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THE FIRST BOOK

OF

SAMU E L,
UEL,

OTHERWISE CALLED,

THE FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS.

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4 And when the time was that Elkanah

offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:

5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.

6 And her adversary also 'provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

7 And as he did so year by year, "when she went up to the house of the LORD, SO she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.

8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved?

am not I better to thee than ten sons?

9¶ So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.

10 And she was 'in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli

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marked her mouth.

13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

8 Or, a double portion.

8 Heb. seed of men.

14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt

Heb. angered her. 5 Or, from the time that she, &c.
9 Num. 6. 5. Judg. 13. 5. 10 Heb. multiplied to pray.

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thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.

15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman "of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.

17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.

19 And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her.

11 Heb. hard of spirit. "Or, meditation.

20 Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name "Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.

21 And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the LORD the yearly sacrifice, and his vow.

22 But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD and there abide for ever.

23 And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the LORD establish his word. So the woman abode and gave her son suck until she weaned him.

24 And when she had weaned him she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the 13 Heb. in revolution of days. 14 That is, asked of God.

house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.

25 And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.

26 And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.

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27 For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

28 Therefore also I have 15lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth "he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.

15 Or, returned him whom I have obtained by petition to the LORD. 16 Or, he whom I have obtained by petition sha l be returned.

1 SAMUEL―This and the following book make but one in the Jewish canon of Scripture, which is called after Samuel, as in our own and the Oriental versions. In the Septuagint they are denominated the first and second books of Kings, or of the Kingdoms; and they are called the first and second books of Kings also in the Vulgate. They may very properly be thus called, as they give an account of the rise of the kingdom of Israel with the history of the two first kings. The present book, at least, is with equal propriety called the book of Samuel, from the particular account which it gives of that prophet's history, and of transactions in which he bore a very prominent part. It is also the general opinion that he was the author of the first twenty-four chapters, and that the remainder of this book and the whole of the next, were written by the prophets Gad and Nathan. This opinion, which seems in itself highly probable, appears to be confirmed by 1 Chron. xxix. 29, where it is said, "Now the acts of David, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the Seer, and the book of Nathan the Prophet, and the book of Gad the Seer.” The two books of Samuel answer to this reference, as they contain the history of David, and the prophets named were all of them his contemporaries. Samuel lived before and after David was born; and Nathan, if not Gad, before and after his death. The history contained in the present book extends over a space of nearly eighty years (from a.. 2869 to 2949) according to the received chronology ; but Dr. Hales makes it ninety-four years (B.c. 1164 to 1070).

Verse 11. "There shall no razor come upon his head.”—This was vowing to make him a Nazarite. See the note on Num. vi. 2. Samuel, as a Levite, was bound to the service of the tabernacle by the mere circumstance of birth; the effect of the vow therefore was only to make his service begin at an earlier age than usual, and to subject him to the restrictions of Nazariteship.

24. “Three bullocks."-The Septuagint and Oriental versions have, “a bullock of three years old,” which is probably right, as one only is mentioned in the next verse.

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3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not 'arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

6 "The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them.

9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; 'out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.

12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.

13 And the priest's custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;

14 And he struck it into the pan, or

.Heb. hard. 2 Deut. 32. 39. Tob. 13 2. Wisd. 16. 13.

Psalm 113.7. 4 Chap. 7. 10.

kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.

15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.

16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat 'presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.

17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.

18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, 'girded with a linen ephod.

19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home. 21 And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

22 ¶ Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for 'I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.

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24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD's people transgress.

25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.

26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.

Heb, as on the day. 6 Exod. 28. 4. 10 Or, to cry out. I Levit. 10. 14.

27 ¶ And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?

28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and "did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?

29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.

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32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.

33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.

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34 And this shall be a sign unto thee that shall come upon thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.

35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and 1 will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, "Put me I pray thee, into "one of the priests' offices that I may eat a piece of bread.

7 Or, petition which she asked, &c. Heb. assembled by troops.

9 Or, I hear evil

words of you.

13 Heb. me)

12 Or, the affliction of the tabernacle for all the wealth which God would have given Israel, 15 Or somewhat about the priesthood.

14 Heb. join.

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Verse 1." Mine horn is exalted."-This expression often occurs in the Bible; and doubtless the reference, here and in other such passages, is to the horn as a general symbol of power and glory. It is however remarkable that, whether this were formerly the case or not, some of the women in Syria do wear a sort of horn upon their heads. This is particularly the case among the Druses of Lebanon, speaking of whom Dr. Macmichael observes, " One of the most extraordinary parts of the attire of their females is a silver horn, sometimes studded with jewels, worn on the head in various positions, distinguishing their different conditions. A married woman has it affixed to the right side of the head, a widow on the left, and a virgin is pointed out by its being placed on the very crown: over this silver projection the long veil is thrown, with which they so completely conceal their faces, as rarely to have more than one eye visible" (Journey, p. 251). Colonel Light gives a similar description, and adds that the horn is a tin or silver conical tube, about twelve inches long, and about the size of a common post horn. The wife of the emir was distinguished by a gold horn, enriched with precious stones. Buckingham saw a similar horn in use among the Christian women at Tyre; and the writer of the present note has even observed a precisely analogous ornament worn by the women at Twer and other places in Russia.

14. "All that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself."-This evidently refers to the peace offerings, of which the fat only was consumed on the altar; the breast and shoulder belonged to the priest, and the rest was allowed to the offerer, with which to entertain his friends and feast the poor. The sense therefore here is that Eli's sons, not content with the liberal portion which fell to their share, claimed to have a portion of that which remained with the offerer, and with which he was preparing his feast.

15. "Gwe flesh to roast for the priest."-This was another course still more offensive. Legally the sacrifice could not be disposed of before the fat parts had been offered on the altar: that is, the Lord's portion was to be offered in the first instance. For this there appear to have been two reasons, one was, that they thus secured an opportunity of obtaining more choice pieces than could be secured by the chance insertion of the flesh-hook into the boiler afterwards; and another, that they liked roast meat better than boiled. They are not singular in this preference. In the East, meat as simply boiled is not much used or liked, although boiled often with their pillaus or messes of boiled rice. This prejudice against meat simply boiled is stronger in India than even in Western Asia. Mr. Roberts, in his note on Lev. viii. 31, states that the Hindoos would almost as soon eat the flesh of a living animal as of one that has been boiled. It is always either roasted, or made into curry, or prepared with spices: and the Mohammedans of India who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca, relate it as a very wonderful thing that boiled meat is there sold. In the text just referred to, and in Num. vi. 9, there seems to be a direction that the portion of the priests should be boiled; and if so, this seems to render the offence the greater in demanding meat for roasting. Or it may be that, as the legal portion of the priests was to be boiled, they were anxious to have some additional parts which might be roasted. Was there any ulterior design, in direction to boil the meat of sacrifices not consumed on the altar? The meat left to the priests or offerers, is always roasted in heathen sacrifices.

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18. "Linen ephod."-Perhaps the only existing representative of an ancient article of dress which may in any degree be supposed to resemble the linen robes of this class, is that which our wood-cut exhibits. It is one of two old Egyptian linen tunics, which were obtained by General Reynier, when in Egypt with the French expedition, from the Arabs

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