EBENEZER (I SAMUEL 7:12)

One classic hymn I always had my doubts about was “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” It contains the obscure line: “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I'm come.” I was never sure what my Ebenezer consisted of and whether I would be comfortable raising it, especially in church. But now I have looked into it and found the following, in case you happen to be curious. The word appears only three times in the Bible (all in I Samuel 4-7) and the Hebrew literally translates as “stone of the help.” It was erected by Samuel to commemorate a victory over the Philistines. Because it is such an obscure reference, modern hymn versions have changed the words to “Here I raise my sign of victory” instead. Probably a well-needed change as far as I am concerned.

Here is the biblical background to this reference. The first mention of 'Ebenezer' appears in I Samuel 4:1 where it is the name of the town at which the Israelite troops encamped before engaging in battle with the nearby Philistine army. The Jews were badly defeated at that encounter, and the ark of the covenant was even captured by the enemy. The Philistines next transport the ark to Ashdod from 'Ebenezer' (the second appearance of the word, I Samuel 5:1).

The Philistines returned the ark to Israel after it had wreaked havoc on their populace, and twenty years later the Israelites prepared to defend themselves against another Philistine attack. This time the battle took place at Mizpah, and the Jews are victorious because they relied on God to save them. In commemoration of this event, they set up a remembrance stone near Mizpah, and Samuel named it “Ebenezer.”

Regarding this general custom, The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery remarks that “stone is strong and seems, at least from the vantage point of a human life span, unaffected by time. This makes it suitable to bear God's words (Ex 24:12), to make boundary markers (Josh 15:6) or to form commemorations of covenants or events (Gen 31:45-54; Ex 24:4; I Sam 6:18; 7:12)...” And Meier adds, “The vb.['set up'] figures prominently in describing the spatial requisites of the cult. One sets up idols...in the same way that one puts into place legitimate cultic monuments (Gen 28:18,22; I Sam 7:12).” There appear to be two general ways of explaining the name given to the stone.

Underlying Hebrew Meaning of Ebenezer

The first approach concentrates solely on the meaning of the word “Ebenezer.” Thus, Baldwin says, “Samuel's stone recalled not the names of the the dead but the living Lord God, the Helper of his people. Ebenezer means 'a stone of help' or 'stone of the Helper', a name frequently applied to the Lord (e.g. the refrain 'He is their help and their shield' in Ps. 115:9-11).”

Murphy: “Samuel does one thing that, as he saw it, was as good as raising a standing army to match the Philistines: Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer...Augustine interprets Samuel's comment in relation to etymology: he thinks Ebenezer meant 'stone of the helper.' For Augustine, the stone, set up on the new border between the Philistine and the Israelite settlement, represents the choice of direction the Israelite had to make: a 'material kingdom' or authentic happiness 'in the kingdom of heaven.'”

Reference to a Place-Name

“Sometimes stones were named for events that took place at the site or for a nearby village, like Samuel's 'stone of help' (eben ha'azer, I Sam 7:12; cf. Gen 28:18; 35:14-15; Josh 18:17; I Sam 20:19).” (Hill)

The problem with that explanation is that the victorious battle took place near Mizpah, And as Porter points out, the Ebenezer “cannot be the Ebenezer of 4:1, which is much too far from Mizpah.” That opens the door to several alternative explanations:

Way: “The stone was probably given the same name as the site of Israel's earlier defeat [see I Samuel 4:1-22] in order to encourage the impression that that defeat had now been reversed. The exact site of the stone is unknown.”

Payne: “Although the sites cannot be precisely identified, it is possible that the earlier Philistine victory (4:1f) occurred near a different Ebenezer. If so, Samuel deliberately gave the name in view of its meaning, to the new battle-site.”

McCarter: “The relationship of this Ebenezer, located N of Mizpah, to the site of the great battle in c. 4 is problematic...But it is clear that a certain symmetry is intended between the two battles of Ebenezer...” As partial confirmation of the “certain symmetry,” consider the organization of the section (defended in my post “Samuel-Kings: Introduction to the Literary Structure”) in which both of these battles are described :

Figure 1: Organization of I Samuel 1-7

            1. Samuel’s family from Ramah worships God; Eli's prayer is answered (1:1-23)

                        2. Samuel is brought to the priest Eli (1:24-28)

3. Hannah and Eli (2:1-20)

4. Prophecy against Eli’s house (2:21-4:1a)

4'. Eli’s house is destroyed (4:1b-6:12)

3'. The people and the ark (6:13-20)

2'. Ark brought to the priest Abinadab (6:21-7:2)

1'. Worship of God; Samuel’s prayers are answered and he returns to Ramah (7:3-17)

The first mention of Ebenezer is found at the exact center of this symmetrical literary organization (v. 4:1), and the last appears almost at the end of the final section 1'. According to the rules of rhetoric, these two spots, along with the opening words, are generally where the most important information is placed.

Conclusion

But there is really no reason to make a choice between these two alternative explanations for Ebenezer, as pointed out by Tsumura:

“There is also a town or city by that name located near Aphek, where Israel was earlier defeated by the Philistines (4:1; 5:1), but there is no reason to identify these as one and the same. Perhaps Samuel named the stone after the place-name 'Ebenezer' with the earlier experience in chs. 4-5 in mind so that the people might always be reminded of God's special help ('ezer) in this time and at this place. The name 'the stone Ezer' is not unusual as a place-name, and it is certainly a reminder of God's powerful intervention in the history of Israel as well as her former failure at the other 'Ebenezer.'”