1 Samuel 1:1-18
New Catholic Bible
The Last Judges: Eli and Samuel[a]
Chapter 1[b]
Elkanah’s Pilgrimage to Shiloh. 1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives. The name of one of them was Hannah, and the name of the other was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not have any children. 3 This man would travel from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts[c] in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests there.
4 When Elkanah performed his sacrifice, he would give a portion of it to Peninnah his wife and a portion each to all of her sons and daughters, 5 but he would give a double portion to Hannah, for he loved her although the Lord had left her barren. 6 Her rival[d] provoked her and made her miserable because the Lord had left her barren. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, she provoked her. This made her weep, and she refused to eat. 8 Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why are you not eating? Why are you so downhearted? Am I not worth more than ten sons to you?”
Hannah’s Prayer. 9 Once, when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting upon a chair by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was greatly distressed and she prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.[e] 11 She made a vow saying, “O Lord of hosts, if you will regard the troubles of your handmaid and will remember me, and not forget your handmaid, and you will give your handmaid a son, then I will dedicate him to the Lord for his entire life, and no razor[f] will ever touch his head.”
12 As she continued to pray to the Lord, Eli watched her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart so that only her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli, therefore, thought that she was drunk. 14 He said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Get rid of your wine!” 15 Hannah answered, “Oh no, my lord! I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking either wine or liquor. I have been pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not account your handmaid to be a daughter of Belial. I have been speaking out of the abundance of my difficulties and my grief.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace. The God of Israel grant the request you have made of him.” 18 She said, “Let your handmaid find favor in your sight.” The woman then went her way and ate, and she was not downcast anymore.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 1:1 It is not by chance that Samuel gives his name to the entire book (with its two parts), for he receives a very special call and is chosen to be a prophet and leader in Israel. His main task will be to help the chosen people make the transition from a confederacy to a monarchy without losing, in the process, their direct and exclusive attachment to Yahweh, who will always be their sole Lord. The initial picture of Samuel occupies the first seven chapters.
- 1 Samuel 1:1 As in the case of Isaac, Samson, and John the Baptist, a child given to a barren woman has a special destiny.
- 1 Samuel 1:3 Lord of hosts: Hebrew, Jahve seba’ot. The meaning is that God is the God of all the creatures, heavenly and earthly, in the universe, and that these are regarded as a single well-ordered multitude of beings.
- 1 Samuel 1:6 Her rival: Hannah, because of her inability to have a child, was considered a failure in Old Testament thinking. It was also permissible for Elkanah to divorce his wife who was barren, but he remained faithful to her. Peninnah filled the role of a second or co-wife, in Hebrew, sara.
- 1 Samuel 1:10 Hannah showed her true colors by her faithfulness to the Lord. Rather than give up or complain about her fate she prayed in the midst of her great distress.
- 1 Samuel 1:11 No razor: an external sign of consecration to God (see Jdg 16:17), after the fashion of the Nazirites (Num 6:5).
