Bible Study - 1 Samuel Chapter 1
Bible Study - 1 Samuel Chapter 1
| 1 Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. |
While Elkanah is identified as an Ephraimite, it is likely that this is an identification by place of residence rather than identification with the tribe of Ephraim. The Levites didn't have a territory, so they were located throughout Israel as they were designated to be the priests. Either Elkanah or Hannah or both could trace their lineage to the tribe of Levi. However, Elkanah was not a priest. Joshua 13:33 But to the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He had promised to them. |
| 2 He had two wives: the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. |
Monogamy was the normal practice in Israel, although polygamy was permitted. That Hannah was barren would be a reason to take a second wife. Children were the legacy and continuation of the family. Even more importantly, there was no welfare or social security. Children were the only security in one's old age. Some would divorce a barren woman. But Elkanah loved Hannah. It is important not to judge people in the past by one's own values today. In this case, people judge based on unbiblical teachings in their churches, or the churches they grew up in. The following will probably make some people angry. And individuals may have personal convictions apart from scripture, which is acceptable for themselves, but not acceptable to push on others. However, I will not misrepresent scripture to please men. Nor will I teach the precepts of men as if it is scriptural. (See Matthew 15:9, Mark 7:7-8, Colossians 2:20-23, and Romans 14:1-12.) Polygamy was not prohibited by the law of Moses. God never said it was sinful in the Old Testament. In fact, many great men had multiple wives, such as Abraham, Jacob, (renamed Israel,) Judah, Gideon, David, and Solomon. It was generally not encouraged, and was uncommon. But it was allowed, and it was even required under the law for one circumstance in Deuteronomy 25:5-6. The only prohibition was against marrying sisters in Leviticus 18:18. Although the 12 tribes of Israel come from the marriage to two sisters, that was before the law. And we can all see that Jacob's life was full of turmoil and drama because of it. In the New Testament, when Jesus spoke against divorce he said the design was for one man and one woman. (So was living sinless and without death in the Garden of Eden.) He explicitly said divorce for any reason other than adultery was sin. He said no such thing about polygamy. In 1 Corinthians 7:39 Paul counters the Levirate marriage requirement saying a widow can marry who she wants. In 1 Timothy 3:2, 3:12, and Titus 1:6 there is a restriction on appointing elders and deacons that they had to be the husband of one wife. This doesn't mean they have to be married as Paul states in 1 Corinthians 7:8 that it's good for people to stay single like he does, unless they cannot control their passion. Logically, single people can devote more of their time to serve God. And by the same argument, a man with more than one wife will have little time to serve God, let alone hold an office in the church. 1 Peter 2:13-17 and Romans 13:1-7 make it clear that we are to follow the law of civil authorities, and to fail to do so is sin. However, when civil authorities contradict scripture and God we are to obey God as Peter and the apostles say in Acts 5:29. (However, we should take great care and think long and hard to be absolutely sure we cannot follow God without violating the law. Many people have falsely jumped to that conclusion when there were other options.) As we are not under the Mosaic law and aren't required by scripture to do Levirate marriage, it is a sin for us to practice polygamy while it is against the law in our country. It is clear that God's model is one man and one woman. It is also clear that where polygamy is prohibited by law it is a sin. And it is clear that leaders in the church should be single or only have one wife. However, to say that all polygamy everywhere is a sin is not scriptural. In fact, pinhead missionaries trying to push their unbiblical church doctrine on cultures that permit polygamy forced men to divorce their other wives. Divorce is a sin. Scripture could not be clearer. So for the sake of their unbiblical church doctrine, they forced people to sin. In Matthew 15:3-7 Jesus Christ totally rebukes the Pharisees for doing this exact thing. By breaking up families for bogus reasons, these missionaries turned generations of people against God in Africa, South America, and the South Pacific. It is only recently that there has been a movement towards God there. |
| 3 Now this man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord there. |
