3:1 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. 6 Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.
6:13 Now the residents of Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they were pleased at the sight.
14:2 Now Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree in Migron, on the outskirts of Gibeah. The army that was with him numbered about six hundred men.
15:1 Then Samuel said to Saul, “I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says. 12
16:12 So Jesse had him brought in. 13 Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, “Go and anoint him. This is the one!”
18:26 So his servants told David these things and David agreed 14 to become the king’s son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired 15
19:8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly 16 and they ran away from him.
28:16 Samuel said, “Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy?
30:1 On the third day David and his men came to Ziklag. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They attacked Ziklag and burned it. 26
31:1 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel. The men of Israel fled from the Philistines and many of them fell dead on Mount Gilboa.
1 tn The exact sense of the Hebrew word אַפָּיִם (’appayim, “two faces”) is not certain here. It is most likely used with the preceding expression (“one portion of two faces”) to mean a portion double than normally received. Although evidence for this use of the word derives primarily from Aramaic rather than from Hebrew usage, it provides an understanding that fits the context here better than other suggestions for the word do. The meaning “double” is therefore adopted in the present translation. Other possibilities for the meaning of the word include the following: “heavily” (cf. Vulg., tristis) and “worthy” or “choice” (cf. KJV and Targum). Some scholars have followed the LXX here, emending the word to אֶפֶס (’efes) and translating it as “but” or “however.” This seems unnecessary. The translators of the LXX may simply have been struggling to make sense of the word rather than following a Hebrew text that was different from the MT here.
2 tn Heb “for Hannah he loved.” Repetition of the proper name would seem redundant in contemporary English, so the pronoun (“her”) has been used here for clarity. The translation also adds the adverb “especially” to clarify the meaning of the text. Without this addition one might get the impression that only Hannah, not Peninnah, was loved by her husband. But the point of the text is that Hannah was his favorite.
3 tn Heb “and the
4 tn Heb “daughter of worthlessness.”
5 tn Heb “he,” apparently referring to Samuel (but cf. CEV “Elkanah”). A few medieval manuscripts and some ancient versions take the verb as plural (cf. TEV, NLT).
6 tn Heb “before Eli.”
7 tn Heb “and now, listen to their voice.”
8 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the imperative for emphasis.
9 tn Heb “and tell them the manner of the king who will rule over them.”
10 tn Heb “and I will enter into judgment with you” (NRSV similar); NAB “and I shall arraign you.”
11 tn Heb “all the just actions which he has done with you and with your fathers.”
12 tn Heb “to the voice of the words of the
13 tn Heb “and he sent and brought him.”
14 tn Heb “and it was acceptable in the eyes of David.”
15 tn Heb “the days were not fulfilled.”
16 tn Heb “and he struck them down with a great blow.”
17 tn Heb “to all the desire of your soul.”
18 tn Heb “blessing.”
19 tn Heb “are walking at the feet of.”
20 tn Heb “saying.”
21 tn Heb “he really stinks.” The expression is used figuratively here to describe the rejection and ostracism that David had experienced as a result of Saul’s hatred of him.
22 tc Many medieval Hebrew
23 tn Heb “permanently.”
24 sn Masoretic
25 tn Heb “a calf of the stall.”
26 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”