Eli

Eli (Hebrew: עֵלִי) was a high priest of Shiloh and one of the last judges of ancient Israel before the monarchy began, as recorded in the Book of 1 Samuel in the Old Testament. Eli governed Israel for forty years.

The name Eli means “my height” or “my exaltation.” Eli the priest was a descendant of Ithamar, Aaron’s youngest son. Eli first appears in the Bible in 1 Samuel chapter 1. Hannah, a childless woman, came to the tabernacle in Shiloh to pray for a son. Eli the priest was sitting on his seat beside the doorpost of the temple. He saw Hannah silently praying, only moving her lips, and thought she was drunk. After understanding her sobriety and the motivation behind her prayer, he blessed her. Shortly after Hannah returned home, she conceived and gave birth to a son, Samuel. After he was weaned, she brought him to the tabernacle and entrusted him to Eli for upbringing and service to God.

Eli’s two sons were wicked men. Although both served as priests, they did not know the LORD and did not follow the regulations of the Law for offering sacrifices. They also lay with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting (1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22). When Eli learned of his sons’ wickedness, he merely admonished them with kind words, failing to sternly rebuke them, and instead allowed them to continue their behavior (1 Samuel 2:22-25). A man of God once came to Eli and prophesied that the LORD God would bring disaster upon Eli and his entire household. Because Eli honored his sons more than he honored the LORD, both of his sons would die by the sword on the same day (1 Samuel 2:27-36). All the men of his household would be killed by the sword before they reached old age, and men from other families would rise to serve as priests. This curse would remain upon Eli’s descendants forever. The sign of this curse would be that his two sons would die on the same day.

Samuel also received a revelation from the LORD concerning God’s impending punishment for Eli’s family (1 Samuel 3:1-4). The LORD, through Samuel, reiterated the curse upon Eli, because “I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the iniquity that he knew, for his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever” (1 Samuel 3:13-14).

Later, in the war between the Israelites and the Philistines, Eli’s two sons were killed on the same day, and the Ark of God was captured. Upon hearing the messenger’s report, Eli fell backward from his chair by the side of the gate, broke his neck, and died. He was ninety-eight years old at the time (1 Samuel 4:12-18).

During King Solomon’s reign, Solomon removed Abiathar, a descendant of Eli, from his priestly office. This fulfilled the word that the LORD had spoken concerning Eli’s house in Shiloh (1 Kings 2:27).