1.7 The references to the house of the LORD in this story are surprising in view of the biblical tradition that no temple existed before the one in Jerusalem (see 2 Sam 7.6; 1 Kings 8.16), but the Shilonite temple was known to Jeremiah (Jer 7.12–14).
1.11 According to the regulations in Num 6.1–21, a nazirite was a person designated to the service of the Lord by vows of separation and abstention from wine and cutting the hair. Samson is the chief example (see Judg 13.5, 7).
1.19 Ramah, a short form of Ramathaim (v. 1), becomes confused in the story of Samuel and Saul with the better-known Ramah of Benjamin, about five miles north of Jerusalem.
1.20 I have asked him of the LORD. Hannah is explaining the name Samuel (Hebrew shemu’el) as if it meant “He who is from God” (sheme’el).
1.28 He is given to the LORD continues the wordplay on Samuel’s name begun in v. 20; but the Hebrew word translated given is sha‘ul, and some scholars think this statement originally referred to the birth of Saul (sha‘ul).
1 SAMUEL 2
Hannah’s Prayer
1Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart exults in the LORD;
my strength is exalted in my God.a
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in myb victory.
2“There is no Holy One like the LORD,
no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the LORD is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
4The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble gird on strength.
5Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry are fat with spoil.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
6The LORD kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7The LORD makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low, he also exalts.
8He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.c
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s,
and on them he has set the world.
9“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness;
for not by might does one prevail.
10The LORD! His adversaries shall be shattered;
the Most Highd will thunder in heaven.
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king,
and exalt the power of his anointed.”
Eli’s Wicked Sons
11Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, while the boy remained to minister to the LORD, in the presence of the priest Eli.
12Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels; they had no regard for the LORD 13or for the duties of the priests to the people. When anyone offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, 14and he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself.e This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. 15Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the one who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast; for he will not accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.” 16And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take whatever you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now; if not, I will take it by force.” 17Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD; for they treated the offerings of the LORD with contempt.
The Child Samuel at Shiloh
18Samuel was ministering before the LORD, a boy wearing a linen ephod. 19His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the LORD repayf you with children by this woman for the gift that she made tog the LORD” and then they would return to their home.
21Andh the LORD took note of Hannah; she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD.
Prophecy against Eli’s Household
22Now Eli was very old. He heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23He said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people. 24No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading abroad. 25If one person sins against another, someone can intercede for the sinner with the LORD;i but if someone sins against the LORD, who can make intercession?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father; for it was the will of the LORD to kill them.
26Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and with the people.
27A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus the LORD has said, ‘I revealedj myself to the family of your ancestor in Egypt when they were slavesk to the house of Pharaoh. 28I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to offer incense, to wear an ephod before me; and I gave to the family of your ancestor all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. 29Why then look with greedy eyel at my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ 30Therefore the LORD the God of Israel declares: ‘I promised that your family and the family of your ancestor should go in and out before me forever’ but now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be treated with contempt. 31See, a time is coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestor’s family, so that no one in your family will live to old age. 32Then in distress you will look with greedy eyem on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed upon Israel; and no one in your family shall ever live to old age. 33The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep out hisn eyes and grieve hiso heart; all the members of your household shall die by the sword.p 34The fate of your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you—both of them shall die on the same day. 35I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed one forever. 36Everyone who is left in your family shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, and shall say, Please put me in one of the priest’s places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.’”
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a Gk: Heb the LORD
b Q Ms: MT your
c Gk (Compare Q Ms) adds He grants the vow of the one who vows, and blesses the years of the just
d Cn Heb against him he
e Gk Syr Vg: Heb with it
f Q Ms Gk: MT give
g Q Ms Gk: MT for the petition that she asked of
h Q Ms Gk: MT When
i Gk Compare Q Ms: MT another, God will mediate for him
j Gk Tg Syr: Heb Did I reveal
k Q Ms Gk: MT lacks slaves
l Q Ms Gk: MT then kick
m Q Ms Gk: MT will kick
n QMs Gk: MT your
o Q Ms Gk: Heb your
p Q Ms See Gk: MT die like mortals
2.1–10 Though it is not likely to have had anything to do with the story of Hannah and Samuel originally, this ancient poem of thanksgiving is appropriate to the context because of its theme of a divinely initiated change of fortune, something that the barren Hannah experienced, and its closing reference to the king, the anointed of th
e Lord. The poem finds strong echoes in the Magnificat (Lk 1.46–55).
2.2 Holy One, Rock, terms for a deity; the latter could also be translated “Mountain.”
2.3b The Lord pays attention to human circumstances, weighs them, and, when necessary, sets them in balance. Vv. 4–8 contain a series of examples of divinely contrived reversals of human fortune.