The temple in Jerusalem would not be built until the time of King Solomon. The Ark of the Covenant was housed in a giant tent called the Tent of Meeting just as it was in Moses' time. (Some translations use the word tabernacle.) In the time of the Judges people would also gather at various synagogues in Israel. Deuteronomy 16:16 commanded that all males appear before the Lord three times a year. And while many would choose to go to the Tent of Meeting, it was not necessarily required. Shiloh was the location of the Tent of Meeting during the time of Judges and during the confederacy. (Over 300 years.) However, there was a synagogue in the city closest to Elkanah's home. (1 Samuel 9:12) That Elkanah made this annual trip is notable for a couple of reasons. For one, he took the whole family. This was often done, but only the males were required to go. And for another, he chose to travel to a further location than his city's synagogue. We are not told why that is so for this visit. Since we are only told of this annual trip, it is possible that Elkanah made his required three appearances before the Lord in his home town. It seems this was an additional trip for the private reason of fulfilling a vow, (see verse 21.) Although it could also be a desire to worship God more, and to worship in the temple. It is almost certain this was not during the three required appearances before the Lord as Eli could tell that Hannah wasn't speaking when her lips moved, and on the days of the three requirements there would be a crush of people there. Eli was the chief priest of Israel, responsible for the Tent of Meeting. His two sons were priests under him. This made him responsible for their service, which is significant later. |
| 4 When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; | There were different types of sacrifices. Grain and drink offerings were given to the temple. A small portion of the best of the grain offering would be burned with all the incense, and the rest would go to the priests. Some animal sacrifices, like birds the poor were allowed to sacrifice, were burnt up entirely. With larger sacrifices some was burned to God, the priests were entitled to a portion, and the one making the sacrifice would consume the rest. Everyone of the family who were present were entitled to a portion. |
| 5 but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb. | Here Elkanah's love for Hannah is stated plainly, and the action to back it up. Peninnah is not referred to with love. She was the assurance of the continuation of the line and the security of children. The text indicates that the giving of a double portion happened every year. |
| 6 Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. | Here the two wives are stated to be rivals. Hannah was the loved favorite, while Peninnah was the one who secured the future. Peninnah's means of attack is specified as being about Hannah being barren. This was shameful for a woman or a man at this time. And Peninnah was likely motivated by the clear favoritism towards Hannah during the sacrifice. |
| 7 It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. |
This conflict happened every year. The implication is that this was outside the routine of life back home. It may be that Elkanah was careful to treat both wives with equal consideration back home. However, after children are born they were to be presented to the priest at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, something Hannah was excluded from participating in. It may be this was the motivation for the special treatment during the sacrifice. This time the taunts hit harder than usual, keeping Hannah from eating her double portion of the sacrifice and instead to weep openly. It seems that in this instance Hannah's reaction was different than during the many past visits based on what followed. |
| 8 Then 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 better to you than ten sons?" 9 Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. | Elkanah was trying to sooth the heart of the wife he loved. We don't know if it helped. Whether it did or not, Hannah pulled herself together and ate from her double portion and drank as well. |
| Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. |
Here Eli is first introduced as being a priest of the temple of the Lord, which is the Tent of Meeting. In verse 3 he is only identified as the father of two of the priests of the temple. Some commentators take the mention of the doorpost as evidence that there was a permanent structure of some sort erected. However, this is an assumption based on zero evidence. The Tent of Meeting was a very large tent with another large tent inside. The inner tent contained the holy place and the holy of holies divided by a curtain. It is common even in that time for a large tent to have doorposts for the entryway. It should be noted that the commonly assumed configuration for the Tent of Meeting is not necessarily correct. A rectangular structure with the curtains overlayed on top of each other is an assumption. Exodus 26 specifies only the curtain at the entrance being doubled over. A structural engineer has shown how the instructions in Exodus to make the outer tent that the curtains, beams and boards could be assembled as a dome that would be six stories tall, certainly something that would make doorposts necessary for the entrance. |
