1 Samuel 28:10

28:10 But Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not incur guilt in this matter!”

1 Samuel 1:18

1:18 She said, “May I, your servant, find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and got something to eat. ¹  Her face no longer looked sad.

1 Samuel 28:13

28:13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid! What have you seen?” The woman replied to Saul, “I have seen one like a god ²  coming up from the ground!”

1 Samuel 1:8

1:8 Finally her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and not eat? Why are you so sad? ³  Am I not better to you than ten ⁴  sons?”

1 Samuel 1:23

1:23 So her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what you think best. ⁵  Stay until you have weaned him. May the Lord fulfill his promise.” ⁶ 

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

1 Samuel 28:14

28:14 He said to her, “What about his appearance?” She said, “An old man is coming up! He is wrapped in a robe!”

Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down.

¹ tc Several medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta lack the words “and got something to eat.”

¹ tn Heb “gods.” The modifying participle (translated “coming up”) is plural, suggesting that underworld spirits are the referent. But in the following verse Saul understands the plural word to refer to a singular being. The reference is to the spirit of Samuel.

¹ tn Heb “why is your heart displeased?”

² sn Like the number seven, the number ten is sometimes used in the OT as an ideal number (see, for example, Dan 1:20, Zech 8:23).

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).