1 Samuel 1:19-28

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 1 Samuel 1:19 tn Or “bowed before the Lord.” The posture of bowing often represents the act of worshiping.
2. 1 Samuel 1:19 tc Heb “to Ramah;” LXX “Ramathaim.” Ramathaim, used in verse 1, is the dual form of Ramah.
3. 1 Samuel 1:19 tn Heb “Elkanah knew his wife.” The Hebrew expression is a euphemism for sexual relations.
4. 1 Samuel 1:19 tn The verbs זָכַר (zakar) is often translated “remember.” It does not simply mean the ability to recall (as “forgetting” does not simply mean the inability to recall). It means the decision to recall or to bear in mind, here with regard to her previous request. The Hebrew verb is often used in the OT for considering the needs or desires of people with favor and kindness.
5. 1 Samuel 1:20 tc The translation follows the sequence of the LXX. The MT says: “It happened at the turning of the days. Hannah conceived. And she gave birth to a son.” The phrase “at the turning of the days” might refer to the new year or to end of the term of pregnancy.
6. 1 Samuel 1:20 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 שָׁאַל (shaʾal, “to ask”), but the consonants do not support this. Nor is it likely that the name comes from the root שָׁמַע (shamaʿ, “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.
7. 1 Samuel 1:21 tn Heb “sacrifice of days.” The plural “days” often refers to a set of days, commonly a year, thus an annual sacrifice (cf. 1 Sam 2:29; 20:6).
8. 1 Samuel 1:21 tn The Hebrew suffix could be “his vow” or “its vow,” referring to his household’s vow. sn The only vow that has been mentioned so far is Hannah’s. This either implies an additional vow not made known to us, or implies Elkanah’s affirmation of her vow. According to Num 30:6-8 a husband could nullify his wife’s vow, or allow it to stand. tc The LXX adds “and all the tithes of his land.”
9. 1 Samuel 1:22 tn The disjunctive clause is contrastive here. The words “with them” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10. 1 Samuel 1:22 tn The perfect conjugation, used with a dynamic root, may be be past or past perfect. In a כִּי (ki) clause in narrative, it typically refers to a reason that occurred prior to the event in the main timeline. Most translations, however, render it as simple past (KJV, NRSV, NASB, NIV, ESV, Holman). sn According to this understanding, she and Elkanah have already discussed the issue. Her concern to not give the baby up while Samuel is nursing is most sensible; at the same time she affirms her long term commitment to her vow.
11. 1 Samuel 1:22 tn Heb “until the boy is weaned.” The word “not” is implied and provided for clarity.
12. 1 Samuel 1:22 tn Heb “until forever.”
13. 1 Samuel 1:23 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”sn A similar phrase is a negative characterization in Judges, that “each would do what was right in his [own] eyes” (Judg 17:6; 21:25, cf. Prov 12:15; 21:2). However the phrase “in one’s own eyes” does not have to have a negative connotation (1 Chron 13:4; 30:4). As Hannah had done, Elkanah affirms the long term commitment to the vow.
14. 1 Samuel 1:23 tc LXX and Qumran “establish what is coming out of your mouth.” MT “establish his word.”sn By reading “his word” (i.e., his promise) the MT is consistent with other passages that deal with establishing God’s word. But what it refers to is unclear. If Eli’s earlier response (v. 17) implies a promise, it has already been fulfilled in the birth. Other have suggested a connection to Deut 18:15, 18 and the promise to raise up a prophet like Moses. The reading preserved in the Greek text and at Qumran may well be the original. In this case Elkanah is affirming the conclusion of Hannah’s vow. Perhaps there is even an underlying admonition in the affirmation. Auld suggests it is possible that readers should discern in Elkanah an affirmation of the prophetic word through Hannah (Graeme Auld, I & II Samuel [Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011] 33).
15. 1 Samuel 1:24 tc LXX “she went up with him to Shiloh.”
16. 1 Samuel 1:24 tc LXX “with a three year old bull and loaves.”
17. 1 Samuel 1:24 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.
18. 1 Samuel 1:24 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”).
19. 1 Samuel 1:24 tc The translation follows the LXX. Although “with her” can be conjectured instead of “with them,” the context of the LXX assumes the presence of Elkanah as well as Hannah. The MT has the unusual structure “and the boy was a boy,” possibly the result of dittography. If the MT is correct, perhaps we are to understand two different meanings of the same noun, e.g. “the boy was a servant.” The noun נַעַר (naʿar) is commonly understood to refer to a young man or a servant (HALOT s.v. נַעַר), however, it refers to the infant Moses (Exod 2:6) and to Benjamin when he may be well past adolescence (Gen 43:8). Further those called נַעַר (naʿar) may not simply be servants, but someone in line to receive a position of rank. Samuel does become a servant, or apprentice, and turns out to be in line to replace Eli. Yet since he has not yet been given to Eli, this seems like an odd place to remark on his being an apprentice.
20. 1 Samuel 1:25 tc The LXX is longer, reading: “They brought [him] before the Lord and his father slaughtered the sacrifice which he would bring to the Lord from time to time. And he brought the child and slaughtered the calf. And Hannah, the child’s mother, brought him to Eli.”
21. 1 Samuel 1:28 tn The Hiphil of שָׁאַל (shaʾal) might mean “to loan,” or “to treat as requested” (see HALOT s.v. שָׁאַל).
22. 1 Samuel 1:28 tn Heb “all the days which he lives.”
23. 1 Samuel 1:28 tc The MT is singular, apparently referring to Samuel (but cf. CEV “Elkanah”). A few medieval manuscripts and some ancient versions take the verb as plural (cf. TEV, NLT).
24. 1 Samuel 1:28 sn This Hebrew verb, the Hishtaphel of חָוָה (havah), means “to bow down” or “to prostrate oneself.” When bowing to the Lord it is a gesture of worship. In this context, if Samuel is the subject (see the previous tc note), he demonstrates reverence to the Lord regarding his mother’s vow.