1 Samuel 1:19--2:10

1:19 They got up early the next morning and after worshiping the Lord, they returned to their home at Ramah. Elkanah had marital relations with ¹  his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered ²  her. 1:20 After some time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, thinking, “I asked the Lord for him. ³ 

Hannah Dedicates Samuel to the Lord

1:21 This man Elkanah went up with all his family to make the yearly sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow, 1:22 but Hannah did not go up with them. ⁴  Instead she told her husband, “Once the boy is weaned, I will bring him and appear before the Lord, and he will remain there from then on.”

1:23 So her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what you think best. ⁵  Stay until you have weaned him. May the Lord fulfill his promise.” ⁶ 

So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. 1:24 Once she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with three bulls, an ephah ⁷  of flour, and a container ⁸  of wine. She brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh, even though he was young. ⁹  1:25 Once the bull had been slaughtered, they brought the boy to Eli. 1:26 She said, “Just as surely as you are alive, my lord, I am the woman who previously stood here with you in order to pray to the Lord. 1:27 I prayed for this boy, and the Lord has given me the request that I asked of him. 1:28 Now I dedicate him to the Lord. From this time on he is dedicated to the Lord.” Then they ¹⁰  worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer

2:1 Hannah prayed, ¹¹ 

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

my horn ¹²  is exalted high because of the Lord.

I loudly denounce ¹³  my enemies,

for I am happy that you delivered me. ¹⁴ 

2:2 No one is holy ¹⁵  like the Lord!

There is no one other than you!

There is no rock ¹⁶  like our God!

2:3 Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly, ¹⁷ 

letting proud talk come out of your mouth!

For the Lord is a God who knows;

he ¹⁸  evaluates what people do.

2:4 The bows of warriors are shattered,

but those who stumble find their strength reinforced.

2:5 Those who are well-fed hire themselves out to earn food,

but the hungry no longer lack.

Even ¹⁹  the barren woman gives birth to seven, ²⁰ 

but the one with many children withers away. ²¹ 

2:6 The Lord both kills and gives life;

he brings down to the grave ²²  and raises up.

2:7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;

he humbles and he exalts.

2:8 He lifts the weak ²³  from the dust;

he raises ²⁴  the poor from the ash heap

to seat them with princes

and to bestow on them an honored position. ²⁵ 

The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord,

and he has placed the world on them.

2:9 He watches over ²⁶  his holy ones, ²⁷ 

but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness,

for it is not by one’s own strength that one prevails.

2:10 The Lord shatters ²⁸  his adversaries; ²⁹ 

he thunders against them from ³⁰  the heavens.

The Lord executes judgment to the ends of the earth.

He will strengthen ³¹  his king

and exalt the power ³²  of his anointed one.” ³³ 

[1:19]  ¹ tn Heb “Elkanah knew his wife.” The Hebrew expression is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[1:19]  ² sn The Lord “remembered” her in the sense of granting her earlier request for a child. The Hebrew verb is often used in the OT for considering the needs or desires of people with favor and kindness.

[1:20]  ³ tn Heb “because from the Lord I asked him.” The name “Samuel” sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “asked.” The explanation of the meaning of the name “Samuel” that is provided in v. 20 is not a strict etymology. It seems to suggest that the first part of the name is derived from the Hebrew root שׁאל (sh’l, “to ask”), but the consonants do not support this. Nor is it likely that the name comes from the root שׁמא (shm’, “to hear”), for the same reason. It more probably derives from שֶׁם (shem, “name”), so that “Samuel” means “name of God.” Verse 20 therefore does not set forth a linguistic explanation of the meaning of the name, but rather draws a parallel between similar sounds. This figure of speech is known as paronomasia.

[1:22]  ⁴ tn The disjunctive clause is contrastive here. The words “with them” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

[1:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “establish his word.” This apparently refers to the promise inherent in Eli’s priestly blessing (see v. 17).

