Eli the High Priest עלי הכהן
High Priest at Shiloh and judge of Israel
Eli served at Shiloh, where the Mishkan had stood for nearly four centuries; he was High Priest and judged Israel for forty years.
Two opposite scenes belong to him. In the first he sees a woman's lips moving without sound and takes her for a drunk; hearing Chana's explanation, he blesses her — and Shmuel is born, brought to the sanctuary for life. It is Eli who teaches the boy how to answer the voice in the night: «Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.»
The second scene is the verdict on his own house. His sons Chofni and Pinchas abused the service, seizing sacrificial meat by force; Eli remonstrated but did not stop them. The sages say he was punished not for their sin but for failing to restrain them. Hearing the sentence from a child's mouth, he answered without argument: «He is the Lord; let Him do what is good in His eyes.»
In 2871 the Philistines routed Israel at Even ha-Ezer, both sons fell and the Ark was captured. Eli, blind and ninety-eight, fell backwards and died.