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[338]
AND now upon the ill state of the affairs of the Hebrews, they made
war again upon the Philistines. The occasion was this: Eli, the high priest,
had two sons, Hophni and Phineas. These sons of Eli were guilty of injustice
towards men, and of impiety towards God, and abstained from no sort of
wickedness. Some of their gifts they carried off, as belonging to the honorable
employment they had; others of them they took away by violence. They also
were guilty of impurity with the women that came to worship God at the
tabernacle, obliging some to submit to their lust by force, and enticing
others by bribes; nay, the whole course of their lives was no better than
tyranny. Their father therefore was angry at them for such their wickedness,
and expected that God would suddenly inflict his punishments upon them
for what they had done. The multitude took it heinously also. And as soon
as God had foretold what calamity would befall Eli's sons, which he did
both to Eli himself and to Samuel the prophet, who was yet but a child,
he openly showed his sorrow for his sons' destruction.
Flavius Josephus. The Works of Flavius Josephus. Translated by. William Whiston, A.M. Auburn and Buffalo. John E. Beardsley. 1895.
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