Philistine Capture of the Ark
F. 21r of the Morgan bible depicts the fall of the house of Eli and the capture of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines, written in 1 Samuel 4-5. In the upper register, Eli's sons are slain as they and the other Israelites chaotically flee the Philistines, moving towards the left. Beneath the horses' hooves, their bodies, pierced with arrows and swords, lay trampled and bleeding. The figures on horseback also display multiple bloody wounds and one figure leans forward as an enemy battle ax cleaves through his helmet. One the right half, the victors triumphantly carry away the Ark of the Covenant. The bottom register depicts the death of Eli upon receiving the news of his sons' deaths. A messenger emerges from the left with the sad message. Eli, so distressed from the pronouncement, falls back in his chair, snapping his neck as the figures behind him gaze upon the scene in distress. The right half of the register illustrates the ominious effect of placing the Ark upon the altar of the Philistine god, Baal. When the soldiers lay the Ark on the flat surface, the statue of Baal breaks in half and falls to the ground to signify God's displeasure.
The Psalter extends the story across two folios. The left half of f. 69v portrays the death of Eli's sons in the battle with the Philistines. The action is much more condensed than that in the Morgan bible; only eight combatants are pictured. In addition, the violence is very restrained, with only one figure preparing to bring his sword down upon the victim's head. Directly behind the fighting pair, the Philistine's carry off the box-shaped Ark. On the right half of the folio, Eli receives the news of his sons' deaths and falls back in his chair in a similar manner to the Morgan folio.
The entirety of F. 70r is dedicated to the Philistine possession of the Ark. On the left, the Philistines place the ark upon the altar of Baal, at the feet of the idol of the god. On the right, the idol has broken and fallen to the ground. The Philistines huddle outside the temple, looking in with fear at the disturbing scene inside. By separating the destruction of the idol of Baal from the Israelite and Philistine battle, the Psalter emphasises the consequences of incuring God's wrath and stresses the importance of piously following His commands. In contrast, the Morgan bible highlights the military defeat of Eli's sinful sons by allotting a large amount of space and attention to the violent event.