1 Samuel 1:21

Hannah Dedicates Samuel to the Lord

1:21 This man Elkanah went up with all his family to make the yearly sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow,

1 Samuel 2:1

Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer

2:1 Hannah prayed, ¹ 

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

my horn ²  is exalted high because of the Lord.

I loudly denounce ³  my enemies,

for I am happy that you delivered me. ⁴ 

1 Samuel 2:31

2:31 In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength ⁵  and the strength ⁶  of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house!

1 Samuel 3:9

3:9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go back and lie down. When he calls you, say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” So Samuel went back and lay down in his place.

1 Samuel 6:6

6:6 Why harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? ⁷  When God ⁸  treated them harshly, didn’t the Egyptians send the Israelites on their way? ⁹ 

1 Samuel 9:8

9:8 The servant went on to answer Saul, “Look, I happen to have in my hand a quarter shekel ¹⁰  of silver. I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us where we should go.” ¹¹ 

1 Samuel 9:14

9:14 So they went up to the town. As they were heading for the middle of the town, Samuel was coming in their direction ¹²  to go up to the high place.

1 Samuel 10:14

10:14 Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” Saul ¹³  replied, “To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost, ¹⁴  we went to Samuel.”

1 Samuel 11:2

11:2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”

1 Samuel 12:11

12:11 So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, ¹⁵  Barak, ¹⁶  Jephthah, and Samuel, ¹⁷  and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely.

1 Samuel 12:24

12:24 However, fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Just look at the great things he has done for you!

1 Samuel 13:8

13:8 He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. ¹⁸  But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul. ¹⁹ 

1 Samuel 13:22

13:22 So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

1 Samuel 14:11

14:11 When they ²⁰  made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves.”

1 Samuel 14:17

14:17 So Saul said to the army that was with him, “Muster the troops and see who is no longer with us.” When they mustered the troops, ²¹  Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.

1 Samuel 14:21

14:21 The Hebrews who had earlier gone over to the Philistine side ²²  joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.

1 Samuel 14:38

14:38 Then Saul said, “All you leaders of the army come here. Find out ²³  how this sin occurred today.

1 Samuel 16:3

16:3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you should do. You will anoint for me the one I point out ²⁴  to you.”

1 Samuel 17:4

17:4 Then a champion ²⁵  came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall. ²⁶ 

1 Samuel 17:18

17:18 Also take these ten portions of cheese to their commanding officer. ²⁷  Find out how your brothers are doing ²⁸  and bring back their pledge that they received the goods. ²⁹ 

1 Samuel 18:1

Saul Comes to Fear David

18:1 When David ³⁰  had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship. ³¹  Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life. ³² 

1 Samuel 18:30

18:30 ³³  Then the leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul’s servants. His name was held in high esteem.

1 Samuel 19:8

19:8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly ³⁴  and they ran away from him.

1 Samuel 22:2

22:2 All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented ³⁵  gathered around ³⁶  him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him.

1 Samuel 23:5

23:5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. ³⁷  David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

1 Samuel 25:10

25:10 But Nabal responded to David’s servants, “Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters!

1 Samuel 25:24

25:24 Falling at his feet, she said, “My lord, I accept all the guilt! But please let your female servant speak with my lord! Please listen to the words of your servant!

1 Samuel 25:28

25:28 Please forgive the sin of your servant, for the Lord will certainly establish the house of my lord, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord. May no evil be found in you all your days!

1 Samuel 26:10-11

26:10 David went on to say, “As the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him down. Either his day will come and he will die, or he will go down into battle and be swept away. 26:11 But may the Lord prevent me from extending my hand against the Lord’s chosen one! Now take the spear by Saul’s head and the jug of water, and let’s get out of here!”

1 Samuel 27:9

27:9 When David would attack a district, ³⁸  he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish.

1 Samuel 28:19

28:19 The Lord will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines! ³⁹  Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me. ⁴⁰  The Lord will also hand the army ⁴¹  of Israel over to the Philistines!”

1 Samuel 28:24

28:24 Now the woman ⁴²  had a well-fed calf ⁴³  at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded bread and baked it without leaven.

1 Samuel 30:14

30:14 We conducted a raid on the Negev of the Kerethites, on the area of Judah, and on the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag.” ⁴⁴ 

1 Samuel 31:3

31:3 Saul himself was in the thick of the battle; ⁴⁵  the archers ⁴⁶  spotted him and wounded him severely.

