When you hear the name "Ichabod," chances are you think of a tale about a headless horseman and Sleepy Hollow. The name originally appears in the Bible, however, and is rooted in a story about one of the greatest disasters to ever befall Israel.
The beginning of I Samuel 4 describes the plight of the Israelites. Going out to fight against the Philistines, they suffer a great loss in battle with four thousand of their men killed (vs. 2). Struggling to understand the meaning of their defeat, they decide that what they really need is to bring the Ark of the Covenant out from Shiloh to the battlefield. Surely, they reason, the presence of God will give them the victory!
The plan starts out well. The Israelites cheer and rejoice when the Ark arrives at their camp, brought by Hophni and Phinehas. The Philistines hear the tumult and begin to fear. They worry: If Israel's god has come into their camp, can they be defeated? With the Israelites exultant and the Philistines quavering, a military victory might be expected.
However, the good news runs out fast. The Philistines once again win the battle. And the news is even worse this time. "There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers" (vs. 10). Not only that, but Hophni and Phinehas were also killed, and the Ark was captured by the Philistines. How could something so spiritually devastating as this be allowed to happen, for the uncircumcised Philistines to bring home Israel's god?
When this news reaches Eli's ears, he is so distraught about the military defeat, his sons' deaths, and especially about the loss of the Ark (something he had been worrying about with a "trembling heart"), he falls over backward and dies from a broken neck. To compound the misery even further, Phinehas' wife goes into labor from all the stress of the day and dies giving birth to a son. The tragedy is marked by the naming of her newborn Ichabod, which means "The glory has departed." With the capture of the Ark and the death of her husband and his family, the glory of God has left the people. What hope is there left for Israel?
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