Ebenezer(eben ezer)
“Stone of help”
Summary
A memorial stone set up by Samuel after Israel's victory over the Philistines, marking the place where God gave help and commemorating His faithfulness with the declaration 'Hitherto has the Lord helped us.'
☩Historical Context
Twenty years before Samuel erected this memorial, the same location witnessed one of Israel's greatest disasters. There the Hebrew armies were routed, Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas were slain, and the sacred ark was captured by the Philistines. The earlier mention of Ebenezer in the narrative anticipates its later naming. After the ark's return and years of Philistine oppression, Samuel gathered Israel at Mizpah for repentance and prayer. When the Philistines attacked, God thundered with a great voice and threw them into confusion, and Israel pursued them with a great slaughter.
☩The Memorial Stone
After this decisive victory, Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpeh and Shen, naming it Ebenezer—'stone of help.' His declaration 'Hitherto has the Lord helped us' acknowledged that the victory came from divine intervention, not human strength. The site was carefully defined by two landmarks: Mizpeh ('the watchtower'), one of the conspicuous hills north of Jerusalem, and Shen ('the tooth' or 'crag'), apparently an isolated rocky landmark. The expression 'Ebenezer' has entered common usage as a way of acknowledging God's faithful help through past difficulties.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Ebenezer," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. III (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Ebenezer," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Ebenezer," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).