1 Samuel 2:8-21

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:1-10

We have here Hannah's thanksgiving, dictated, not only by the spirit of prayer, but by the spirit of prophecy. Her petition for the mercy she desired we had before (1 Sam. 1:11), and here we have her return of praise; in both out of the abundance of a heart deeply affected (in the former with her own wants, and in the latter with God's goodness) her mouth spoke. Observe in general, 1. When she had received mercy from God she owned it, with thankfulness to his praise. Not like the nine lepers,... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:11-26

In these verses we have the good character and posture of Elkanah's family, and the bad character and posture of Eli's family. The account of these two is observably interwoven throughout this whole paragraph, as if the historian intended to set the one over against the other, that they might set off one another. The devotion and good order of Elkanah's family aggravated the iniquity of Eli's house; while the wickedness of Eli's sons made Samuel's early piety appear the more bright and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:8

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill ,.... This is but a further illustration of what is before expressed. Literally; such poor as are beggars, are those that are extremely poor, that sit in the dust and beg, and have nothing but a dunghill to lie on; yet God is able to raise and lift up persons in such an extremely low condition to a very high one: spiritually; such are the poor, who are poor in spirit, and spiritually poor, and are sensible of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:9

He will keep the feet of his saints ,.... Now follow promises and prophecies of future things respecting the Israel of God, either in a literal or spiritual sense. By "his saints" are meant not angels, though they are his Holy Ones, but men, and a body of them; who though unholy in themselves, nor can they make themselves holy, yet are made so by the grace of God, in consequence of electing grace, by which they are chosen to be holy, from Christ the source and spring of all holiness, by the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:10

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces ,.... Or Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, "shall break in pieces those that contend with him"; with the Lord, or with his people, or with Samuel particularly; for this may be considered as a prophecy of Hannah concerning her son, what God would do for him against his enemies, that should rise up, contend, and fight with him, as the Philistines; of whom Ben Gersom interprets it, whom the Lord discomfited and broke to pieces; see the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:11

And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house ,.... Of which see 1 Samuel 1:19 . This was after he had offered the sacrifices at the feast, worshipped the Lord, and Hannah had delivered her prayer or song of praise, and both had committed Samuel to the care of Eli, and left him with him: and the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest ; he not only read in the book of the law, but learned to sing the praises of God vocally, and to play upon an instrument of music used in the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:12

Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial ,.... Not that Eli their father was Belial, a wicked man; but though they had so good a father, they were very wicked men, unprofitable abandoned wretches, that cast off the yoke of the law of God, and gave themselves up to all manner of wickedness: they knew not the Lord ; not that they had no knowledge of God in theory, or were real atheists, but they were so practically; they denied him in works, they had no love to him, nor fear of him, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:13

And the priest's custom with the people was ,.... Not what was according to the will and law of God, but which the sons of Eli had introduced; and in which they were followed by the rest of the priests, and so it became an established custom, and had the force of a law, statute, or judgment, as the word signifies: that when any man offered sacrifice ; not any sort of sacrifice, for if it was a burnt offering, it was wholly consumed by fire, and in that the following custom could not... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:14

And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot ,.... Whatever vessel was made use of, larger or lesser, according to the quantity of flesh the owner boiled for himself and friends, the trident the priest's servants brought with him, he struck into the boiler to the bottom; of it: all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself ; as his own property; whereas no part of it at all belonged to him, he having had the breast and shoulder delivered to him in the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 2:15

Also before they burnt the fat ,.... Which belonged to the Lord, and was to be offered to him by fire, in the first place, as it ought to be; and the order of sacrificing required that he should have his part first before the priest or the owner: but so impious were the priests become, that the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed ; not to the priest that offered, but to the man that brought his sacrifice to be offered by the priest: give flesh to roast for the... read more

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