1 Samuel 1:20
1:20 After some time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, thinking, “I asked the Lord for him. 1
1 Samuel 7:16
7:16 Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, 2 Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all of these places.
1 Samuel 12:21
12:21 You should not turn aside after empty things that can’t profit and can’t deliver, since they are empty. 3
1 Samuel 14:37
14:37 So Saul asked God, “Should I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But he did not answer him that day.
1 Samuel 17:43
17:43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you are coming after me with sticks?” 4 Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
1 Samuel 24:14
24:14 Who has the king of Israel come out after? Who is it that you are pursuing? A dead dog? A single flea?
1 Samuel 25:19
25:19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead of me. I will come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
1 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 שׁאל (sh’l, “to ask”), but the consonants do not support this. Nor is it likely that the name comes from the root שׁמא (shm’, “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.
2 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
3 tn Or “useless” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “nothing”; NASB “futile”; TEV “are not real.”
4 sn Sticks is a pejorative reference to David’s staff (v. 40); the same Hebrew word (מַקֵּל, maqqel) is used for both.