1 Samuel 1:11

1:11 She made a vow saying, “O Lord of hosts, if you will look with compassion ¹  on the suffering of your female servant, ²  remembering me and not forgetting your servant, and give a male child ³  to your servant, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life. His hair will never be cut.” ⁴ 

1 Samuel 2:20

2:20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the Lord raise up for you descendants ⁵  from this woman to replace the one that she ⁶  dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would go to their ⁷  home.

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 “seed.”

⁶ tn The MT has a masculine verb here, but in light of the context the reference must be to Hannah. It is possible that the text of the MT is incorrect here (cf. the ancient versions), in which case the text should be changed to read either a passive participle or better, the third feminine singular of the verb. If the MT is correct here, perhaps the masculine is to be understood in a nonspecific and impersonal way, allowing for a feminine antecedent. In any case, the syntax of the MT is unusual here.

⁷ tn Heb “his.”