[2:1]  ¹ tn Heb “prayed and said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[2:1]  ² sn Horns of animals have always functioned as both offensive and defensive weapons for them. As a figure of speech the horn is therefore often used in the Bible as a symbol of human strength (see also in v. 10). The allusion in v. 1 to the horn being lifted high suggests a picture of an animal elevating its head in a display of strength or virility.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “my mouth opens wide against.”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “for I rejoice in your deliverance.”

[2:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “chop off your arm.” The arm here symbolizes strength and activity.

[2:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “arm.”

[6:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “like Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their heart.”

[6:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “and they sent them away and they went.”

[9:8]  ¹⁰ sn A quarter shekel of silver would weigh about a tenth of an ounce (about 3 grams).

[9:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “our way.”

[9:14]  ¹² tn Heb “to meet them.” This may indicate purpose on Samuel’s part. The next sentence indicates that the meeting was by design, not just an accident.

[10:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “And we saw that they were not.”

[12:11]  ¹⁵ sn Jerub-Baal (יְרֻבַּעַל) is also known as Gideon (see Judg 6:32). The Book of Judges uses both names for him.

[12:11]  ¹⁶ tc The MT has “Bedan” (בְּדָן) here (cf. KJV, NASB, CEV). But a deliverer by this name is not elsewhere mentioned in the OT. The translation follows the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta in reading “Barak.”

[12:11]  ¹⁷ tc In the ancient versions there is some confusion with regard to these names, both with regard to the particular names selected for mention and with regard to the order in which they are listed. For example, the LXX has “Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel.” But the Targum has “Gideon, Samson, Jephthah, and Samuel,” while the Syriac Peshitta has “Deborah, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson.”

[13:8]  ¹⁸ tn This apparently refers to the instructions given by Samuel in 1 Sam 10:8. If so, several years had passed. On the relationship between chs. 10 and 13, see V. P. Long, The Art of Biblical History (FCI), 201-23.

[13:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “dispersed from upon him”; NAB, NRSV “began to slip away.”

[14:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the two of them.”

[14:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “and they mustered the troops, and look!”

[14:21]  ²² tn Heb “and the Hebrews were to the Philistines formerly, who went up with them in the camp all around.”

[14:38]  ²³ tn Heb “know and see.”

[16:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “say”; KJV, NRSV “name”; NIV “indicate.”

[17:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the man of the space between the two [armies].” See v. 23.

[17:4]  ²⁶ tc Heb “his height was six cubits and a span” (cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV). A cubit was approximately eighteen inches, a span nine inches. So, according to the Hebrew tradition, Goliath was about nine feet, nine inches tall (cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “over nine feet”; NCV “nine feet, four inches”; TEV “nearly 3 metres”). However, some Greek witnesses, Josephus, and a manuscript of 1 Samuel from Qumran read “four cubits and a span” here, that is, about six feet, nine inches (cf. NAB “six and a half feet”). This seems more reasonable; it is likely that Goliath’s height was exaggerated as the story was retold. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 286, 291.

[17:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “officer of the thousand.”

[17:18]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and your brothers, observe with respect to welfare.”

[17:18]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and their pledge take.” This probably refers to some type of confirmation that the goods arrived safely. See R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 177. Cf. NIV “bring back some assurance”; NCV “some proof to show me they are all right”; NLT “bring me back a letter from them.”

[18:1]  ³⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:1]  ³¹ tn Heb “the soul of Jonathan was bound with the soul of David.”

[18:1]  ³² tn Heb “like his [own] soul.”

[18:1]  sn On the nature of Jonathan’s love for David, see J. A. Thompson, “The Significance of the Verb Love in the David-Jonathan Narratives in 1 Samuel,” VT 24 (1974): 334-38.

[18:30]  ³³ tc Verse 30 is absent in most LXX mss.

[19:8]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and he struck them down with a great blow.”

[22:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb “bitter of soul.”

[22:2]  ³⁶ tn Heb “to.”

[23:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and struck them down with a great blow.”

[27:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the land.”

[28:19]  ³⁹ tn Heb “And the Lord will give also Israel along with you into the hand of the Philistines.”

[28:19]  ⁴⁰ tc With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the LXX has here “and tomorrow you and your sons with you will fall.”

[28:19]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “camp.”

[28:24]  ⁴² sn Masoretic mss of the Hebrew Bible mark this word as the half-way point in the book of Samuel, treating 1 and 2 Samuel as a single book. Similar notations are found at the midway point for all of the books of the Hebrew Bible.

[28:24]  ⁴³ tn Heb “a calf of the stall.”

[30:14]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”

[31:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and the battle was heavy against Saul.”

[31:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the shooters, men with the bow.”