The Family of Elkanah
The Birth of Samuel
19 Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh and returned[t] to their house at Ramah. Then Elkanah had sexual relations with[u] Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her. 20 In due time,[v] Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She called his name Samuel, for she said, “I requested him from Yahweh.”
21 So the man Elkanah went up with all his household to make the annual sacrifice[w] to Yahweh and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Once the boy is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear before Yahweh; and he will remain there forever.” 23 So her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what seems right to you;[x] stay until you wean him. Only may Yahweh fulfill his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 Then she brought him up with her when she had weaned him, along with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin[y] of wine. She brought him to the house of Yahweh at Shiloh while the boy was still young. 25 They slaughtered the bull, and they brought the boy to Eli. 26 She said, “Excuse me, my lord. As you live,[z] my lord, I am the woman who stood with you in this place to pray to Yahweh. 27 I prayed for this boy, and Yahweh has given me my request that I asked from him. 28 I in turn have lent him to Yahweh. As long as he lives[aa] he is lent to Yahweh.” Then they worshiped Yahweh there.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 1:1 Or “Ephrathite”
- 1 Samuel 1:3 Literally “from days to days”
- 1 Samuel 1:3 Literally “and there”
- 1 Samuel 1:4 Literally “And it happened on”
- 1 Samuel 1:5 Literally “a portion of two faces”
- 1 Samuel 1:7 So Hebrew; because of the abrupt change of subject some revocalize the verb to read “it used to be”
- 1 Samuel 1:7 Or “as often as”; literally “from enough”
- 1 Samuel 1:7 That is, Penninah
- 1 Samuel 1:7 That is, Hannah
- 1 Samuel 1:8 Literally “why is your heart evil”
- 1 Samuel 1:9 This is not the temple of Solomon (ca. 966 bc), but rather the tabernacle that first resided at Shiloh after the conquest of Joshua.
- 1 Samuel 1:10 Literally “bitter of soul”
- 1 Samuel 1:11 Literally “vowed a vow”
- 1 Samuel 1:11 Literally “an offspring of men”
- 1 Samuel 1:11 “A razor will never pass over his head” indicates that Hannah promised to dedicate her son to Yahweh as a Nazirite, according to the terms of Num 6:1–21
- 1 Samuel 1:12 Literally “And it happened that when”
- 1 Samuel 1:15 Literally “difficult of spirit”
- 1 Samuel 1:16 Literally “as a daughter of Belial/daughter of worthlessness”
- 1 Samuel 1:18 Literally “her faces were not for her any longer”
- 1 Samuel 1:19 Literally “and they returned and went”
- 1 Samuel 1:19 Literally “knew”
- 1 Samuel 1:20 Literally “At the turning of the days”
- 1 Samuel 1:21 Literally “to sacrifice the sacrifice of days”
- 1 Samuel 1:23 Literally “do what is good in your eyes”
- 1 Samuel 1:24 Or “a clay jar”
- 1 Samuel 1:26 Literally “your soul lives”
- 1 Samuel 1:28 Literally “All the days that he lives”