1 Samuel 1:5

1:5 But he would give a double ¹  portion to Hannah, because he especially loved her. ²  Now the Lord had not enabled her to have children. ³ 

1 Samuel 1:17

1:17 Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request that you have asked of him.”

1 Samuel 4:5

4:5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord arrived at the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly ⁴  that the ground shook.

1 Samuel 14:48

14:48 He fought bravely, striking down the Amalekites and delivering Israel from the hand of its enemies. ⁵ 

1 Samuel 26:13

26:13 Then David crossed to the other side and stood on the top of the hill some distance away; there was a considerable distance between them.

[1:5]  ¹ tn The exact sense of the Hebrew word אַפָּיִם (’appayim, “two faces”) is not certain here. It is most likely used with the preceding expression (“one portion of two faces”) to mean a portion double than normally received. Although evidence for this use of the word derives primarily from Aramaic rather than from Hebrew usage, it provides an understanding that fits the context here better than other suggestions for the word do. The meaning “double” is therefore adopted in the present translation. Other possibilities for the meaning of the word include the following: “heavily” (cf. Vulg., tristis) and “worthy” or “choice” (cf. KJV and Targum). Some scholars have followed the LXX here, emending the word to אֶפֶס (’efes) and translating it as “but” or “however.” This seems unnecessary. The translators of the LXX may simply have been struggling to make sense of the word rather than following a Hebrew text that was different from the MT here.

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “for Hannah he loved.” Repetition of the proper name would seem redundant in contemporary English, so the pronoun (“her”) has been used here for clarity. The translation also adds the adverb “especially” to clarify the meaning of the text. Without this addition one might get the impression that only Hannah, not Peninnah, was loved by her husband. But the point of the text is that Hannah was his favorite.

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “and the Lord had closed her womb.” So also in v. 6. The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information that is pertinent to the story.

[4:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “shouted [with] a great shout.”

[14:48]  ⁵ tn Heb “plunderers.”