Study Desk

There was a man from Ramathaim-zophim^(a) in^[a] the hill country of Ephraim.^(b) His name was Elkanah^(c) son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

He had two wives,^(d) the first named Hannah^(e) and the second Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless.

This man would go up from his town every year^(f) to worship and to sacrifice^(g) to the Lord of Hosts at Shiloh,^(h) where Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were the Lord 's priests.

Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he always gave portions of the meat⁽ⁱ⁾ to his wife Peninnah and to each of her sons and daughters.

But he gave a double^[b] portion^(j) to Hannah, for he loved her even though the Lord had kept her from conceiving.

Her rival would taunt her severely just to provoke her, because the Lord had kept Hannah from conceiving.

Whenever she went up to the Lord 's house,^(k) her rival taunted her in this way every year. Hannah wept and would not eat.

"Hannah, why are you crying?" her husband Elkanah asked. "Why won't you eat? Why are you troubled? Am I not better to you than 10 sons?"^(l)

Hannah got up after they ate and drank at Shiloh.^[c] Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord 's tabernacle.^(m)

Deeply hurt, Hannah prayed to the Lord and wept with many tears.⁽ⁿ⁾

Making a vow,^(o) she pleaded, " Lord of Hosts, if You will take notice of Your servant's affliction,^(p) remember and not forget me, and give Your servant a son,^[d] I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and his hair will never be cut."^[e](q)

While she continued praying in the Lord 's presence, Eli watched her lips.

Hannah was praying silently,^[f](r) and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli thought she was drunk

and scolded her, "How long are you going to be drunk?^(s) Get rid of your wine!"

"No, my lord," Hannah replied. "I am a woman with a broken heart. I haven't had any wine or beer; I've been pouring out my heart before the Lord .^(t)

Don't think of me as a wicked woman;^(u) I've been praying from the depth of my anguish and resentment."^(v)

Eli responded, "Go in peace,^(w) and may the God of Israel grant the petition you've requested from Him."^(x)

"May your servant find favor with you,"^(y) she replied. Then Hannah went on her way; she ate and no longer looked despondent.^[g](z)

The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to bow in worship before the Lord . Afterward, they returned home to Ramah.^(aa) Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.^(ab)

After some time,^[h] Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel,^[i] because she said, "I requested him from the Lord ."

When Elkanah and all his household went up to make the annual sacrifice^(ac) and his vow offering to the Lord ,

Hannah did not go and explained to her husband, "After the child is weaned, I'll take him to appear in the Lord 's presence^(ad) and to stay there permanently."^(ae)

Her husband Elkanah replied, "Do what you think is best,^[j](af) and stay here until you've weaned him. May the Lord confirm your^[k] word."^(ag) So Hannah stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him.

When she had weaned him, she took him with her to Shiloh, as well as a three-year-old bull,^[l] half a bushel^[m] of flour, and a jar of wine.^(ah) Though the boy was still young,^[n] she took him to the Lord 's house at Shiloh.^(ai)

Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli.

"Please, my lord," she said, "as sure as you live,^(aj) my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord .

I prayed for this boy,^(ak) and since the Lord gave me what I asked Him for,^(al)

I now give the boy to the Lord . For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord ."^(am) Then he^[o] bowed in worship to the Lord there.^[p]

Hannah prayed:^(a) My heart rejoices in the Lord ;^(b) my horn is lifted up by the Lord . My mouth boasts over my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.^(c)

There is no one holy like the Lord .^(d) There is no one besides You!^(e) And there is no rock like our God.^(f)

Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogant words come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and actions are weighed by Him.^(g)

The bows of the warriors are broken,^(h) but the feeble are clothed with strength.⁽ⁱ⁾

Those who are full hire themselves out for food, but those who are starving hunger no more. The woman who is childless gives birth to seven,^(j) but the woman with many sons pines away.^(k)

The Lord brings death and gives life;^(l) He sends some to Sheol, and He raises others up.^(m)

The Lord brings poverty and gives wealth;⁽ⁿ⁾ He humbles and He exalts.^(o)

He raises the poor from the dust^(p) and lifts the needy from the garbage pile.^(q) He seats them with noblemen^(r) and gives them a throne of honor.^[a] For the foundations of the earth are the Lord 's;^(s) He has set the world on them.^(t)

He guards the steps^[b] of His faithful ones,^(u) but the wicked perish in darkness,^(v) for a man does not prevail by his own strength.^(w)

Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered;^[c](x) He will thunder in the heavens against them.^(y) The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.^(z) He will give power to His king; He will lift up the horn of His anointed.^(aa)

Elkanah went home to Ramah,^(ab) but the boy served the Lord in the presence of Eli the priest.^(ac)

Eli's sons were wicked men;^(ad) they had no regard for the Lord ^(ae)

or for the priests' share of the sacrifices from the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling

and plunge it into the container or kettle or cauldron or cooking pot.^(af) The priest would claim for himself whatever the meat fork brought up. This is the way they treated all the Israelites who came there to Shiloh.

