1 Samuel 1:23

1:23 So her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what you think best. ¹  Stay until you have weaned him. May the Lord fulfill his promise.” ² 

So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

1 Samuel 2:20

2:20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the Lord raise up for you descendants ³  from this woman to replace the one that she ⁴  dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would go to their ⁵  home.

1 Samuel 28:8-9

28:8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing and left, accompanied by two of his men. They came to the woman at night and said, “Use your ritual pit to conjure up for me the one I tell you.” ⁶ 

28:9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed ⁷  the mediums and magicians ⁸  from the land! Why are you trapping me ⁹  so you can put me to death?”

1 Samuel 28:21

28:21 When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, “Your servant has done what you asked. ¹⁰  I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me. ¹¹ 

¹ tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

² tn Heb “establish his word.” This apparently refers to the promise inherent in Eli’s priestly blessing (see v. 17).

³ tn Heb “seed.”

⁴ 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.

⁵ tn Heb “his.”

⁵ tn Heb “Use divination for me with the ritual pit and bring up for me the one whom I say to you.”

⁷ tn Heb “how he has cut off.”

⁸ tn See the note at v. 3.

⁹ tn Heb “my life.”

⁹ tn Heb “listened to your voice.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “listened to your words that you spoke to me.”