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1 Samuel 1

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Elkanah and His Family at Ramah 1–8

1
Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: ​
2
And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. ​
3
And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. ​
4
And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:
5
But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. ​
6
And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb. ​
7
And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
8
Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? ​

Hannah’s Vow and Prayer 9–18

9
So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. ​
10
And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
11
And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. ​
12
And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.
13
Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. ​
14
And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
15
And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. ​
16
Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
17
Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. ​
18
And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.

God Grants Hannah a Son 19–21

19
And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her. ​
20
Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD. ​
21
And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.

Dedication of Samuel to the Lord 22–28

22
But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide for ever. ​
23
And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.
24
And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young. ​
25
And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.
26
And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. ​
27
For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:
28
Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Samuel 1

Verse 1

an Ephrathite — Ephrathi is read here as one of Ephraim (mount Ephraim was his home); some take it of Ephratah, Bethlehem. Ramathaimzophim (Ramathayim, 'double height') is the Ramah of v.19. A matching line, Elkanah, Jeroham, Eliel, Toah, stands among 'the sons of the Kohathites' in 1 Chr 6:33–34, with 'Heman a singer': a Levite family living in Ephraim.

Verse 2

Hannah… Peninnah — Channah means 'favoured', from the root of chen, favour. Her lot is that of Sarai, 'Sarai was barren; she had no child' (Gen 11:30), and of Rachel, 'but Rachel was barren' (Gen 29:31). Peninnah, with children, held the place Hannah lacked.

Verse 3

LORD of hosts — Yhwh tsebaoth, the LORD of armies, appears here for the first time in Scripture, and Hannah uses it in v.11. 'Yearly' is literally 'from days to days'. The sons 'Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD' are named at the place of worship; both are slain when the ark is taken (4:11).

Verse 5

a worthy portion — Manah is a share weighed out, here of the sacrificial meal, as in 'Bring the portion which I gave thee' (9:23). The Hebrew behind 'worthy' (aph) is ordinarily 'nose' or 'face'. 'Shut up' is sagar, to close; Gen 20:18 says of wombs, 'fast closed up all the wombs', with another verb, atsar.

Verse 6

her adversary — Tsarah is a rival wife, from the root of trouble. 'Provoked her sore' joins ka'as, vexation, with 'fret' (ra'am, to be violently agitated; the same word is used of thunder). The cause is stated twice, in vv.5 and 6: 'the LORD had shut up her womb'.

Verse 8

better to thee than ten sons — Elkanah asks four questions: why she weeps, why she does not eat (as in v.7), why her heart is grieved, and whether he is not better than ten sons. The comparison is of the kind in Ruth 4:15, where the women say Ruth is 'better to thee than seven sons'.

Verse 9

a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD — Heykal, 'temple', is the sanctuary at Shiloh, where 'the ark of God was' (3:3). 'Post' is mezuzah, the word for the doorposts of Deut 6:9, and 'seat' is kisse, the word for a throne, the same word used when Eli 'fell from off the seat backward' (4:18).

Verse 11

remember me, and not forget — The vow (neder) pairs 'remember' (zakar) with 'forget' (shakach), and God 'remembered her' in v.19. 'Man child' is literally 'seed of men'. 'No razor' is the mark of the Nazarite (Num 6:5), as with the child of Judg 13:5, who was to be 'a Nazarite unto God from the womb'.

Verse 13

she spake in her heart — Her prayer is speech to herself, with only the lips quivering (nua) and no voice. Abraham's servant likewise prayed 'speaking in mine heart' (Gen 24:45). Eli takes it for drunkenness (shikkor); the speakers at Pentecost were likewise taken for drinkers, 'full of new wine' (Acts 2:13).

Verse 15

poured out my soul before the LORD — Shaphak is to pour or spill out, as of blood or a libation. Ps 62:8 gives the same figure, 'pour out your heart before him'. 'Sorrowful' is qasheh, hard or heavy. She states what she has not done: 'I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink'.

Verse 17

Go in peace — Shalom, the word of farewell, as in Judg 18:6 and Mark 5:34. Eli's wish, 'the God of Israel grant thee thy petition', uses she'elah, a petition, from sha'al, to ask: the root of 'asked' in the same verse, of Samuel's naming in v.20, and of 'lent' in v.28.

Verse 19

the LORD remembered her — The same verb (zakar) as 'remember me' in v.11. The LORD 'remembered' Rachel too: 'God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb' (Gen 30:22). The household first 'worshipped before the LORD' in the morning, then came 'to their house to Ramah'.

Verse 20

Samuel — Shemu'el, 'heard of God' by its elements (shama, to hear; El, God). Hannah's reason, 'Because I have asked him of the LORD', uses sha'al, to ask, the verb that returns in v.28. The mother names the child, as Leah did Reuben at 'the LORD hath looked upon my affliction' (Gen 29:32).

Verse 22

until the child be weaned — Weaning was marked by a feast, as for Isaac: 'Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned' (Gen 21:8). Hannah stays at home until then. 'Abide for ever' (olam) restates the vow of v.11, 'all the days of his life'; 2:11 shows it kept: 'the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli'.

Verse 24

three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine — The offering follows the law for a vow: a bullock 'for a sacrifice in performing a vow' (Num 15:8), with flour and wine (Num 15:9–10). The 'bottle' is a nebel, a skin bag for liquids. The place is again 'the house of the LORD in Shiloh'.

Verse 26

as thy soul liveth — A formula of oath, 'as thy life lives', used also in 1 Sam 17:55; 20:3; 2 Kgs 2:2. She names herself by the scene of v.12–16: 'the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD'. The child she brings is the petition Eli wished granted in v.17.

Verse 28

I have lent him — Sha'al again, the verb of 'asked' in v.20 and 'petition' in v.17: the child asked for is the child returned. It is said twice, 'I have lent him… he shall be lent', the second a passive participle, 'one asked for'. It keeps the vow of v.11, 'all the days of his life'.