1 Samuel 1:14

14 and he said to her, How long shalt thou be drunken? Avoid thou a little the wine, by which thou art moist (Be thou done with the wine, by which thou art made drunk).

1 Samuel 1:14 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 1:14

And Eli said unto her, how long wilt thou be drunken?
&c.] What, every day drunk? what, continually in this wicked practice? when will it be stopped? for Eli might have observed on other days, and at other times, odd looks, and a strange behaviour in her, which he took for the effects of drinking too much wine: or how long will this drunken fit last? she had been a considerable time as he thought in it, and it was not gone off yet: the Targum is,

``how long wilt thou behave like a fool, or a mad woman?''

as drunken people generally do act, as if they were fools, or mad:

put away thy wine from thee;
not as if she had any with her there to drink of, but he advises her, since it had such an effect upon her, to abstain from it, and wholly disuse it, and so break off such an habit and custom she had got into; or he would have her go home and sleep it out, and wait till she had digested it, and the strength of it was gone off, before she came to such a place of devotion and worship; from hence the Jews say ^F23 it may be learnt, that a drunken person ought not to pray.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 31. 1.

1 Samuel 1:14 In-Context

12 And it was done, when she multiplied her prayers before the Lord, that Eli espied her mouth.

13 Forsooth Hannah spake in her heart, and only her lips were moved, and utterly her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli guessed her drunken, (And Hannah spoke in her heart, so that only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. And so Eli guessed that she was drunk.)

14 and he said to her, How long shalt thou be drunken? Avoid thou a little the wine, by which thou art moist (Be thou done with the wine, by which thou art made drunk).

15 Hannah answered, and said, Nay, my lord, for I am an unhappy woman; I have not drunk wine, neither anything that may make drunken, but I have poured out my soul in the Lord's sight (but I have poured out my soul before the Lord);

16 guess thou not thine handmaid as one of the daughters of Belial, for of the multitude of my sorrow and of my mourning I have spoken unto this present time. (think thou not that thy servantess is one of the daughters of Belial, for until this present time I have spoken out of the multitude of my sorrow, and of my mourning.)