2:11 Then Elkanah went back home to Ramah. But the boy was serving the Lord under the supervision of 6 Eli the priest.
2:18 Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord. The boy was dressed in a linen ephod.
3:1 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. 7 Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent.
23:6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness 8 will pursue 9 me all my days, 10
and I will live in 11 the Lord’s house 12 for the rest of my life. 13
27:4 I have asked the Lord for one thing –
this is what I desire!
I want to live 14 in the Lord’s house 15 all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor 16 of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
1 tn Heb “if looking you look.” The expression can refer, as here, to looking favorably upon another, in this case with compassion.
2 tn Heb “handmaid.” The use of this term (translated two more times in this verse and once each in vv. 16, 17 simply as “servant” for stylistic reasons) is an expression of humility.
3 tn Heb “seed of men.”
4 tn Heb “a razor will not go up upon his head.”
5 tn Heb “he,” apparently referring to Samuel (but cf. CEV “Elkanah”). A few medieval manuscripts and some ancient versions take the verb as plural (cf. TEV, NLT).
6 tn Heb “with [or “before”] the face of.”
7 tn Heb “before Eli.”
8 tn The noun חֶסֶד (khesed; v. 6) has been the subject of several monographs. G. R. Clark concludes that חֶסֶד “is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient.” He explains that an act of חֶסֶד is “a beneficent action performed, in the context of a deep and enduring commitment between two persons or parties, by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him- or herself.” (See G. R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible [JSOTSup], 267.) HALOT 336-37 s.v. defines the word as “loyalty,” or “faithfulness.” Other appropriate meanings might be “commitment” and “devotion.”
9 tn The use of רָדַף (radaf, “pursue, chase”) with טוֹב וָחֶסֶד (tov vakhesed, “goodness and faithfulness”) as subject is ironic. This is the only place in the entire OT where either of these nouns appears as the subject of this verb רָדַף (radaf, “pursue”). This verb is often used to describe the hostile actions of enemies. One might expect the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 5) to chase him, but ironically God’s “goodness and faithfulness” (which are personified and stand by metonymy for God himself) pursue him instead. The word “pursue” is used outside of its normal context in an ironic manner and creates a unique, but pleasant word picture of God’s favor (or a kind God) “chasing down” the one whom he loves.
10 tn Heb “all the days of my life.”
11 tn The verb form וְשַׁבְתִּי (vÿshavtiy) is a Qal perfect (with vav [ו] consecutive), first common singular, from שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) and should be translated, “and I will return.” But this makes no sense when construed with the following phrase, “in the house of the
12 tn Heb “the house of the
13 tn The phrase אֹרֶךְ יָמִים (’orekh yamim, “length of days”) is traditionally translated “forever.” However, this phrase, when used elsewhere of people, usually refers to a lengthy period of time, such as one’s lifetime, and does not mean “forever” in the sense of eternity. (Cf. Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20.) Furthermore, the parallel phrase “all the days of my life” suggests this more limited meaning. Psalm 21:4, where the phrase is followed by “forever and ever,” may be an exception, though the juxtaposition of the phrases may be an example of intensification, where the second phrase goes beyond the limits of the first, rather than synonymity. Even if one takes both expressions as referring to eternal life, the language is part of the king’s hyperbolic description of the
14 tn Heb “my living.”
15 sn The
16 tn Or “beauty.”