What does 1 Samuel 4:12 mean?

The second battle between the Israelites and the Philistines became a slaughter. The Hebrew term 'eleph can mean "thousands" or "clans, divisions, or units." Eight such measures were killed in the first battle, and a further thirty in the second. The Israelite forces have been thoroughly routed (1 Samuel 4:2, 10). Even worse for the Israelites who put so much confidence in God to save them through the ark of the covenant (1 Samuel 4:3), that same ark had been captured by the enemy. The two sons of the high priest had been killed (1 Samuel 4:11).

Someone had to tell Eli what had happened. A runner was dispatched with the news. The man from the tribe of Benjamin had to cover almost the length of an athletic marathon race to bring his report from Ebenezer (1 Samuel 4:1) to the old priest at the tabernacle in Shiloh.

The runner arrives with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. These were normal signs of grieving in Israel and throughout the region in this era. Putting dirt on one's head may have been a way of identifying with those who had died and would be buried (2 Samuel 1:2; 13:19; 15:32; Job 2:12).