2.6 Sheol, the dark, dank residence of the dead in the OT.
2.8–10 This passage is much longer in the Septuagint and in a Samuel scroll from Qumran (4QSama), both of which append a long passage equivalent to the Greek version of Jer 9.23–24.
2.10 The Most High (Hebrew ‘eli), a rare divine epithet meaning “the exalted one.” It is similar in form, but not necessarily in meaning, to the personal name Eli (see v. 11), borne by the priest of Shiloh. The references to the king and the Lord’s anointed (see 9.16) suggest that the original occasion for the composition of this song may have been the celebration of a royal birth.
2.11–17 The sons of Eli, the chief priest of Shiloh, are shown to have corrupted the sacrificial cult there and, therefore, to have proved themselves unfit to succeed their father.
2.16 By asking that they burn the fat first, the man is appealing to the rules that forbid the priests to take the fat for themselves (see Lev 3.16–17; Num 18.17).
2.18–21 In sharp contrast to the sons of Eli, the young Samuel earns both divine and human favor (see v. 26) in carrying out his duties at Shiloh.
2.18 Linen ephod, a simple loincloth that signifies priestly status (cf. 22.18) but is not as elaborate as the garment worn by Ahijah in 14.3, much less the ornate ephod of the high priest described in Ex 28; 39.
2.22–36 An anonymous holy man appears at Shiloh and denounces the house of Eli because of the corruption of his sons. The passage comes from the hand of the Deuteronomistic Historian (see Introduction) and is chiefly concerned with establishing the ascendancy of the Zadokite priesthood (see vv. 35–36).
2.25 Someone can intercede…with the LORD was probably originally “gods can intercede for him,” a reference to the traditional adjudicatory function of household gods or idols.
2.27 Man of God, a holy man, most often a soothsayer, as in this case. The family of your ancestor, the Levites and perhaps Moses in particular, from whom Eli seems to have been descended.
2.31–33 The prophecy refers to Saul’s massacre of the Shilonite priesthood, described in 22.16–19.
2.33 The only one to survive will be Abiathar (see 22.20–23; 1 Kings 2.26).
2.35 Though in the present context the faithful priest might seem to be Samuel himself, it will turn out to be Zadok, who shared the high-priesthood with Abiathar during David’s reign and succeeded him during Solomon’s. Subsequently, membership in the sure house of Zadok was required for priestly service in the Jerusalem temple.
2.36 Non-Zadokite priests were relegated to menial roles (see 2 Kings 23.9; Ezek 44.10–16).
1 SAMUEL 3
Samuel’s Calling and Prophetic Activity
1Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.
2At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4Then the LORD called, “Samuel! Samuel!”a and he said, “Here I am!” 5and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6The LORD called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. 8The LORD called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the boy. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10Now the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 11Then the LORD said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle. 12On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13For I have told him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God,b and he did not restrain them. 14Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15Samuel lay there until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” He said, “Here I am.” 17Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also, if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Then he said, “It is the LORD; let him do what seems good to him.”
19As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the LORD. 21The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
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a Q Ms Gk See 3.10: MT the LORD called Samuel
b Another reading is for themselves
3.1–4.1a Samuel’s vocation as a prophet formally begins as he becomes, for the first time, a channel for a message from the Lord, in this case a confirmation of the oracle in 2.27–36.
3.3 The lamp of God burned in the sanctuary from evening to morning (see Ex 27.20–21). Samuel must have slept in the nave of the temple near the inner sanctuary where the ark of God, the most sacred object in Israelite worship, marked the presence of the Lord.
3.11–14 Samuel’s first vision is a confirmation of the oracle of the anonymous man of God in 2.27–36.
3.14 Shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering. The possibility of ritual expiation (see Lev 4.3–12) is set aside.
3.19–4.1a Now that he has received his first oracle, Samuel is established as a prophet, the vehicle through which the Lord communicates with Israel.
1 SAMUEL 4
The Ark of God Captured
1And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. In those days the Philistines mustered for war against Israel,a and Israel went out to battle against them;b they encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle was joined,c Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3When the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD put us to rout today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, so that he may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4So the people sent to Shiloh, and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
5When the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp, 7the Philistines were afraid; for they said, “Gods haved come into the camp.” They also said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, in order not to become slave
s to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”
10So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated, and they fled, everyone to his home. There was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11The ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
Death of Eli
12A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with earth upon his head. 13When he arrived, Eli was sitting upon his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. 14When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man came quickly and told Eli. 15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set, so that he could not see. 16The man said to Eli, “I have just come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” He said, “How did it go, my son?” 17The messenger replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great slaughter among the troops; your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18When he mentioned the ark of God, Elie fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
19Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. When she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth; for her labor pains overwhelmed her. 20As she was about to die, the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or give heed. 21She named the child Ichabod, meaning, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”
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