Even before the fat was burned,^(ag) the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give the priest some meat to roast, because he won't accept boiled meat from you—only raw."

If that man said to him, "The fat must be burned first; then you can take whatever you want for yourself,"^(ah) the servant would reply, "No, I insist that you hand it over right now. If you don't, I'll take it by force!"

So the servants' sin was very severe in the presence of the Lord , because they treated the Lord 's offering with contempt.^(ai)

The boy Samuel served in the Lord 's presence^(aj) and wore a linen ephod.^(ak)

Each year his mother made him a little robe^(al) and took it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice.^(am)

Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife:^(an) "May the Lord give you children by this woman in place of the one she^[d] has given to the Lord ."^(ao) Then they would go home.

The Lord paid attention to Hannah's need,^(ap) and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord .^(aq)

Now Eli was very old. He heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel^(ar) and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting.^(as)

He said to them, "Why are you doing these things? I have heard about your evil actions from all these people.

No, my sons, the report I hear from the Lord 's people is not good.

If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him, but if a man sins against the Lord , who can intercede for him?"^(at) But they would not listen to their father, since the Lord intended to kill them.^(au)

By contrast, the boy Samuel grew in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men.^(av)

A man of God came to Eli and said to him,^(aw) "This is what the Lord says: ‘Didn't I reveal Myself to your ancestral house when it was in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh's palace?^(ax)

Out of all the tribes of Israel, I selected your house^[e] to be priests, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence.^(ay) I also gave your house all the Israelite fire offerings.

Why, then, do all of you despise My sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship?^(az) You have honored your sons more than Me,^(ba) by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of My people Israel.'

"Therefore, this is the declaration of the Lord , the God of Israel: ‘Although I said your family and your ancestral house would walk before Me forever,^(bb) the Lord now says, "No longer!" I will honor those who honor Me,^(bc) but those who despise Me will be disgraced.^(bd)

"‘Look, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your ancestral family, so that none in your family will reach old age.^(be)

You will see distress in the place of worship,^(bf) in spite of all that is good in Israel, and no one in your family will ever again reach old age.^(bg)

Any man from your family I do not cut off from My altar will bring grief^[f] and sadness to you. All your descendants will die violently.^[g][h]

This will be the sign that will come to you concerning your two sons Hophni and Phinehas:^(bh) both of them will die on the same day.^(bi)

"‘Then I will raise up a faithful priest^(bj) for Myself. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him,^(bk) and he will walk before My anointed one for all time.^(bl)

Anyone who is left in your family will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread. He will say: Please appoint me to some priestly office so I can have a piece of bread to eat.'"

The boy Samuel served the Lord in Eli's presence.^(a) In those days the word of the Lord was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread.^(b)

One day Eli, whose eyesight was failing,^(c) was lying in his room.

Before the lamp of God had gone out,^(d) Samuel was lying down in the tabernacle of the Lord , where the ark of God was located.

Then the Lord called Samuel,^[a] and he answered, "Here I am."

He ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "I didn't call," Eli replied. "Go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.

Once again the Lord called, "Samuel!" Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, "Here I am; you called me." "I didn't call, my son," he replied. "Go back and lie down."

Now Samuel had not yet experienced the Lord , because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

Once again, for the third time, the Lord called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy.

He told Samuel, "Go and lie down. If He calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord , for Your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

The Lord came, stood there, and called as before, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel responded, "Speak, for Your servant is listening."

The Lord said to Samuel, "I am about to do something in Israel that everyone who hears about it will shudder.^(e)

On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I said about his family, from beginning to end.^(f)

I told him that I am going to judge his family forever because of the iniquity he knows about: his sons are defiling the sanctuary,^[b] and he has not stopped them.^(g)

Therefore, I have sworn to Eli's family: The iniquity of Eli's family will never be wiped out by either sacrifice or offering."^(h)

Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the Lord 's house. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,

but Eli called him and said, "Samuel, my son." "Here I am," answered Samuel.