| 10 She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. |
Greatly distressed is literally bitter of soul in Hebrew, which is a euphemism for anguish or great distress. It does not refer to her actual soul. It should be noted that it is not the tears or anguish that move the Lord. If that were the case then millions of people would get their prayers answered on a daily basis. |
| 11 She made a vow and said, "O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head." |
Hannah shows humility when she repeatedly refers to herself as the Lord's handmaid/maidservant, and a disciple's attitude of service to God. Millions of people make vows to God promising some service to God. For example, if God gets them out of the jam they got themselves in they will dedicate their life to God and become a monk or nun. Or if they win the lottery they will give a portion to charity or the church. Of course one does not need to be the omniscient God to see that someone who rarely or never has volunteered for any service or given anything will be different after they get what they want. That is a bad Hollywood fantasy script, not reality. God is not mocked. He knows when we don't mean it. In this case, it is likely that the result and benefit of Hannah's vow really being for service to the Lord and advancing of His kingdom that was the distinguishing factor. While this was to end the harassment, she would give up the child at a very, very young age. If this was purely selfish, she would want to keep the child until he was of the normal age to seek apprenticeship. Most importantly, she was sincere in her vow, honestly meant it to be primarily for the Lord's benefit, and would keep her vow. The Nazarite vow at the end is unusual. Only an adult can take a Nazarite vow. In rare cases, God will designate someone to live as a Nazarite before their birth, such as Samson, (although only the not cutting the hair was for Samson. The rest of the vow, no drinking alcohol or eating any unclean thing was only for his mother.) Here Hannah makes this vow, but only about cutting the hair, for a son that has not yet been conceived. |
| 12 Now it came about, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. | Eli was the chief priest and prophet of the Lord for all of Israel. He was the direct link between the people and God. He was the person who oversaw the temple and all who worked there. So it would be common for him to be keeping an eye on things. |
| 13 As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. 14 Then Eli said to her, "How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you." |
Hannah was in such anguish she wasn't using her voice. She was praying while standing, (as she recounts in verses 26-27,) which is not what we associate with anguished prayers. Usually we think of a person praying in anguish as being on their knees or even flat on their face. The prophets of God at this time often knew the hearts of individuals because the Lord told them. So they were able to speak to the heart and the real motivations when addressing people. Eli mistaking Hannah's condition and heart is strange as a man of God wouldn't assume something that hadn't been revealed to him. This is especially strange because he calls out and rebukes Hannah for sinful behavior in the temple. However, he may have been predisposed to see that sin where it didn't exist because drunkenness in the temple was something he was dealing with. (As we find out later.) That Hannah's prayers were answered with a yes from God is strong evidence that she was right with God. That Eli could be so badly mistaken, thinking piety was drunkenness, is evidence and foreshadowing that he wasn't right with God. |
| 15 But Hannah replied, "No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord. |
Hannah defends herself against an unjust conclusion. This was more than an accusation. Eli spoke as if he knew. This would be fine if the spirit of the Lord was informing him. But his mistake makes it clear he was not in the spirit. The word for spirit here is rucha, a feminine conjugation of the word ruach, which is the same word used for the Spirit of God in Genesis 1:2. This is distinct from the word for soul used later in this verse, nafsh, a feminine conjugation of nefesh. Pouring out one's soul to the Lord is an action of trust in Psalm 62. |
| 16 "Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation." |
Hannah was concerned that Eli, the chief priest and prophet of Israel, would think she was a worthless woman, literally a daughter of Belial, aka a daughter of wickedness. (While Belial has been used synonymously with Satan in 2nd century Judaism and Christianity, that was not the case at this time.) That is, that she was so low that she would act so disrespectfully towards the Lord to be drunk in his temple court. Her reverence for God and His temple was very great. In fact, it was greater than Eli's.
