And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years.
He had judged Israel forty years. In the margin of the King James Version it is stated, 'He seems to have been a judge to do justice only, and that in southwest Israel.' On what grounds this assertion was made does not appear. But it is destitute of foundation; because nowhere are we informed that Eli was invested, as preceding judges, with a merely limited or local jurisdiction-while his filling the office of high priest gave him an authority and influence over the whole country.