The word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
The town of Aphek (cf. 1 Samuel 29:1; New Testament Antipatris, Acts 23:31) stood on the border between Philistine and Israelite territory. It was about 11 miles east and a little north of Joppa (and modern Tel Aviv). Archaeologists have not yet located Ebenezer, but it was obviously close to Aphek and on Israel’s side of the border. It may have been the modern Izbet Sarteh about two miles east of Aphek on the road to Shiloh. [Note: Moshe Kochavi and Aaron Demsky, "An Israelite Village from the Days of the Judges," Biblical Archaeology Review 4:3 (1978):19-21.] 