1 Samuel 1:21

21 Every year Elkanah went with his whole family to Shiloh to offer sacrifices and to keep the promise he had made to God.

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 Early the next morning Elkanah's family got up and worshiped the Lord. Then they went back home to Ramah. Elkanah had sexual relations with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.

20 So Hannah became pregnant, and in time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, "His name is Samuel because I asked the Lord for him."

21 Every year Elkanah went with his whole family to Shiloh to offer sacrifices and to keep the promise he had made to God.

22 But one time Hannah did not go with him. She told him, "When the boy is old enough to eat solid food, I will take him to Shiloh. Then I will give him to the Lord, and he will always live there."

23 Elkanah, Hannah's husband, said to her, "Do what you think is best. You may stay home until the boy is old enough to eat. May the Lord do what you have said." So Hannah stayed at home to nurse her son until he was old enough to eat.