Hannah says her words, (in her prayers,) were out of two things that are translated in a variety of ways. Concern could be more accurately translated as complaint. And provocation could be interpreted as vexation or anger, but provocation is the best translation as Hannah's reaction was one of grief at being provoked by Peninnah rather than anger. On a side note, this is an argument against polygamy. The rivalry between wives is a certainty. |
| 17 Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him." |
Eli judged Hannah to be truthful and sincere. Go in peace is a blessing, commonly used as a benediction even today. There is some dispute as to the verb Eli used regarding Hannah's petition. The word yitten is in the qal jussive tense of the verb natan, "to give" because it is in the third person, and qal imperfect can only in the first or second person. An imperfect tense would be translated as will give, as in a promise. That would mean Eli is saying God will do this. But since it can't be in the imperfect tense because it is in the third person, it is in the qal jussive tense and correctly translates it as it is in the NASB. Basically, the chief priest was offering a prayer for Hannah's petition. |
| 18 She said, "Let your maidservant find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. |
Again, Hannah refers to herself humbly as a maidservant/handmaiden. But this time it is to Eli instead of God, although he is God's prophet over Israel. Since Eli was the chief priest and added his own words to God with Hannah's, she took comfort in it. The end of this verse makes it appear that Hannah didn't eat all of her double-portion in verse 9. She only ate enough to comfort her husband, Elkanah, because now that she felt better she ate. And we know she felt better because her face showed it. It seems she now had hope when before she had none. |
| 19 Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. |
They got up early so they could worship then get on the road for the journey home. The mention of relations is part of the Hebrew custom of marking lineage. In other words, Elkanah was definitely the father here. The Lord remembered Hannah. There are two parallels here. One is Abraham and Sarah. Abraham had relations with Sarah's maid Hagar, which was Sarah's idea, and she gave birth to Ishmael. But then she was upset by her own arrangement. (Big surprise.) There was definite shame at that time in not bearing children. Later, in Genesis 21:1 God kept his promise to Sarah and she gave birth to Issac. The second is much closer to Hannah's situation. Rebecca was Jacob's loved wife, but she had no kids. Jacob's other wife, Leah, was the one Jacob was stuck with. But she bore him many kids. Then in Genesis 30:22 God remembered Rachel just as He remembered Hannah, and Joseph was born. (Remember Jacob was renamed Israel, and the nation is named after him because all trace their lines back to him. Rachel's first son Joseph would save the world from a seven year famine, including his family. And Samuel would have a central role in the events that led to Jesus Christ. |
| 20 It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked him of the Lord." |
Literally in the Hebrew, after a circuit of days or a turn of days. This implies that Hannah's son was born very near the time of the family's annual pilgrimage to the temple. She names the boy Samuel for the stated reason that she asked the Lord for him. However, Shemu'el doesn't mean ask, it means "heard of God" or "appointed by God". Even in the name she chooses Hannah humbly acknowledges that this is not because what she did, but it was because of what God did. |
| 21 Then the man Elkanah went up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow. | This verse and verse 22 also seem to indicate that Samuel was born nearly a year later. Here we see that Elkanah did his annual sacrifice on this annual trip, and to pay his vow. The annual sacrifice was a requirement of the law. But in addition to that he had made some sort of vow that he would keep every year. We are not told what this was. |
| 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and stay there forever." 23 Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems best to you. Remain until you have weaned him; only may the Lord confirm His word." So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. |
Hannah opts out of the annual family trip. She wants to wait until he is weaned. In other words, she doesn't want to take him to the temple until it is time to leave him there. When Elkanah agrees, his wording seems to indicate that he believed Eli's words in verse 17 were a promise from God. Additionally, it appears that he wished for confirmation from God before his son was given to temple service. How long this weaning takes at this time is considerably longer than is common today. There is some dispute as to how long this would be in Jewish tradition of the time, with a range from 18 months to 5 years. During the intertestimental period, (that is the time between the two testaments of the Bible,) the narrative in 2 Maccabees 7:27 has weaning at three years. However, that is 1,000 years after the birth of Samuel. Whereas 2 Chronicles was contemporary writing covering a parallel time period, and in 2 Chronicles 31:16 it says that three years old and up would serve and have duties in the house of the Lord. This makes 3 years the likely age of Samuel when Hannah brought him to live at the temple. This also meant she didn't go on the family pilgrimage for three years. |
