Battle of Aphek

Battle of Aphek
The battle depicted in Rudolf von Ems' Weltchronik
Location Aphek, Canaan Result Philistine victory Ark of the Covenant captured
Belligerents
Israelites	Philistines
Commanders and leaders
Hophni † Phinehas † (on behalf of judge Eli)	unknown
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
34,000	Light

The Battle of Aphek is a biblical episode described in the First Book of Samuel 4:1–10 of the Hebrew Bible. During this battle the Philistines defeated the Israelite army and captured the Ark of the Covenant. Among biblical scholars, the historicity of the early events in the Books of Samuel is debated, with some scholars leaning toward many events in Samuel being historical, and some scholars leaning towards less.^[1] (See also Biblical minimalism and Biblical maximalism.)