1 Samuel 1 Study Notes

1:18 The Hebrew word for favor with which Hannah replied was a shortened form of her own name.

1:19 Ramah lay along the major north-south highway five miles north of Jerusalem in the territory of Benjamin. The tender words the Lord remembered her remind the reader that ultimately it is God who brings new life within the womb. In the OT, to “remember” means not simply to think about someone but to act on their behalf (see note at Gn 8:1).

1:20 The name Samuel may be a wordplay meaning “Requested from God.” A second possibility is the meaning “Heard by God.”

1:21 The expression annual sacrifice literally means “sacrifice of the days” and probably designates one of the three required festivals—Passover, the Festival of Weeks, or the Festival of Shelters (Dt 16:16). The word vow may denote a separate vow that Elkanah had made, or perhaps it designates Hannah’s vow that Elkanah then shared with her when he heard of it (Nm 30:10-15).

1:22 The apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees (7:27) suggests Israelite children were weaned at around age three, a custom not unusual in societies where homes lacked running water and where the purity of drinking water was difficult to maintain.

1:23 The Hebrew verb translated confirm literally means “cause to stand.” Elkanah wanted God’s blessing to remain on the young boy Samuel.

1:24 The Masoretic Text, overall the most reliable Hebrew manuscript tradition, reads “three bulls.” The CSB adopted three-year-old bull because of the reference to a single bull in v. 25 and because of the testimony of other early manuscripts. If the Masoretic Text is correct, however, it may be that the one bull constituted Elkanah’s sacrifice of thanksgiving for Samuel’s birth, while the other two were part of his usual sacrifice, and hence were not mentioned in v. 25.

1:25 On bull, see note at v. 24.

1:26-27 Hannah thought it important to testify to Eli, Israel’s high priest, how God had answered her prayer.

1:28 The Hebrew words translated give and given are related to the Hebrew word for “requested,” which also has to do with the meaning of Samuel’s name (v. 20). They literally mean “to give over” or “to grant” what was requested. Hannah had received the son she requested; she now grants him to the Lord for his service.