1 Samuel 1 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

1 Samuel 1

The Birth of Samuel

1:1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 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 Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the LORD. 4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb.¹ 6 And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

12 As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the LORD.”²

Samuel Given to the Lord

21 The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the LORD and dwell there forever.” 23 Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the LORD establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull,³ an ephah⁴ of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the LORD. 27 For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD.”

And he worshiped the LORD there.

Footnotes

[1] 1:5 Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. Septuagint And, although he loved Hannah, he would give Hannah only one portion, because the Lord had closed her womb
[2] 1:20 Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard of God
[3] 1:24 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text three bulls
[4] 1:24 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters

Commentary

v1: We are introduced to Elkanah; a Levite by ancestry (1 Chr 6.34), of the family of Gershon, responsible for carrying the curtains and coverings and screens of the tabernacle (Num 4.22-28).

It was normal Jewish practice to list a person's ancestry, to entitle them to serve the Lord God.

Elkanah is called an Ephraimite because he lived in the hill country of Ephraim; originally the Gershonites had lived elsewhere, but doubtless they moved about.

v2-4: Elkanah had two wives, which at that time would have been acceptable. More important was his desire to worship and sacrifice to the Lord. This was his regular practice. He involved his whole family, as they went up to worship together.

v5-7: There was sorrow in the home. There should have been joy in a family worshipping God together, but Peninnah cruelly provoked Hannah. Putting God first in worship must affect our attitudes to others.

Hannah's sorrow is described; downhearted (v8), bitterness of soul (v10), she wept (v10); in her own words; misery (v11), deeply troubled (v15), great anguish and grief (v16).

v8: Elkanah loved Hannah, and gave her a double portion.

v9: The priest at the tabernacle was Eli. He was sitting down (as in 4.13), his eyes were dim (3.2), he was old and heavy (4.18). Although he was not wicked and corrupt like his sons, he was complacent, with a defeated spirit, and lacking authority. He was later rebuked for this attitude, 2.27-29.

v10: Hannah prayed to the Lord, for she could do nothing else. She poured out her soul to Him; if no man cares for my soul, I know that God does, and He will give comfort and consolation.

v11: Hannah made her promise to the Lord, 'If you will give me a son, then I will give him back to you'; her son would be totally dedicated to the Lord, as a Nazirite, but beyond the normal Nazirite vows, which were only for a limited time; her gift was "for all the days of his life".

v12-14: Eli's own cool devotion to God meant that he failed to recognise Hannah's deep experience.

v15-16: Hannah's response was a tearful explanation, not an angry reaction. She did not, however, share the details of her request with Eli.

Like Jabez (1 Chr 4.10) she had prayed in affliction; she had poured out her heart with deep emotion (Ps 62.8); she prayed at the tabernacle, the house of prayer (Is 56.7); she prayed in the name of the Lord (Ps 116.4); she drew near to God (Ps 73.28); and she was submissive (Luke 22.42), yet persistent (Luke 18.1).

There is a phrase, "until now", (in some versions) which suggests that her prayers had changed something. She had met with God and was different as a result; see v18.

v17: Eli, having realised that Hannah was prayerful, not drunk, blessed her.

v18: Hannah now ate food, and was no longer sad. Clearly, she had a sense of having received God’s promises.

v19: Hannah worshipped with her family. She had been blessed by God, and her family shared that blessing.

v20: Hannah's testimony that God had heard her prayer; her son always carried the testimony, "Because I asked the Lord for him."

v21-22: Elkanah continued to maintain his habit of regular worship. Hannah kept the young Samuel at home until he was weaned; then she would leave him at the tabernacle.

v23: Elkanah recognised his wife's godliness. He knew what God had done for Hannah, and trusted in God to fulfil His word.

v24-25: A sin offering was made, as was the custom at the birth of a child.

v26: Hannah identified herself as the woman who stood praying to the Lord; Was it so unusual that someone really prayed to the Lord? As at the time of Christ, there was but a small and faithful remnant.

v27-28: God had honoured His word, and Hannah was faithful to her word. The child Samuel was given to the Lord.