WATCH: Can the Bible be trusted? A fresh look at the word 'Ebenezer' through the lens of modern research

For well over a century, scholars have raised questions about the reliability of the Bible, casting doubt on its historical and factual accuracy. As a result, even among Evangelicals, confidence in the Bible’s inerrancy has sometimes wavered.

This article is part of a larger series that responds to those challenges by exploring compelling discoveries from a range of disciplines – archaeology, history, literature, cultural studies, natural history, and more.

What emerges is a growing body of evidence that not only supports the coherence of the biblical narrative but reveals how, with every advancement in research, the Bible’s reliability becomes increasingly affirmed rather than undermined.

The word Ebenezer may be familiar to modern readers mostly through hymnals or sermons, yet its origins lie deep within the drama of ancient Israel’s struggles with the Philistines.

In this first installment of our three-part series on the reliability of biblical scripture, we examine the case of Ebenezer – a name that appears only twice in the Bible and has long puzzled scholars and readers alike.

In the well-known hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” we sing:

“Here I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.”

Is Ebenezer an actual place or a parable? Let us read what the Bible has to say about it.

“Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek” (1 Sam 4:1).

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us’” (1 Sam 7:12).

The name Ebenezer appears in two stories in the Book of 1 Samuel. Both stories concern battles between Israel and the Philistines. The Bible does not mention Ebenezer anywhere else. Therefore, some scholars concluded that this is not a literal place, but a figurative name.

Two Hebrew words compose the word Ebenezer – ‘Eben’ meaning stone and ‘Ezer’ meaning help. 1 Samuel 7:12 explains that the name Samuel gave to the place has a symbolic meaning of the “help of the LORD.” Other biblical passages refer to God as a stone or rock. See, for example. Deuteronomy 32:4; Isaiah 26:4, 28:16; Psalms 18:2, and Psalm 118:22.

So, where is Ebenezer located?

Scholars use several methods to identify the geographical location of a biblical site. One is to check if a name from the Bible persists in a modern location’s name. Name continuity is a common phenomenon in Israel. Dozens of Arab villages have preserved biblical names through the ages; to name a few, the Arab village A-Ram preserves Ramah (1 Sam 7:17), or the two villages al-Karmil and Ma’in preserve Carmel and Maon (1 Sam 25:2).

This approach does not help us here. No place that we know of today corresponds to “Ebenezer.” Another way to identify a site is by reading what the Bible itself says about the site’s location. In our case, this method leads to even more confusion. According to scripture, there are two distinct Ebenezers. The one in Chapter 4 is near Aphek, the camping place of the Philistines. Several Egyptian sources and other biblical texts mention Aphek (e.g., Joshua 12:18, 15:53; 1 Samuel 29:1. Aphek was an important city, close to the biggest spring in the area, which flows into the Yarkon River. This identification puts the first Ebenezer from Chapter 4 on the foothills of the mountains of Samaria, where the city of Rosh HaAyin is located today.

The second Ebenezer, found in 1 Samuel Chapter 7, is in a different place. It is “between Mizpah and Shen” (7:12). Although there are some disputes about where exactly Mizpah and Shen are, most scholars agree they are in the land of Benjamin, a few kilometers north of Jerusalem and about fifty kilometers southeast of the first Ebenezer from Chapter 4.

So why are there two places, and are they actual sites?

This duality serves the message of the Book of 1 Samuel. In Chapter 4, the sons of Israel start the battle from a place whose name promises protection from God: Ebenezer – the stone of help. Israel put their trust in an object – the Ark of the Covenant. They believed that bringing the Ark from the tabernacle in Shiloh to the battle would assure their victory over the Philistines (4:3). The result was shocking: not only were they defeated, with thirty thousand people killed, including the two sons of Eli, the high priest, but the Philistines captured the Ark (4:11).

Chapter 7 shows us the way of repentance and acknowledging sin. The Israelites turned back to the LORD (7:2). They threw away all idols that they had (7:4). They fasted and confessed their sins (7:6). The people still trembled with fear, so Samuel sacrificed a lamb to the LORD and cried out to God on their behalf.  

Even though the Ark was missing and was in the hands of the enemy, on that day, Israel defeated the Philistines.

“Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.’” (7:12)

Two locations, one message: God helps Israel when they listen to Him. However, when they put their trust in an object – the Ark and the worship of idols – and are reluctant to turn to God, they face defeat.

The question remains: Is there a place called Ebenezer?

Between 1976-1978, Moshe Kochavi and Israel Finkelstein from Tel Aviv University, together with Moshe Garciel from Bar-Ilan University, began excavations in a small site between Rosh HaAyin and Kafr Qasim called Izbet Sartah. They discovered ruins of a small village dating to the early Iron Age and identified the location as an Israeli site from the 12th to the 10th centuries B.C. This is the period which begins with the Israelite conquest of Canaan, through the time of the Judges until King David. From the small hill where the site is located, we can easily see the springs of Yarkon and ancient Tel Aphek, just three kilometers southwest.

Can we identify Izbet Sartah with the biblical Ebenezer? Archaeologists cannot say for sure. There isn’t enough evidence to affirm this. Is this the place where the Israelites camped, preparing for battle against the Philistines, and to which they carried the Ark from Shiloh? It is hard to say. 

We can say, though, that an Israelite village existed at that site during the period of Samuel. The village's name remains unknown to us. If it were called Ebenezer, we don’t know. Whether another village nearby was called Ebenezer is likewise possible.

One thing is clear: The land's geography reflects the biblical story. When we visit the site, we can easily imagine the battle that took place downhill between the Philistines and the Israelites, ending with the Ark of the Covenant being taken into exile by the enemy.

Stay tuned for Part Two in this three-part series exploring the reliability of biblical scripture.