1 Samuel 1:16

16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint^[a] and grief have I spoken hitherto.

1 Samuel 1:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 1:16

Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial
A yokeless, a lawless, impudent, and abandoned creature; one of the most wicked, vilest, and most profligate wretches; as she must be to come drunk into the sanctuary of God; see ( 1 Samuel 25:17 1 Samuel 25:25 ) . Drunkenness in man is au abominable crime, but much more in a woman. The Romans ^F1 forbad wine to women, and drunkenness in them was a capital crime, as adultery, or any other; and indeed a drunken woman is liable to all manner of sin:

for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken
hitherto;
out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak, whether it is matter of trouble or of joy; the heart of Hannah was full of grief, and her mouth full of complaints, on which she long dwelt, in order to give vent thereunto, and ease herself.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 14. c. 13.

1 Samuel 1:16 In-Context

14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken ? put away thy wine from thee.

15 And Hannah answered and said , No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.

17 Then Eli answered and said , Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

18 And she said , Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat , and her countenance was no more sad.

Footnotes

• [a]. complaint: or, meditation