"What was the message He gave you?" Eli asked. "Don't hide it from me. May God punish you and do so severely if you hide anything from me that He told you."⁽ⁱ⁾

So Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from him. Eli responded, "He is the Lord . He will do what He thinks is good."^[c](j)

Samuel grew,^(k) and the Lord was with him,^(l) and He fulfilled everything Samuel prophesied.^[d](m)

All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was a confirmed prophet of the Lord .⁽ⁿ⁾

The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, because there He revealed Himself to Samuel by His word.^(o)

¹And Samuel's words came to all Israel. Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and^[a] camped at Ebenezer^(a) while the Philistines camped at Aphek.^(b)

The Philistines lined up in battle formation against Israel, and as the battle intensified, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about 4,000 men on the battlefield.

When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, "Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines?^(c) Let's bring the ark of the Lord 's covenant from Shiloh. Then it^[b] will go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies."^(d)

So the people sent men to Shiloh to bring back the ark of the covenant of the Lord of Hosts, who dwells between the cherubim.^(e) Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

When the ark of the covenant of the Lord entered the camp, all the Israelites raised such a loud shout that the ground shook.^(f)

The Philistines heard the sound of the war cry and asked, "What's this loud shout in the Hebrews' camp?" When the Philistines discovered that the ark of the Lord had entered the camp,

they panicked. "The gods have entered their camp!" they said. "Woe to us, nothing like this has happened before.^[c]

Woe to us, who will rescue us from the hand of these magnificent gods? These are the gods that slaughtered the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

Show some courage and be men, Philistines!^(g) Otherwise, you'll serve the Hebrews just as they served you.^(h) Now be men and fight!"

So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated,⁽ⁱ⁾ and each man fled to his tent.^(j) The slaughter was severe—30,000 of the Israelite foot soldiers fell.

The ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.^(k)

That same day, a Benjaminite man ran^(l) from the battle and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn,^(m) and there was dirt on his head.

When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair beside the road watching,⁽ⁿ⁾ because he was anxious about the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the entire city cried out.

Eli heard the outcry and asked, "Why this commotion?" The man quickly came and reported to Eli.

At that time Eli was 98 years old, and his gaze was fixed^[d] because he couldn't see.^(o)

The man said to Eli, "I'm the one who came from the battle.^[e] I fled from there today." "What happened, my son?"^(p) Eli asked.

The messenger answered, "Israel has fled from the Philistines, and also there was a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured."

When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off the chair by the city gate,^(q) and since he was old and heavy, his neck broke and he died. Eli had judged Israel 40 years.

Eli's daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and about to give birth. When she heard the news about the capture of God's ark and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband, she collapsed and gave birth because her labor pains came on her.

As she was dying,^[f] the women taking care of her said, "Don't be afraid. You've given birth to a son!"^(r) But she did not respond or pay attention.

She named the boy Ichabod,^[g] saying, "The glory has departed from Israel,"^(s) referring to the capture of the ark of God^(t) and to the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.

"The glory has departed from Israel," she said, "because the ark of God has been captured."

After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer^(a) to Ashdod,^(b)

brought it into the temple of Dagon^[a](c) and placed it next to his statue.^[b]

When the people of Ashdod got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord .^(d) So they took Dagon and returned him to his place.

But when they got up early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen with his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord . This time, both Dagon's head and the palms of his hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. Only Dagon's torso remained.^[c]

That is why, to this day, the priests of Dagon and everyone who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on Dagon's threshold.

The Lord 's hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod,^(e) terrorizing^(f) and afflicting the people of Ashdod and its territory with tumors.^[d][e](g)

When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of Israel's God must not stay here with us, because His hand is strongly against us and our god Dagon."

So they called all the Philistine rulers together^(h) and asked, "What should we do with the ark of Israel's God?" "The ark of Israel's God should be moved to Gath," they replied. So the men of Ashdod moved the ark.

After they had moved it, the Lord 's hand was against the city of Gath,⁽ⁱ⁾ causing a great panic. He afflicted the men of the city, from the youngest to the oldest, with an outbreak of tumors.^(j)

The Gittites then sent the ark of God to Ekron, but when it got there, the Ekronites cried out, "They've moved the ark of Israel's God to us to kill us and our people!"^[f]

The Ekronites called all the Philistine rulers together.^(k) They said, "Send the ark of Israel's God away. It must return to its place so it won't kill us and our people!"^[g] For the fear of death pervaded the city; God's hand was oppressing them.^(l)

The men who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.^(m)