1 Samuel 1
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Birth of Samuel
1 There was a man from Ramathaim of the Zuphites in the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives. One was named Hannah, and the other was named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 Every year this man went up from his city to worship and to offer sacrifices to the Lord of Armies[a] at Shiloh. Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were serving there as priests of the Lord.
4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he gave portions of food to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters, 5 but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved Hannah, but the Lord had kept her from having children.[b]
6 Hannah’s rival kept taunting her to make her miserable, because the Lord had kept Hannah from having children. 7 Year after year, when Hannah went up to the Lord’s house, her rival taunted her, so Hannah would weep and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why is your heart so sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
9 Once, when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple. 10 Hannah’s spirit was very distressed, and as she prayed to the Lord, she sobbed and wept many tears. 11 She made a vow and said, “O Lord of Armies, if you will carefully consider the misery of your servant and remember me, and if you do not forget your servant but give your servant a male child,[c] then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”
12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli was looking at her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking silently from her heart. Although her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, “How long are you going to be drunk? Get away from your wine!”
15 Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman with a very troubled spirit. I have not been drinking wine or beer, but I have poured out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless, wicked woman. I have been speaking like this because of my great misery and because of how I have been grieved.”[d]
17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel give you what you have asked for.”
18 She said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went on her way. She ate, and her face no longer looked sad.
19 They got up early in the morning and worshipped the Lord. They then returned to their home at Ramah.
Elkanah was intimate with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 So Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel[e] because she said, “I asked for him from the Lord.”
21 When this man Elkanah and his entire household went up to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, 22 Hannah did not go up with them, because she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned. Then I will bring him, so that he can appear before the Lord and remain there permanently.”
23 Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do whatever you think is best. Wait until you have weaned him. Yes, then the Lord will establish his word.”
So the woman stayed at home, and she nursed her son until she was ready to wean him. 24 When she had weaned him, she took him up with her. She also took a three-year-old bull,[f] twenty-five pounds[g] of flour, and a container of wine, and she brought him to the House of the Lord in Shiloh. The boy was ⎣with them. And they brought him before the Lord, and his father killed the sacrifice as he regularly did before the Lord, and he brought⎦ the boy.[h] 25 When they had killed the bull, they presented the child to Eli. 26 She said, “Excuse me, my lord. As your soul lives,[i] my lord, I am the woman who stood here next to you, praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked for. 28 So now I have also dedicated him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is dedicated to the Lord.” So he worshipped the Lord there.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 1:3 Traditionally Lord of Hosts or Lord Sebaoth. God is the Lord of Armies because he rules the army of angels and the army of stars. If he rules over these great powers, he rules over everything.
- 1 Samuel 1:5 Literally had closed her womb
- 1 Samuel 1:11 Literally seed of men, an unusual expression
- 1 Samuel 1:16 Or provoked
- 1 Samuel 1:20 Samuel sounds like the Hebrew words heard by God.
- 1 Samuel 1:24 The translation follows the reading found in a Hebrew Dead Sea Scroll and in the Greek Old Testament. The main Hebrew text reads three bulls, but the following verse refers to only one animal.
- 1 Samuel 1:24 Hebrew an ephah
- 1 Samuel 1:24 The words in half-brackets are included in a Hebrew Dead Sea Scroll. The main Hebrew text has the cryptic reading the boy [was] a boy. The longer reading may preserve evidence of an accidental skip during the copying of the standard Hebrew text from one occurrence of the word boy to the next. This Dead Sea Scroll also has additional words in verse 25, which specify that Elkanah presented the sacrifice and Hannah presented Samuel to Eli.
- 1 Samuel 1:26 This is an oath that means I swear on your life.
1 Samuel 1
Lexham English Bible
The Family of Elkanah
1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim Zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.[a] 2 He had two wives; the name of the first was Hannah, and the name of the second was Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 Now this man used to go up from his town year by year[b] to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh of hosts in Shiloh, where[c] the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to Yahweh. 4 On[d] the day Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion,[e] because he loved Hannah, though Yahweh had closed her womb. 6 (Now her rival wife would provoke her severely in order to upset her because Yahweh had closed her womb.) 7 And so he used to do[f] year after year; whenever[g] she went up to the house of Yahweh, she[h] would provoke her so that she[i] would weep and would not eat. 8 So Elkanah her husband would say to her: “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat? And why are you heartsick?[j] Am I not better to you than ten sons?” 9 Then Hannah got up after eating and drinking at Shiloh. (Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the temple[k] of Yahweh.) 10 She was deeply troubled,[l] so she prayed to Yahweh and wept bitterly. 11 She made a vow[m] and said: “O Yahweh of hosts, if you will look with compassion on the misery of your female servant, and will remember me, and not forget your female servant, and will give to your female servant a male child[n] then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor will never pass over his head.”[o] 12 While[p] she continued to pray before Yahweh, Eli was observing her mouth. 13 Now Hannah had been speaking in her heart; her lips were moving, but her voice could not be heard, so Eli considered her to be drunk. 14 Then Eli said to her, “How long will you behave like someone who is drunk? Put away your wine!” 15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord. I am a woman deeply distressed,[q] but I have not drunk wine or strong drink. Rather, I have poured out my soul before Yahweh. 16 Do not regard your female servant as worthless,[r] but because of the extent of my worries and my provocation I have spoken all of this.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request that you have asked of him.” 18 And she said, “May your female slave find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went on her way and ate something, and her face did not look sad any longer.[s]
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”
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