There ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn, and with earth on his head.
"Eli judged Israel forty years"  (1 Samuel 4:16).  This is the first mention that Eli was a judge of Israel.  The Septuagint (LXX) has "twenty years" here instead of "forty years," but as Keil said, "The Septuagint (LXX) reading does not deserve the slightest attention.  It is perfectly incredible that Eli would have been appointed Judge in Israel at the age of seventy-eight (He was ninety-eight when his judgeship was terminated by his death)."[10]