1 Samuel 1:12

12 {While}^[a] she continued to pray before Yahweh, Eli was observing her mouth.

1 Samuel 1:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 1:12

And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord,
&c.] Being very earnest and importunate with him to grant her request, and therefore repeated her petition, and prolonged her prayer, being unwilling to let the Lord go, until she had a promise, or some satisfaction, that she should have the thing she liked; some think she continued an hour in prayer:

that Eli marked her mouth;
observed the motion of her lips, and no doubt her distorted countenance, and uplifted eyes and hands, but chiefly the former; not knowing what the woman was at, and what could be the meaning of such motions.

1 Samuel 1:12 In-Context

10 She [was] {deeply troubled}, so she prayed to Yahweh and wept bitterly.

11 She {made a vow} and said: "O Yahweh of hosts, if you will look with compassion on the misery of your female servant, and will remember me, and not forget your female servant, and will give to your female servant {a male child} then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor will never pass over his head."

12 {While} she continued to pray before Yahweh, Eli was observing her mouth.

13 Now Hannah had been speaking in her heart; her lips [were] moving, but her voice could not be heard, so Eli considered her [to be] drunk.

14 Then Eli said to her, "How long will you behave like someone [who is] drunk? Put away your wine!"

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "And it happened that when"