What Is an Ebenezer in the Bible?
Short answer
An Ebenezer is a marker set up to remember help already received. The name is commonly translated 'stone of help.' In 1 Samuel 7:12, Samuel sets a stone between Mizpeh and Shen, names it Ebenezer, and says, 'Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.'
The question comes from one verse in 1 Samuel and one line in a hymn. The Scripture quotations use the King James Version (KJV).
A Praying Christian Women podcast episode also uses this phrase. It is titled 'Here I Raise My Ebenezer: Creating Tangible Reminders of God's Faithfulness,' and it is one reason readers meet the term.
The Short Answer in the Text
An Ebenezer is a marker set up to remember help already received. The word appears in 1 Samuel 7:12 in the King James Version (KJV), where Samuel sets up a stone and names it. The verse describes two things in one sentence.
Samuel takes a stone and sets it in a place, and he gives the stone a name. The name is tied to a sentence he speaks. A reader who wants to know what an Ebenezer is can start with that verse, because it shows the act and states the reason for it.
The verse is short. It does not describe a ceremony, a prayer, or a second stone. It records one stone, one name, and one saying.
The Stone Between Mizpeh and Shen
The verse places the stone between two locations, Mizpeh and Shen. It gives those two names and no other description of either place. The stone is the only object the verse describes. The verse does not mention an inscription, a carving, or a size.
Samuel is the one who takes the stone and sets it. The verse does not say who else was present or who watched. Readers who picture the scene can keep to the facts in the text: a stone, a place between two named locations, a man who names the stone, and a sentence he says.
The Name Ebenezer and Stone of Help
The name is commonly translated 'stone of help.' The Hebrew is eben ha-ezer. Samuel names the stone, and the saying states the LORD helped us up to that point.
What Hitherto Means in the Verse
Hitherto means up to this point. The saying 'Hitherto hath the LORD helped us' looks back over the help given until the moment Samuel speaks. It names the help already given.
It does not say what the LORD will do next. Because the word points to a point in time, the saying works as a report on the past. A reader who wants to understand an Ebenezer should keep that in view: the stone records help up to a point, and the verse stops there.
Memorial Stones at the Jordan in Joshua 4
Joshua 4 describes a related marker. In the King James Version, Joshua 4:6-7 reads: 'That this may be a sign among you... these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.' The passage gives the reason for the stones. When children ask what the stones mean, the answer is that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
The stones point to that event. The passage does not use the name Ebenezer, but it uses the same idea: a physical marker set up so that a past act of help stays in view. Set side by side, the two passages show the same pattern.
Each marks something the LORD did, and each gives a reason the marker is there. The Jordan passage uses the word memorial. The stone at Mizpeh and Shen gets the name Ebenezer.
The Hymn Line Here I Raise Mine Ebenezer
The hymn 'Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing' has the line 'Here I raise mine Ebenezer.' Robert Robinson wrote the hymn text in 1758. The line uses the name from 1 Samuel 7:12, which is the link between the hymn and the verse.
The line is one reason readers ask what the term means. A Praying Christian Women podcast episode uses the same phrase as its title, 'Here I Raise My Ebenezer: Creating Tangible Reminders of God's Faithfulness.'
What an Ebenezer Does Not Promise
An Ebenezer looks back. The verse records help up to the time of the saying, and the stone marks that help. The verse does not promise that help will come again in the same way, at the same time, or through the same means.
Reading an Ebenezer as a guarantee goes beyond the text. A marker for past help tells a reader what has been given. It does not tell a reader what will be given next.
This matters for anyone who uses the practice in a hard season. Remembering past help is the purpose of the marker, and the marker does not promise an outcome for the season ahead.
Ways Readers Mark Help Received Today
The text records one stone and one saying. It does not give a method for modern readers, so any practice today is a choice the reader makes. The options below are examples of how someone can mark help. None of them is required.
One option is a written list of help received, kept in one place. A second is a dated journal entry for a moment when help was noticed. Readers who want to keep a journal can start with [How to Start a Prayer Journal](/prayers/library/how-to-start-a-prayer-journal). A third is a physical object placed where it can be seen.
Pick the option that fits your life. Whatever the choice, the verse's pattern is to name help that has already come.
What to Do When Help Is Hard to Remember
Some seasons make it hard to name any help at all. If you cannot think of help in a painful season, start with one small thing you noticed, even if it seems minor. A hard season does not make this practice a failure. If the difficulty is grief or low mood, talk with a pastor or counselor.
Reaching out to one of them is a good step when you feel stuck. Readers who wonder why help does not always arrive as they expect can read [Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers?](/answers/why-doesnt-god-answer-my-prayers). If you want to try this yourself, read 1 Samuel 7:12 again and write down one instance of help you can name.
Key Bible verses
- Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us. — 1 Samuel 7:12
- That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. — Joshua 4:6-7
Frequently asked questions
What does Ebenezer mean?
Ebenezer is commonly translated 'stone of help.' The Hebrew is eben ha-ezer. In 1 Samuel 7:12, Samuel names a stone Ebenezer, saying that the LORD helped us up to that point.
Where is Ebenezer in the Bible?
The name appears in 1 Samuel 7:12 in the King James Version. Joshua 4:6-7 describes stones at the Jordan as a memorial, but the passage quoted there does not use the name Ebenezer.
What does "Here I raise mine Ebenezer" mean in the hymn?
The line uses the name from 1 Samuel 7:12. The hymn 'Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing' has this line, and Robert Robinson wrote the text in 1758.
Is an Ebenezer a promise?
No. The verse looks back to help given up to the point of the saying. It does not state what will come after that point, and it does not promise that help will come again in the same way.
How can I make a modern Ebenezer?
The text gives no method for modern readers. Options include a written list of help received, a dated journal entry, or a physical object placed where they can see it. Each option is optional.
Is the Ebenezer in the hymn the same as the Ebenezer in 1 Samuel?
The hymn line uses the same name, and it draws on the stone Samuel set up in 1 Samuel 7:12. The hymn text by Robert Robinson is from 1758, and the name itself comes from the verse.