Meaning of the Name Eli
Eli is most often explained from Hebrew as meaning "my God," though some discussions connect it with roots involving height or exaltation. Because it is a short form, its linguistic analysis is not entirely one-dimensional. Even so, the most common and natural explanation is "my God."
Origin
The name Eli is of Hebrew origin.
Who is Eli in the Bible?
Eli is the priest who serves at Shiloh and becomes Samuel's spiritual mentor in his childhood. In 1 Samuel he is remembered both for his weakness in dealing with the wickedness of his sons and for his sorrowful response to the word of the Lord; other bearers of the name exist, but this priest is the best known.
The story of Eli in the Bible
Eli is the priest serving at the sanctuary in Shiloh, introduced at the opening of 1 Samuel. As Hannah weeps and prays there over her childlessness, Eli watches from his seat by the doorpost; he first mistakes her for a drunken woman and rebukes her, but on learning her sorrow he sends her away in peace with a blessing. When Hannah keeps her vow, young Samuel grows up at Shiloh under Eli's care, and it is Eli who teaches the boy how to answer when the LORD calls him in the night. Yet Eli's own sons, Hophni and Phinehas, abuse their priestly office; Eli knows it but fails to restrain them, and a heavy judgment is pronounced on his house, which he accepts with submission. His final scene is a sad one: hearing that his two sons have died in battle with the Philistines and that the ark of God has been captured, he falls backward from his seat, breaks his neck, and dies, having led Israel forty years. He is remembered as the priest who raised Samuel.
Is Eli mentioned in the Quran?
The name Eli is not mentioned by this name in the Quran; in the Bible he is known from 1 Samuel as the priest at Shiloh and the childhood mentor of Samuel.
Verses where Eli appears
- 1 Samuel 1:9 —
So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of Yahweh’s temple.
- 1 Samuel 3:13 —
For I have told him that I will judge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didn’t restrain them.
- 1 Samuel 4:18 —
When he made mention of the ark of God, Eli fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck broke, and he died; for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.