[1:24]  ⁷ sn The ephah was a standard dry measure in OT times; it was the equivalent of one-tenth of the OT measure known as a homer. The ephah was equal to approximately one-half to two-thirds of a bushel.

[1:24]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “container” may denote either a clay storage jar (cf. CEV “a clay jar full of wine”) or a leather container (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “a skin of wine”; NCV “a leather bag filled with (full of TEV) wine.”

[1:24]  ⁹ tc Heb “and the boy was a boy.” If the MT is correct the meaning apparently is that the boy was quite young at the time of these events. On the other hand, some scholars have suspected a textual problem, emending the text to read either “and the boy was with them” (so LXX) or “and the boy was with her” (a conjectural emendation). In spite of the difficulty it seems best to stay with the MT here.

[1:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he,” apparently referring to Samuel (but cf. CEV “Elkanah”). A few medieval manuscripts and some ancient versions take the verb as plural (cf. TEV, NLT).

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “prayed and said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[2:1]  ¹² sn Horns of animals have always functioned as both offensive and defensive weapons for them. As a figure of speech the horn is therefore often used in the Bible as a symbol of human strength (see also in v. 10). The allusion in v. 1 to the horn being lifted high suggests a picture of an animal elevating its head in a display of strength or virility.

[2:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “my mouth opens wide against.”

[2:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for I rejoice in your deliverance.”

[2:2]  ¹⁵ sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.

[2:2]  ¹⁶ tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”

[2:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “proudly, proudly.” If MT is original, the repetition of the word is for emphasis, stressing the arrogance of those addressed. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts and some other textual witnesses do not reflect the repetition, suggesting that the Hebrew text may be dittographic.

[2:3]  ¹⁸ tc The MT (Qere) reads “and by him actions are weighed.” The translation assumes that reading of the Qere וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and by him”), which is supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, is correct, rather than the reading of the Kethib וְלוֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[2:5]  ¹⁹ tc Against BHS but with the MT, the preposition (עַד, ’ad) should be taken with what follows rather than with what precedes. For this sense of the preposition see Job 25:5.

[2:5]  ²⁰ sn The number seven is used here in an ideal sense. Elsewhere in the OT having seven children is evidence of fertility as a result of God’s blessing on the family. See, for example, Jer 15:9, Ruth 4:15.

[2:5]  ²¹ tn Or “languishes.”

[2:6]  ²² tn Heb “Sheol”; NAB “the nether world”; CEV “the world of the dead.”

[2:8]  ²³ tn Or “lowly”; Heb “insignificant.”

[2:8]  ²⁴ tn The imperfect verbal form, which is parallel to the participle in the preceding line, is best understood here as indicating what typically happens.

[2:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a seat of honor.”

[2:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “guards the feet of.” The expression means that God watches over and protects the godly in all of their activities and movements. The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.

[2:9]  ²⁷ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the plural (“his holy ones”) rather than the singular (“his holy one”) of the Kethib.

[2:10]  ²⁸ tn The imperfect verbal forms in this line and in the next two lines are understood as indicating what is typically true. Another option is to translate them with the future tense. See v. 10b.

[2:10]  ²⁹ tc The present translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate in reading the plural (“his adversaries,” similarly many other English versions) rather than the singular (“his adversary”) of the Kethib.

[2:10]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew preposition here has the sense of “from within.”

[2:10]  ³¹ tn The imperfect verbal forms in this and the next line are understood as indicating what is anticipated and translated with the future tense, because at the time of Hannah’s prayer Israel did not yet have a king.

[2:10]  ³² tn Heb “the horn,” here a metaphor for power or strength. Cf. NCV “make his appointed king strong”; NLT “increases the might of his anointed one.”

[2:10]  ³³ tc The LXX greatly expands v. 10 with an addition that seems to be taken from Jer 9:23-24.

[2:10]  sn The anointed one is the anticipated king of Israel, as the preceding line makes clear.