Eli
biblical figure
Quick Summary
Eli was a judge and priest of Israel who was entrusted with the care of the boy Samuel. The sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were depicted as corrupt, misusing their positions at the shrine to take offerings for their own gratification. Because of their failure to heed their father's admonition, the house of Eli was condemned. Eli himself died when he fell backward and broke his neck upon hearing the news of the capture of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines.12
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