1 Samuel 1 is the first chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

or the first part of the

Books of Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books ( Jo ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. Chapters 1 to 7 of 1 Samuel depict Samuel's life: this chapter focuses on his birth.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserve ...

. It is divided into 28 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

tradition, which includes the

Codex Cairensis The Codex Cairensis (also: ''Codex Prophetarum Cairensis'', ''Cairo Codex of the Prophets'') is a Hebrew manuscript containing the complete text of the Hebrew Bible's Nevi'im (Prophets). It has traditionally been described as "the oldest dated He ...

(895),

Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex ( he, כֶּתֶר אֲרָם צוֹבָא, romanized: , lit. 'Crown of Aleppo') is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the ...

(10th century), and

Codex Leningradensis The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...

(1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

, that is, 6Q4 (6QpapKgs; 150–75 BCE) with extant verses 28–31.Dead sea scrolls - 1 Samuel
/ref> Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

known as the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

(originally was made in the last few centuries BCE) include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century) and

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century).

Old Testament references

*: 1 Samuel 1
Berean Study Bible *: (annual pilgrimage) *: (Nazirite vow) *: (husband's approval of wife's vow) *: (offerings of bull, flour and wine)

Period

* The event in this chapter happened at the end of judges period in Israel, about 1100 BC.

Elkanah's family (1:1–8)

Elkanah Elkanah ( he, אֱלְקָנָה ''’Ĕlqānā'' " El has purchased") was, according to the First Book of Samuel, the husband of Hannah, and the father of her children including her first, Samuel. Elkanah practiced polygamy; his other wife, ...

came from a prestigious Levite family in Ramah (verse 1) in the land of Zuph (cf. ). Elkanah's first wife, Hannah, was barren so he had decided to take a second wife,

Peninnah Peninnah ( ''Pəninnā''; sometimes transliterated ''Penina'') was one of Elkanah's two wives, briefly mentioned in the first Book of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:2). Her name may derive from (''pəninā''), meaning "pearl." Biblical account Peninnah was ...

(cf. ). When Peninnah had children, tension and rivalry arose between the two women, with Hannah being constantly provoked and distressed. The inability of Elkanah to control the situation of his wives pushes Hannah to take the initiative, especially when her plight was made more obvious by receiving only one portion of the sacrifice (verse 5). The opportunity cames when Elkanah and his family attended annual worship feast in Shiloh (Judges 21:19–24), one of the most important sanctuaries and the home of the ark (1 Samuel 3:3), which was regulated by the high priest Eli and his two sons.

Verse 1

:''Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:'' *" Ramathaimzophim": can be translated as "Ramathaim" in the "district of Zuph". A "land of Zuph" was mentioned only once in 1 Samuel 9:5, an area in which Samuel is said to have been found. Greek

renders the phrase as "a man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite". The name "Ramathaim" means "the two heights" is found in the whole Bible only in this verse, and without doubt points to Ramah (meaning "the height"), which is the birthplace (1 Samuel 1:19), residence (1 Samuel 7:17), and burial-place (1 Samuel 25:1) of

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges is a biblical commentary set published in parts by Cambridge University Press from 1882 onwards. Anglican bishop John Perowne was the general editor. The first section published was written by theologi ...

1 Samuel 1
Accessed 28 April 2019. The city has been identified with Arimathea of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

: literally, "God is owner", from his genealogy is known to belong to the

Kohathites The Kohathites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in biblical times, the other three being the Gershonites, the Merarites, and the Aaronites (more commonly known as Kohanim). The Bible claims that the Kohathites were all desce ...

(cf. 1 Chronicles 6:3–15), one of the three division sof the Levites.Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors)
On "1 Samuel 1".
In: ''The

Pulpit Commentary The ''Pulpit Commentary'' is a homiletic commentary on the Bible created during the nineteenth century under the direction of Rev. Joseph S. Exell and Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones. It consists of 23 volumes with 22,000 pages and 95,000 entri ...

''. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Accessed 24 April 2019. *"Elihu" (meaning "God is he") written as "Eliel" ("God is God") in 1 Chronicles 6:34. *"Tohu": written as "Toah" in 1 Chronicles 6:34. *"Zuph": apparently had moved from the land of Ephraim, one of the three tribes (Ephraim, Manasseh, Dan) to which the Kohathites were traditionally attached. He is called "an Ephrathite" (or "Ephraimite"; cf. Judges 12:5), apparently following the practice to acknowledge Levites in relation to the tribes to which they were attached (cf. Judges 17:7). He seems to be a prominent person to have his new home to be named after him, called the "land of Zuph" in 1 Samuel 9:5, his descendants called "the Zophim", with Ramah as the center, and Elkanah, as the head of the family at this time, known as a man of wealth and influence.