| 24 Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young. |
There is no requirement for a sacrifice for having a son or for him entering service at the temple. However, there is a tradition of offering a sacrifice in thanks to God. It could seem that giving up her child would be thanking God for him. However, giving up her child was actually fulfillment of her vow. Thus to give thanks to God blessing her with a son she made a valuable sacrifice. The Mosaic law in Leviticus 1 calls for sacrifice of a young bull, which would be a year old bull. A three-year old bull would be more valuable. A grain sacrifice could be offered on it's own in some circumstances. A grain and drink offering was required to accompany a sacrifice of a goat, bull or cow. They were not required for the sacrifice of a bird. A grain offering is either flour or unleavened bread. A drink offering is alcohol. |
| 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and brought the boy to Eli. | So Hannah, (with her husband who would be responsible for doing the duty of sacrificing the bull,) thanked God and presented Samuel to the prophet of God for service to God. |
| 26 She said, "Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. 27 "For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. |
With joy, Hannah reminds Eli of their encounter when she stood there praying, and reveals that this boy was what she had been praying for. When God answers our prayers with a yes we feel the same joy, and should also not neglect to give our thanks to God. She again speaks with respect, calling Eli lord. This is adon in Hebrew, which means lord. For God she used Yahweh, the proper name for God. There is no connection between the words in Hebrew. Replacing YHWH is a rabbinic tradition that is not reflected in the Hebrew Scriptures. This began during the Babylonian exile in the 6th century B.C. and was fully a tradition by the 3rd century B.C. Many translations use Lord in place of YHWH for this reason. In modern synagogues, even when reading from the Torah, they will substitute Adonai or Jehovah. (When I attended a Shabbat this was the case.) And in my Hebrew classes, we were expected to follow the rabbinic tradition and substitute Adonai or Jehovah. (Technically, Jehovah is the Latin version of Yahweh as Latin doesn't have a Y.) However, quotations in the scriptures have the person using Yahweh. God told Moses to tell the rest of the Israelites that His name is Yahweh. The origin of replacing Yahweh may be due to an over concern regarding mispronunciation. Saying the words correctly when reading aloud from the Torah was and is considered very important. If you cannot say it correctly you wouldn't be allowed to read it aloud. Hebrew had no written vowels, and Jews just knew the proper vowel sounds for the words. But the diaspora, (the dispersed Jews outside Israel,) were losing their ability to remember the proper vowel sounds for Hebrew words. So a system of vowel markings were added to the written language so the proper vowels sounds could be read instead of requiring memorization. This happened between 600-1000 AD. The rabbinic tradition of not saying the name of God was standard at this time. That is why the Masoretic scribes placed impossible vowel markings in Yahweh so it would be impossible to read aloud. There is a common false teaching that God gave the name YHWH as four consonants with no vowels so that it would be unpronounceable. However, all Hebrew was written with only consonants at the time, not just Yahweh. Scripture is clear that God's name was and is used, albeit with great respect and reverence. Not saying it is a tradition of man outside scripture like those Jesus directly called out while criticizing the Pharisees and scribes. |
| 28 "So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord." And he worshiped the Lord there. | Here Hannah declares that because God answered her prayer with a yes, Samuel is dedicated to Yahweh. This means he is given to directly serve God at the temple. However, this does not mean he will be a priest. His service could be one of cleaning and maintaining the temple. Samuel becoming more would depend on his ability, and should also depend on his character. As we will see later, character and ability is not always considered as it should be when elevating someone to priest or pastor. |
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation.