Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 4:12

"And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head." — 1 Samuel 4:12 (ASV)

And there ran a man of Benjamin. —The Rabbinical tradition relates that this messenger was Saul, who snatched from Goliath the tables of the Law taken out of the Ark, in order to save them. The whole of this account is so vivid, and is so full of detail that it must have come from an eyewitness—probably from Samuel himself. These swift runners are still employed to carry news in wartime in the East. In the sacred story we possess several important instances of such messages: for instance, in the account of Absalom’s death, Cushi and Ahimaaz bring the tidings from Joab to King David (2 Samuel 18:21–27).

Asahel, the son of Zeruiah, David’s sister, is mentioned as being famous for his running (2 Samuel 2:18). Elijah, again, we hear, once outran Ahab’s chariot between Carmel and Jezreel. Phidippides, when sent to urge the people of Sparta to come to the help of the Athenians against the Persians, arrived at Sparta on the second day after his departure from Athens (Herodotus, 6:105, 6). Running seems to have been an exercise specially cultivated among the athletes of ancient times.

The torn clothes and the earth upon the head were the usual indications that the news brought by the messenger was evil tidings.