The Philistine captivity of the Ark was an episode described in the biblical history of the Israelites, in which the Ark of the Covenant was in the possession of the Philistines, who had captured it after defeating the Israelites in a battle at a location between Eben-ezer, where the Israelites encamped, and Aphek (probably Antipatris), where the Philistines encamped.
The ark narrative does not include any mention of Samuel; Bill T. Arnold suggests that it is "in order to celebrate the power of Yahweh's ark." Many scholars put 1 Samuel 4 - 6 together with 2 Samuel 6 and believe that it reflects an old source that was eventually incorporated into the History of David's Rise or into the later Deuteronomistic History.
