The man said to Eli, I am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army. He said, How went the matter, my son?
This was probably the time when Shiloh, the religious centre of the nation, was destroyed (Psalms 78:60-61; Jeremiah 7:12,Jeremiah 7:14; Jeremiah 26:6). But the priests managed to escape to Nob, taking with them whatever they could of the house of God (see 21:1-6; 22:18-19; 1 Kings 8:4).