1 Samuel 1:8-13

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 1:1-8

We have here an account of the state of the family into which Samuel the prophet was born. His father's name was Elkanah, a Levite, and of the family of the Kohathites (the most honourable house of that tribe) as appears, 1 Chron. 6:33, 34. His ancestor Zuph was an Ephrathite, that is, of Bethlehem-Judah, which was called Ephrathah, Ruth 1:2. There this family of the Levites was first seated, but one branch of it, in process of time, removed to Mount Ephraim, from which Elkanah descended.... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 1:9-18

Elkanah had gently reproved Hannah for her inordinate grief, and here we find the good effect of the reproof. I. It brought her to her meat. She ate and drank, 1 Sam. 1:9. She did not harden herself in sorrow, nor grow sullen when she was reproved for it; but, when she perceived her husband uneasy that she did not come and eat with them, she cheered up her own spirits as well as she could, and came to table. It is as great a piece of self-denial to control our passions as it is to control our... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 1:8

Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou ?.... Since it was a time of rejoicing, as every festival was, especially at the ingathering of the fruits of the earth: and why eatest thou not ? since they were at a feast, and she had the best part and portion of the provision: and why is thy heart grieved ? to such a degree that she could neither eat nor drink: am not I better to thee than ten sons ? which, as Jarchi says, Peninnah had borne to him; his meaning... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 1:9

So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drank ,.... After dinner, after Elkanah and Peninnah, and their children, had eaten heartily, and drank freely, and made a comfortable meal, and even a feast of it, at the place where the tabernacle and altar were, and their peace offerings were offered up, part of which they had been regaling themselves with. The Targum is,"after she had eaten in Shiloh, and after she had drank;'for upon the entreaty of her husband, and to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 1:10

And she was in bitterness of soul ,.... Because of her barrenness, and the taunts and reflections she had met with on that account; her life was bitter to her, she could take no pleasure in any of the comforts of it: and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore ; her prayer was with strong crying and tears; it was very fervent and affectionate; she prayed most vehemently, and wept bitterly. This perhaps was about the time of the evening sacrifice, about three or four o'clock in the afternoon;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 1:11

And she vowed a vow ,.... Which might be confirmed by her husband; otherwise the vow of a woman, if disapproved of by her husband, was not valid, Numbers 30:8 and Elkanah might make the same vow his wife did, and so it stood; for as this was a vow of Nazariteship, it is a tradition of the Jews F18 Misn. Sotah. c. 3. sect. 8. , that a man may vow his son to be a Nazarite, but a woman may not; but as this instance contradicts the tradition, they endeavour to explain away this vow, as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 1:12

And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord ,.... Being very earnest and importunate with him to grant her request, and therefore repeated her petition, and prolonged her prayer, being unwilling to let the Lord go, until she had a promise, or some satisfaction, that she should have the thing she liked; some think she continued an hour in prayer: that Eli marked her mouth ; observed the motion of her lips, and no doubt her distorted countenance, and uplifted eyes and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 1:13

Now Hannah, she spake in her heart ,.... It was mental prayer she used, some ejaculations of her mind she sent up to God, which she was sensible were well known to him, and she needed not to express vocally: only her lips moved ; as her heart spoke, and sent up her petitions, as if she had used words and phrases in form: but her voice was not heard : that she might not seem to be ostentatious in her prayer, and that she might not interrupt others in their devotions; and she knew that... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 1:8

Am not I better to thee than ten sons ? - Ten, a certain for an uncertain number. Is not my especial affection to thee better than all the comfort thou couldst gain, even from a numerous family? read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 1:9

Eli - sat upon a seat - הכסא על al hakkisse , upon the throne, i.e., of judgment; for he was then judge of Israel. By a post of the temple of the Lord - I think this is the first place where יהוה היכל heychal Yehovah , "temple of Jehovah," is mentioned. This gives room for a strong suspicion that the books of Samuel were not compiled till the first temple was built, or after the days of Solomon. After this the word temple is frequent in the books of Kings,... read more

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