CHAPTER 1
Now there was
a
man
named
Elkanah
who was from
Ramathaim-zophim
in the hill country
of Ephraim.
He was the son
of Jeroham,
the son
of Elihu,
the son
of Tohu,
the son
of Zuph,
an Ephraimite.
He had
two
wives,
one
named
Hannah
and the other
Peninnah.
And Peninnah
had
children,
but Hannah
had none.
Year after year
Elkanah
would go up
from his city
to worship
and sacrifice
to the LORD
of Hosts
at Shiloh,
where
Eli’s
two
sons,
Hophni
and Phinehas,
were priests
to the LORD.
And whenever the day
came
for Elkanah
to present his sacrifice,
he would give
portions
to his wife
Peninnah
and to all
her sons
and daughters.
But to Hannah
he would give
a
double
portion,
for
he loved
her
even though the LORD
had closed
her womb.
And this went on
year
after year.
Whenever
Hannah went up
to the house
of the LORD,
her rival taunted her
until she wept
and would not
eat.
“Hannah,
why
are you crying?”
her husband
Elkanah
asked.
“Why
won't you
eat?
Why
is your heart
so grieved?
Am I
not
better
to you
than ten
sons?”
So after
they had finished eating
and drinking
in Shiloh,
Hannah
got up.
Now Eli
the priest
was sitting
on
a chair
by
the doorpost
of the temple
of the LORD.
And she made
a vow,
pleading,
“O LORD
of Hosts,
if
only
You will look
upon the affliction
of Your maidservant
and remember me,
not
forgetting Your maidservant
but giving
her
a son,
then I will dedicate him
to the LORD
all
the days
of his life,
and no
razor
shall ever come
over
his head."
Hannah
was praying
in
her heart,
and though
her lips
were moving,
her voice
could not
be heard.
So Eli
thought
she was drunk
“No,
my lord,”
Hannah
replied.
“I
am a woman
oppressed
in spirit.
I have not
had
any wine
or strong drink,
but I have poured out
my soul
before
the LORD.
Do not
take
your servant
for a wicked
woman;
for all this time
I have been praying
out of the depth
of my anguish
and grief.”
“Go
in peace,”
Eli
replied,
“and may the God
of Israel
grant
the petition
you have asked
of Him.”
“May your maidservant
find
favor
with you,”
said Hannah.
Then she
went
on her way,
eating
and no
longer
downcast.
The next morning
Elkanah and Hannah got up early
to bow in worship
before
the LORD,
and then returned
home
to Ramah.
And Elkanah
had relations with
his wife
Hannah,
and the LORD
remembered her.
So
in the course
of time,
Hannah
conceived
and gave birth to
a son.
She named
him
Samuel,
saying, “Because
I have asked for him
from the LORD.”
Then Elkanah
and all
his house
went up
to make
the annual
sacrifice
to the LORD
and to fulfill
his vow,
but Hannah
did not
go.
“After
the boy
is weaned,”
she said
to her husband,
“I will take
him to appear
before
the LORD
and to stay
there
always.”
“Do
what you think
is best,”
her husband
Elkanah
replied,
“and stay
here until
you have weaned him.
Only
may the LORD
confirm
His word.”
So Hannah
stayed
and nursed
her son
until
she had weaned
him.
Once
she had weaned him,
Hannah took the boy
with her,
along with a three-year-old
bull,
an ephah
of flour,
and a skin
of wine.
Though the boy
was still young,
she brought him
to the house
of the LORD
at Shiloh.
“Please,
my lord,”
said Hannah,
“as surely as you
live,
my lord,
I
am the woman
who stood
here
beside
you praying
to
the LORD.
I
now
dedicate the boy
to the LORD.
For as
long as he lives,
he
is dedicated
to the LORD.”
So they worshiped
the LORD
there.