Verse 2

:''And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.'' *"Two wives": cf. Lamech, of the lineage of Cain (Genesis 4:19). Ellicott, C. J. (Ed.) (1905)
''Ellicott's Bible Commentary for English Readers''. 1 Samuel 1.
London : Cassell and Company, Limited, 905-1906Online version: (OCoLC) 929526708. Accessed 28 April 2019. Barnes, Albert
''Notes on the Bible'' - 1 Samuel 1
James Murphy (ed). London: Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998. This practice was tolerated by the law (Deuteronomy 21:15–17), and recorded in the family of

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ...

(Genesis 29), Ashur (1 Chronicles 4:5), Shaharaim (1 Chronicles 8:8), David (1 Samuel 25:43), Joash (2 Chronicles 24:3), and others, but gradually became less frequent until there was no case on record in the Bible after the Captivity. *" Hannah": means "beauty" or "charm" or "grace"; the Greek rendering is the same as "Anna" (cf. Luke 2:36). *"

" means "a pearl" or "coral" (cf. Job 28:18). The root word of the name probably denotes "red pearl" because it was translated as "ruby" in Proverbs 3:15 and Lamentations 4:7.

Verse 3

:''Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phin′ehas, were priests of the Lord.''

Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...

: ''From the solemn appointed feast to the solemn appointed feast'', similarly translated by Robert Young as "from time to time", although generally as "yearly" or "year to year" in other English translations.

The birth of Samuel (1:9–28)

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 086

Hannah took the initiative to make a vow that the son she requested would be dedicated as a nazirite (verse 11). The Masoretic Text only mentions "a razor will not go up upon his head" (meaning "leaving the hair uncut") as one feature of the nazirite vow, but the longer text in the Greek version of

(supported in some parts by 4QSam among the

) mentions "wine and strong drink he will not drink" (cf. Numbers 6:1–21; Judges 13:5, 7) as another feature of a nazirite. Hannah delayed her visit until Samuel had been weaned, then she brought the child to Shiloh to 'abide there forever' (4QSam clarifies that Hannah was dedicating Samuel as a nazirite), with the bull offerings as well as flour and wine (cf. Numbers 15:8–10). A repeated wordplay on the Hebrew root word ''sha'al'' (to ask, request) has been found in this passage: 'that thou hast asked of him' (verse 17), 'I have asked him of the Lord' (verse 20), 'which I asked of him' (verse 27), 'I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord' (verse 28). Verse 20 links the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A persona ...

of the child to this word: Hannah named the child Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked for him from the Lord".

Verse 21

:''And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.'' *"His vow": the Hebrew suffix could also be translated as "its vow", referring to "his household's vow", which could be Hannah's vow, because according to Numbers 30:6–8 a husband could nullify or allow his wife's vow to stand.Note on 1 Samuel 1:21 in NET Bible The Greek

has an addition "and all the tithes of his land" to this verse.

Verse 24

:''Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young.'' *"Three bulls": based on the Masoretic Text, whereas 4QSam and the Septuagint and

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

versions have "a three-year-old bull". Verse 25 mentions that one bull was offered as the burnt offering to consecrate Samuel to God, so one more bull could be for the "sacrifice in performing a vow" and the third one for a peace-offering (cf. Numbers 15:8). *"Ephah": about 3/5 bushel or 22 litersNote on 1 Samuel 1:24 in ESV

Notes

References

Sources

Commentaries on Samuel

* * * * *

General

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

translations: *
Shmuel I - I Samuel - Chapter 1 (Judaica Press)
Hebrew text and English translation ith_Rashi's_commentary.html"_;"title="Rashi.html"_;"title="ith_Rashi">ith_Rashi's_commentary">Rashi.html"_;"title="ith_Rashi">ith_Rashi's_commentaryat_Chabad.org *_Christian_ Christians_()_are_people_who_follow_or_adhere_to_Christianity,_a__monotheistic_Abrahamic_religion_based_on_the_life_and_teachings_of_Jesus_Christ._The_words_''Christ''_and_''Christian''_derive_from_the_Koine_Greek_title_''Christós''_(Χρι�_...