1 Samuel 1:7-8

1:7 Peninnah ¹  would behave this way year after year. Whenever Hannah ²  went up to the Lord’s house, Peninnah ³  would upset her so that she would weep and refuse to eat. 1:8 Finally her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and not eat? Why are you so sad? ⁴  Am I not better to you than ten ⁵  sons?”

1 Samuel 2:36

2:36 Everyone who remains in your house will come to bow before him for a little money ⁶  and for a scrap of bread. Each will say, ‘Assign me to a priestly task so I can eat a scrap of bread.’”

1 Samuel 20:34

20:34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David. ⁷ 

1 Samuel 28:22

28:22 Now it’s your turn to listen to your servant! Let me set before you a bit of bread so that you can eat. When you regain your strength, you can go on your way.”

1 Samuel 30:12

30:12 They gave him a slice of pressed figs and two bunches of raisins to eat. This greatly refreshed him, ⁸  for he had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights.

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¹ 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.

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

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

⁴ tn Heb “why is your heart displeased?”

⁵ sn Like the number seven, the number ten is sometimes used in the OT as an ideal number (see, for example, Dan 1:20, Zech 8:23).

⁶ tn Heb “a piece of silver” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

⁷ tn Heb “for he was upset concerning David for his father had humiliated him.” The referent of the pronoun “him” is not entirely clear, but the phrase “concerning David” suggests that it refers to David, rather than Jonathan.

⁸ tn Heb “his spirit returned to him.”