1:9 On one occasion in Shiloh, after they had finished eating and drinking, Hannah got up. 4 (Now at the time Eli the priest was sitting in his chair 5 by the doorpost of the Lord’s temple.)
1:23 So her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what you think best. 7 Stay until you have weaned him. May the Lord fulfill his promise.” 8
So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. 1:24 Once she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with three bulls, an ephah 9 of flour, and a container 10 of wine. She brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh, even though he was young. 11
2:27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not plainly 12 reveal myself to your ancestor’s 13 house when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh?
Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. 16 They camped at Ebenezer, 17 and the Philistines camped at Aphek.
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.
5:9 But after it had been moved the Lord attacked 19 that city as well, causing a great deal of panic. He struck all the people of that city 20 with sores. 21
6:17 These are the gold sores that the Philistines brought as a guilt offering to the Lord – one for each of the following cities: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.
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.”
7:10 As Samuel was offering burnt offerings, the Philistines approached to do battle with Israel. 22 But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by 23 Israel.
10:25 Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work. 27 He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes.
12:12 “When you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was advancing against you, you said to me, ‘No! A king will rule over us’ – even though the Lord your God is your king!
14:33 Now it was reported to Saul, “Look, the army is sinning against the Lord by eating even the blood.” He said, “All of you have broken the covenant! 36 Roll a large stone over here to me.”
15:22 Then Samuel said,
“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as he does in obedience? 40
Certainly, 41 obedience 42 is better than sacrifice;
paying attention is better than 43 the fat of rams.
15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has rejected you as 44 king.”
15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded 45 and what you said as well. 46 For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. 47
16:4 Samuel did what the Lord told him. 50 When he arrived in Bethlehem, 51 the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They 52 said, “Do you come in peace?” 16:5 He replied, “Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” So he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
24:8 Afterward David got up and went out of the cave. He called out after Saul, “My lord, O king!” When Saul looked behind him, David kneeled down and bowed with his face to the ground.
30:23 But David said, “No! You shouldn’t do this, my brothers. Look at what the Lord has given us! 71 He has protected us and has delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us.
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 72 for you from the looting of the Lord’s enemies!”
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 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.
5 tn Or perhaps, “on his throne.” See Joüon 2:506-7 §137.f.
6 tn The disjunctive clause is contrastive here. The words “with them” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
8 tn Heb “establish his word.” This apparently refers to the promise inherent in Eli’s priestly blessing (see v. 17).
9 sn The ephah was a standard dry measure in OT times; it was the equivalent of one-tenth of the OT measure known as a homer. The ephah was equal to approximately one-half to two-thirds of a bushel.
10 tn The Hebrew term translated “container” may denote either a clay storage jar (cf. CEV “a clay jar full of wine”) or a leather container (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “a skin of wine”; NCV “a leather bag filled with (full of TEV) wine.”
11 tc Heb “and the boy was a boy.” If the MT is correct the meaning apparently is that the boy was quite young at the time of these events. On the other hand, some scholars have suspected a textual problem, emending the text to read either “and the boy was with them” (so LXX) or “and the boy was with her” (a conjectural emendation). In spite of the difficulty it seems best to stay with the MT here.
12 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
13 tn Heb “to your father’s” (also in vv. 28, 30).
14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Heb “and the word of Samuel was.” The present translation understands Samuel to be the speaker of the divine word (“Samuel” is a subjective genitive in this case), although the statement could mean that he was the recipient of the divine word (“Samuel” is an objective genitive in this case) who in turn reported it to Israel.
16 tn Heb “and Israel went out to meet the Philistines for battle.”
17 tn Heb “the stone, the help.” The second noun is in apposition to the first one and apparently is the name by which the stone was known. Contrast the expression used in 5:1 and 7:12, where the first word lacks the definite article, unlike 4:1.
18 tc The LXX adds “they entered the temple of Dagon and saw.”
19 tn Heb “the hand of the
20 tn Heb “and he struck the men of the city from small and to great.”
21 tn See the note on this term in v. 6. Cf. KJV “and they had emerods in their secret parts.”
22 tn Heb “approached for battle against Israel.”
23 tn Heb “before.”
24 tn Heb “Listen to the voice of the people, to all which they say to you.”
25 tn Heb “listen to their voice.”
26 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew
27 tn Heb “the regulation of the kingship.” This probably refers to the regulations pertaining to kingship given to Moses (see Deut 17:14-20).
28 tn Heb “anointed [one].”
29 tn Heb “that you have not found anything in my hand.”
30 sn Jerub-Baal (יְרֻבַּעַל) is also known as Gideon (see Judg 6:32). The Book of Judges uses both names for him.
31 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.”
32 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.”
33 tn Heb “for we have added to all our sins an evil [thing] by asking for ourselves a king.”
34 tn Heb “said.”
35 tn Or “I forced myself” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, CEV); NAB “So in my anxiety I offered”; NIV “I felt compelled.”
36 tn Heb “You have acted deceptively.” In this context the verb refers to violating an agreement, in this case the dietary and sacrificial regulations of the Mosaic law. The verb form is second masculine plural; apparently Saul here addresses those who are eating the animals.
37 tn Heb “and there was no one answering from all the army.”
38 tn Heb “they brought them.”
39 tn Heb “anointed.”
40 tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the
41 tn Heb “look.”
42 tn Heb “listening.”
43 tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).
44 tn Or “from [being].”
45 tn Heb “the mouth of the
46 tn Heb “and your words.”
47 tn Heb “and I listened to their voice.”
48 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
49 tn That is, Samuel.
50 tn Heb “said.”
51 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
52 tc In the MT the verb is singular (“he said”), but the translation follows many medieval Hebrew
53 tn Heb “answered and said.”
54 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
55 tn Heb “mighty man of valor and a man of war.”
56 tn Heb “discerning of word.”
57 tn Heb “a man of form.”
58 tn Heb “and you must do loyalty.”
59 tn Heb “for into a covenant of the
60 tn Heb “and if there is in me guilt.”
61 tn Heb “from you and onward.”
62 tn Heb “by the
63 tn Heb “cut off.”
64 tn Heb “all his house” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “his whole family.”
65 tn Heb “he is a son of worthlessness.”
66 tc The LXX and a couple of Old Latin
67 tn Heb “when you get up early in the morning and you have light, go.”
68 tn Heb “people.”
69 tn Heb “said to stone him.”
70 tn Heb “for bitter was the soul of all the people, each one.”
71 tc This clause is difficult in the MT. The present translation accepts the text as found in the MT and understands this clause to be elliptical, with an understood verb such as “look” or “consider.” On the other hand, the LXX seems to reflect a slightly different Hebrew text, reading “after” where the MT has “my brothers.” The Greek translation yields the following translation: “You should not do this after the
72 tn Heb “blessing.”