1 Samuel 1:20

1:20 After some time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, thinking, “I asked the Lord for him. ¹ 

1 Samuel 2:7

2:7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;

he humbles and he exalts.

1 Samuel 15:16

15:16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute! ²  Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul ³  said to him, “Tell me.”

1 Samuel 20:16

20:16 and called David’s enemies to account.” So Jonathan made a covenant ⁴  with the house of David. ⁵ 

1 Samuel 23:12

23:12 David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The Lord said, “They will deliver you over.”

[1:20]  ¹ tn Heb “because from the Lord I asked him.” The name “Samuel” sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “asked.” The explanation of the meaning of the name “Samuel” that is provided in v. 20 is not a strict etymology. It seems to suggest that the first part of the name is derived from the Hebrew root שׁאל (sh’l, “to ask”), but the consonants do not support this. Nor is it likely that the name comes from the root שׁמא (shm’, “to hear”), for the same reason. It more probably derives from שֶׁם (shem, “name”), so that “Samuel” means “name of God.” Verse 20 therefore does not set forth a linguistic explanation of the meaning of the name, but rather draws a parallel between similar sounds. This figure of speech is known as paronomasia.

[15:16]  ² tn Or perhaps “be quiet.”

[15:16]  ³ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading the singular (“he said”) rather than the plural (“they said”) of the Kethib.

[15:16]  tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “cut.” The object of the verb (“covenant”) must be supplied.

[20:16]  ⁵ tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text, which reads “and Jonathan cut with the house of David, and the Lord will seek from the hand of the enemies of David.” The translation assumes that the main clauses of the verse have been accidentally transposed in the course of transmission. The first part of the verse (as it stands in MT) belongs with v. 17, while the second part of the verse actually continues v. 15.