1:9 On one occasion in Shiloh, after they had finished eating and drinking, Hannah got up. 8 (Now at the time Eli the priest was sitting in his chair 9 by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple.)
1:21 This man Elkanah went up with all his family to make the yearly sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow,
3:10 Then the Lord came and stood nearby, calling as he had previously done, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel replied, “Speak, for your servant is listening!” 3:11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Look! I am about to do something in Israel; 11 when anyone hears about it, both of his ears will tingle.
3:15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.
3:18 So Samuel told him everything. He did not hold back anything from him. Eli 12 said, “The Lord will do what he pleases.” 13
4:6 When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, “What is this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” Then they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived at the camp.
5:6 The Lord attacked 15 the residents of Ashdod severely, bringing devastation on them. He struck the people of 16 both Ashdod and the surrounding area with sores. 17
6:21 So they sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down here and take it back home with you.”
7:2 It was quite a long time – some twenty years in all – that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people 18 of Israel longed for 19 the Lord.
7:12 Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen. 20 He named it Ebenezer, 21 saying, “Up to here the Lord has helped us.” 7:13 So the Philistines were defeated; they did not invade Israel again. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
9:17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, 26 “Here is the man that I told you about! He will rule over my people.”
12:6 Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors 27 up from the land of Egypt.
15:16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute! 36 Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul 37 said to him, “Tell me.”
15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded 40 and what you said as well. 41 For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. 42
16:4 Samuel did what the Lord told him. 46 When he arrived in Bethlehem, 47 the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They 48 said, “Do you come in peace?”
16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. 49 But Samuel 50 said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.”
16:12 So Jesse had him brought in. 52 Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, “Go and anoint him. This is the one!”
19:13 Then Michal took a household idol 55 and put it on the bed. She put a quilt 56 made of goat’s hair over its head 57 and then covered the idol with a garment.
26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t kill him! Who can extend his hand against the Lord’s chosen one 67 and remain guiltless?”
30:7 Then David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
30:26 When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah who were his friends, saying, “Here’s a gift 71 for you from the looting of the Lord’s enemies!”
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 “and her rival wife grieved her, even [with] grief so as to worry her.”
5 tn The MT has a masculine form of the verb here יַעֲשֶׂה (ya’aseh, “he used to do”); the subject in that case would presumably be Elkanah. But this leads to an abrupt change of subject in the following part of the verse, where the subject is the rival wife who caused Hannah anxiety. In light of v. 6 one expects the statement of v. 7 to refer to the ongoing actions of the rival wife: “she used to behave in this way year after year.” Some scholars have proposed retaining the masculine form but changing the vocalization of the verb so as to read a Niphal rather than a Qal (i.e., יֵעֲשֶׂה, ye’aseh, “so it used to be done”). But the problem here is lack of precedent for such a use of the Niphal of this verb. It seems best in light of the context to understand the reference to be to Hannah’s rival Peninnah and to read here, with the Syriac Peshitta, a feminine form of the verb (“she used to do”). In the translation the referent (Peninnah) has been specified for clarity.
6 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Hannah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Peninnah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tc The LXX adds “and stood before the Lord,” but this is probably a textual expansion due to the terseness of the statement in the Hebrew text.
9 tn Or perhaps, “on his throne.” See Joüon 2:506-7 §137.f.
10 tn Heb “to all Israel.”
11 tn The Hebrew text adds “so that” here, formally connecting this clause with the next.
12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”
14 tn Heb “shouted [with] a great shout.”
15 tn Heb “the hand of the
16 tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
17 tc The LXX and Vulgate add the following: “And mice multiplied in their land, and the terror of death was throughout the entire city.”
tn Or “tumors” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NCV “growths on their skin”; KJV “emerods”; NAB “hemorrhoids.”
18 tn Heb “house” (also in the following verse).
19 tn Heb “mourned after”; NIV “mourned and sought after”; KJV, NRSV “lamented after”; NAB “turned to”; NCV “began to follow…again.”
20 tn Cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT “Jeshanah.”
21 sn The name Ebenezer (אֶבֶן הָעָזֶר) means “stone of help” in Hebrew (cf. TEV); NLT adds the meaning parenthetically after the name.
22 tn Or perhaps “settled disputes for” (cf. NLT “would hear cases there”; NRSV “administered justice there”).
