) in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the Ark of the LORD had come into the camp. – 1 Samuel 4:5-6

You may be thinking that the word “teruah” sounds familiar. If you’ve been following us, you may remember learning about the Feast of Trumpets on the first day of the month of Tishrei. The Hebrew, which is often translated as “Feast of Trumpets,” is actually “Yom Teruah” (Day of Shouting) or “Zichron Teruah” (A Remembering Shout or Blast). During the Feast of Trumpets, it is a tradition to blow the shofar using three types of sounds: The tekiah, the shevarim, and the teruah. The teruah blast is a series of very short, staccato sounds that have been compared to an urgent alarm, meant to rouse one.

Perhaps the text is giving us a hint that our Today in the Bible story should actually be dated to the first day of the seventh month – Yom Teruah?

Join us again tomorrow when we’ll learn how the next battle turns out and about the birth of Ichabod. We’ll revisit the words “kisse” and “chavod” – our focus from a few days ago.

To read all of our posts on Samuel, the Philistines, and the Ark of the Covenant, click on the name Shemu’el above.