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''''Eben-Ezer''' ({{lang-he|אבן העזר}}, ''Even Ha'Ezer'', lit. ''stone of help''), is the name of a location that is mentioned by the [[Books of Samuel]] as the scene of battles between the [[Israelites]] and [[Philistines]]. It is specified as having been less than a day's journey by foot from [[Shiloh (Bible)|Shiloh]], near [[Aphek (biblical)|Aphek]], in the neighbourhood of [[Mizpah in Benjamin|Mizpah]], near the western entrance of the pass of [[Beth-horon]]. However, its location has not been identified in modern times with much certainty, with some identifying it with [[Beit Iksa]], and others with [[Dier Aban]]. == Historical mentions == It appears in the Books of Samuel in two narratives: *in the first narrative (1 Samuel 4:1b-11), the Philistines defeat the Israelites, even though the Israelites brought the [[ark of the covenant]] onto the battlefield in hope of it bringing them a divinely assured victory. As a result of the Philistine victory and the ark's presence on the battlefield, [[Philistine captivity of the Ark|it was captured by the Philistines]], and not returned until many weeks later. *in the second narrative (1 Samuel 7:2b-14), the Israelites defeat the Philistines, after Samuel has offered a sacrifice. Samuel puts up a stone in memorial and names it ''Eben-Ezer'' (the placename in the previous narrative resulting from this). == Interpretations == According to some modern [[textual criticism|textual scholars]], the second narrative is a [[redaction]], added by a later editor, probably the [[deuteronomist]],<ref>{{JewishEncyclopedia}}</ref> probably to explain away what is in reality an earlier sanctuary that featured a stone as a [[Fetishism|fetish]] of [[Yahweh]] (such sanctuaries are found in the [[Canaan]]ite archaeological record).<ref>[[Israel Finkelstein]], [[The Bible Unearthed]]''</ref> The first narrative is considered to come from a ''sanctuaries narrative'' (1 Samuel 4:1-7:1) that recounts the tale of the Ark's captivity, and perhaps was originally more extensive in its details about the Ark's travels (possibly including the narratives found elsewhere about [[Araunah]]'s threshing floor, and the death of [[Uzziah]]). This first passage abruptly interrupts the narrative flow of the story of Samuel, which would read more naturally, in the eyes of textual scholars, if the text went straight from 1 Samuel 3:21 to 1 Samuel 7:17 <ref>Jewish Encyclopedia, ''Books of Samuel''</ref>. == Modern-day placement == It is currently accepted among Israeli archaeologists and historians to place the Eben-Ezer of the first narrative in the immediate neighborhood of modern-day [[Kafr Qasim]], near [[Antipatris]], while the second battle's location is deemed to be insufficiently well-defined in the Biblical text. <!-- how do I properly ref. the Heb Wikipedia article here? that's my main source --> == Other meanings == The name Eben-Ezer also means "God has led us thus far" or "Thus far God has helped us" according to 1 Samuel 7:12 == See also == *[[Song of Moses]] == References == {{Reflist}} {{Ark of the Covenant}} [[Category:Hebrew Bible places]] [[Category:Books of Samuel]] [[de:Eben-Ezer]] [[fr:Eben Ezer]] [[he:עזבת צרטה]] [[nl:Eben-Haëzer]] [[pt:Eben-Ezer]] [[fi:Ebeneser]] [[zh:以便以谢]]'