Phinehas’s wife named her son Ichabod because, she said, “The glory has departed from Israel.” She linked it to the capture of the ark and the deaths in Eli’s house. 1 Samuel 4:21–22
In 1 Samuel 4:19–22, Phinehas’s pregnant wife hears catastrophic news: the ark has been taken and her husband and father-in-law are dead. The shock triggers labor, and she gives birth as she herself is dying. Though the women around her try to comfort her with the birth of a son, she does not respond. This scene closes the larger disaster report of Israel’s battle with the Philistines in 1 Samuel 4:1–22. Earlier, Israel treats the ark as the decisive factor for victory, but the battle ends in defeat, heavy losses, the deaths of Hophni and Phinehas, and the ark’s seizure.
This short scene gives the final human voice in the chapter’s disaster report (1 Samuel 4:1–22). Phinehas’ wife hears that the ark has been taken and that her husband and father-in-law have died. The shock is narrated as triggering labor; she gives birth while dying. When others try to comfort her with the news that she has a son, she does not respond.
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with 1 Samuel 4:21-22, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
21She named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel; because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
22She said, The glory is departed from Israel; for the ark of God is taken.