1 Samuel 2:21

21 The Lord was kind to Hannah, so she became the mother of three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up serving the Lord.

1 Samuel 2:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 2:21

And the Lord visited Hannah
In a way of mercy, approving and confirming the blessing of Eli; or rather granting the blessing he prayed for, by giving her power to conceive, bear, and bring forth children, as the following words explain it:

so that she conceived and bare three sons and two daughters;
whereby the prophecy of Hannah was fulfilled, ( 1 Samuel 2:5 ) , and was no doubt matter of great joy to her, though of these children we nowhere else read, nor even of their names. Josephus ^F19 says, Elkanah had other sons by Hannah, and three daughters; which agrees not with the text:

and the child Samuel grew before the Lord:
in age and stature, in grace and goodness, and improved much in the worship and service of God, both in the theory and practice of it; or became great with him, high in his esteem and favour, and was blessed with much of his presence, and with large gifts of his grace.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 10. sect. 3.

1 Samuel 2:21 In-Context

19 Every year Samuel's mother made a little coat for him and took it to him when she went with her husband to Shiloh for the sacrifice.

20 When Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, he would say, "May the Lord repay you with children through Hannah to take the place of the boy Hannah prayed for and gave back to the Lord." Then Elkanah and Hannah would go home.

21 The Lord was kind to Hannah, so she became the mother of three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up serving the Lord.

22 Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all the Israelites and how his sons had sexual relations with the women who served at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

23 Eli said to his sons, "Why do you do these evil things that the people tell me about?