23 tn Heb “Listen to the voice of the people, to all which they say to you.”
24 tc The LXX adds “because you have chosen for yourselves a king.”
25 tn Heb “listen to their voice.”
26 tn Heb “responded.”
27 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 8).
28 sn Jerub-Baal (יְרֻבַּעַל) is also known as Gideon (see Judg 6:32). The Book of Judges uses both names for him.
29 tc The MT has “Bedan” (בְּדָן) here (cf. KJV, NASB, CEV). But a deliverer by this name is not elsewhere mentioned in the OT. The translation follows the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading “Barak.”
30 tc In the ancient versions there is some confusion with regard to these names, both with regard to the particular names selected for mention and with regard to the order in which they are listed. For example, the LXX has “Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel.” But the Targum has “Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, and Samuel,” while the Syriac Peshitta has “Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson.”
31 tn Heb “said.”
32 tn Or “I forced myself” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, CEV); NAB “So in my anxiety I offered”; NIV “I felt compelled.”
33 tc The LXX includes the following words: “Whomever the Lord will indicate by the lot, let him die! And the people said to Saul, ‘It is not this word.’ But Saul prevailed over the people, and they cast lots between him and between Jonathan his son.”
34 tn Heb “what Amalek did to Israel, how he placed against him.”
35 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
36 tn Or perhaps “be quiet.”
37 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
38 tn Heb “journey.”
39 tc The translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum in reading the second person singular suffix (“you”) rather than the third person plural suffix of the MT (“they”).
40 tn Heb “the mouth of the
41 tn Heb “and your words.”
42 tn Heb “and I listened to their voice.”
43 tn Heb “splendor,” used here by metonymy as a title for the
44 tn Or perhaps “does not lie.”
45 sn This observation marks the preceding statement (v. 28) as an unconditional, unalterable decree. When God makes such a decree he will not alter it or change his mind. This does not mean that God never deviates from his stated intentions or changes his mind. On the contrary, several passages describe him as changing his mind. In fact, his willingness to do so is one of his fundamental divine attributes (see Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Change His Mind?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.
46 tn Heb “said.”
47 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
48 tc In the MT the verb is singular (“he said”), but the translation follows many medieval Hebrew
49 tn Heb “and caused him to pass before.”
50 tn Heb “he” (also in v. 9); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
51 tn Heb “caused seven of his sons to pass before Samuel.” This could be taken as referring to seven sons in addition to the three mentioned before this, but 1 Sam 17:12 says Jesse had eight sons, not eleven. 1 Chr 2:13-15 lists only seven sons, including David. However, 1 Chr 27:18 mentions an additional son, named Elihu.
52 tn Heb “and he sent and brought him.”
53 tn Heb “[was] to.”
54 tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”
55 tn Heb “teraphim” (also a second time in this verse and once in v. 16). These were statues that represented various deities. According to 2 Kgs 23:24 they were prohibited during the time of Josiah’s reform movement in the seventh century. The idol Michal placed under the covers was of sufficient size to give the mistaken impression that David lay in the bed, thus facilitating his escape.
56 tn The exact meaning of the Hebrew word כָּבִיר (kavir) is uncertain; it is found in the Hebrew Bible only here and in v. 16. It probably refers to a quilt made of goat’s hair, perhaps used as a fly net while one slept. See HALOT 458 s.v. *כָּבִיר. Cf. KJV, TEV “pillow”; NLT “cushion”; NAB, NRSV “net.”
57 tn Heb “at the place of its head.”
58 tn Heb “cut.” The object of the verb (“covenant”) must be supplied.
59 tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text, which reads “and Jonathan cut with the house of David, and the
60 tn Heb “from you and onward.”
61 tn Or “righteous” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “you are in the right”; NLT “are a better man than I am.”
62 tn Heb “by the
63 tn Heb “cut off.”
64 tn Heb “according to all which he spoke, the good concerning you.”
65 tn Heb “appoint.”
66 tn Heb “blessed.”
67 tn Heb “anointed” (also in vv. 11, 16, 23).
68 tn Heb “your life was great this day in my eyes.”
69 tn Heb “may my life be great in the eyes of the
70 tn Heb “just as he said by my hand.”
71 tn Heb “blessing.”
72 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity (likewise in the following verse).