1 Samuel 1:7

1:7 Peninnah¹ would behave this way year after year. Whenever Hannah² went up to the Lord’s house, Peninnah³ would upset her so that she would weep and refuse to eat.

1 Samuel 1:22-23

1:22 but Hannah did not go up with them.⁴ Instead she told her husband, “Once the boy is weaned, I will bring him and appear before the Lord, and he will remain there from then on.”

1:23 So her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what you think best.⁵ Stay until you have weaned him. May the Lord fulfill his promise.”⁶

So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

1 Samuel 2:19-21

2:19 His mother used to make him a small robe and bring it up to him at regular intervals when she would go up with her husband to make the annual sacrifice. 2:20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the Lord raise up for you descendants⁷ from this woman to replace the one that she⁸ dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would go to their⁹ home. 2:21 So the Lord graciously attended to Hannah, and she was able to conceive and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the Lord’s sanctuary.¹⁰

1 Samuel 4:21

4:21 She named the boy Ichabod,¹¹ saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.

1 Samuel 19:13

19:13 Then Michal took a household idol¹² and put it on the bed. She put a quilt¹³ made of goat’s hair over its head¹⁴ and then covered the idol with a garment.

1 Samuel 25:3

25:3 The man’s name was Nabal,¹⁵ and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise¹⁶ and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.

1 Samuel 25:18

25:18 So Abigail quickly took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers¹⁷ of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs¹⁸ of roasted grain, a hundred bunches of raisins, and two hundred lumps of pressed figs. She loaded them on donkeys

1 Samuel 25:24

25:24 Falling at his feet, she said, “My lord, I accept all the guilt! But please let your female servant speak with my lord! Please listen to the words of your servant!

1 Samuel 25:35-36

25:35 Then David took from her hand what she had brought to him. He said to her, “Go back¹⁹ to your home in peace. Be assured that I have listened to you²⁰ and responded favorably.”²¹

25:36 When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time²² and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing²³ until morning’s light.

1 Samuel 28:14

28:14 He said to her, “What about his appearance?” She said, “An old man is coming up! He is wrapped in a robe!”

Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down.

1 Samuel 28:21

28:21 When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, “Your servant has done what you asked.²⁴ I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me.²⁵

¹tn 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.

²tn Heb “she”; the referent (Hannah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³tn Heb “she”; the referent (Peninnah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴tn The disjunctive clause is contrastive here. The words “with them” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁵tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

⁶tn Heb “establish his word.” This apparently refers to the promise inherent in Eli’s priestly blessing (see v. 17).

⁷tn Heb “seed.”

⁸tn The MT has a masculine verb here, but in light of the context the reference must be to Hannah. It is possible that the text of the MT is incorrect here (cf. the ancient versions), in which case the text should be changed to read either a passive participle or better, the third feminine singular of the verb. If the MT is correct here, perhaps the masculine is to be understood in a nonspecific and impersonal way, allowing for a feminine antecedent. In any case, the syntax of the MT is unusual here.

⁹tn Heb “his.”

¹⁰tn Heb “with the Lord.” Cf. NAB, TEV “in the service of the Lord”; NIV, NRSV, NLT “in the presence of the Lord”; CEV “at the Lord’s house in Shiloh.”

¹¹sn The name Ichabod (אִי־כָבוֹד) may mean, “Where is the glory?”

¹²tn 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.

¹³tn 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.”

¹⁴tn Heb “at the place of its head.”

¹⁵sn The name נָבָל (Nabal) means “foolish” or “senseless” in Hebrew, and as an adjective the word is used especially of persons who have no perception of ethical or religious claims. It is an apt name for this character, who certainly typifies such behavior.

¹⁶tn Heb “good of insight”; KJV “of good understanding”; NAB, NIV, TEV “intelligent”; NRSV “clever.”

¹⁷tn Heb “skins.”

¹⁸sn The seah was a dry measure equal to one-third of an ephah, or not quite eleven quarts.

¹⁹tn Heb “up.”

²⁰tn Heb “your voice.”

²¹tn Heb “I have lifted up your face.”

²²tn Heb “and the heart of Nabal was good upon him”; NASB, NRSV “Nabal’s heart was merry within him”; NIV “he was in high spirits”; NCV, TEV “was in a good mood”; CEV “was very drunk and feeling good.”

²³tn Heb “and she did not tell him a thing, small or large.”

²⁴tn Heb “listened to your voice.”

²⁵tn Heb “listened to your words that you spoke to me.”