1 Samuel 1:21

21 The time came again for Elkanah and his family to go to Shiloh and offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and the special sacrifice he had promised.

1 Samuel 1:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 1:21

And the man Elkanah, and all his house
All his family, excepting Hannah, and her son Samuel; or all the men of his house, as the Targum; for only the males were obliged to appear at the three festivals:

went up to Shiloh;
to the house of God there:

to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice;
either the passover, to which men commonly went up with their families: see ( Luke 2:41 Luke 2:42 ) , or rather it may be what was offered at the feast of tabernacles, as Abarbinel thinks, the time of the ingathering the fruits of the earth, when men went up with their families to offer sacrifice, and express their joy on that account, ( Deuteronomy 16:10-15 )

and his vow:
which he had made between feast and feast; for whatever vows men made at home, on any account, they paid them at the yearly festivals; and this vow might be on the account of the birth of his son, by way of thanksgiving for that.

1 Samuel 1:21 In-Context

19 The next morning Elkanah and his family got up early, and after worshiping the Lord, they went back home to Ramah. Elkanah had intercourse with his wife Hannah, and the Lord answered her prayer.

20 So it was that she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, and explained, "I asked the Lord for him."

21 The time came again for Elkanah and his family to go to Shiloh and offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and the special sacrifice he had promised.

22 But this time Hannah did not go. She told her husband, "As soon as the child is weaned, I will take him to the house of the Lord, where he will stay all his life."

23 Elkanah answered, "All right, do whatever you think best; stay at home until you have weaned him. And may the Lord make your promise come true." So Hannah stayed at home and nursed her child.