1 Samuel 28:4

28:4 The Philistines assembled; they came and camped at Shunem. Saul mustered all Israel and camped at Gilboa.

1 Samuel 28:1

The Witch of Endor

28:1 In those days the Philistines gathered their troops ¹  for war in order to fight Israel. Achish said to David, “You should fully understand that you and your men must go with me into the battle.” ² 

1 Samuel 1:3

1:3 Year after year ³  this man would go up from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh. It was there that the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, served as the Lord’s priests.

1 Samuel 2:17

2:17 The sin of these young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they ⁴  treated the Lord’s offering with contempt.

1 Samuel 2:21

2:21 So the Lord graciously attended to Hannah, and she was able to conceive and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the Lord’s sanctuary. ⁵ 

1 Samuel 2:2

2:2 No one is holy ⁶  like the Lord!

There is no one other than you!

There is no rock ⁷  like our God!

1 Samuel 4:8

4:8 Too bad for us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues in the desert!

1 Samuel 4:12

Eli Dies

4:12 On that day ⁸  a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and dirt was on his head.

¹ tn Heb “their camps.”

² tc The translation follows the LXX (εἰς πόλεμον, eis polemon) and a Qumran ms מלחמה במלחמה ([m]lkhmh) bammilkhamah (“in the battle”) rather than the MT’s בַמַּחֲנֶה (bammakhaneh, “in the camp”; cf. NASB). While the MT reading is not impossible here, and although admittedly it is the harder reading, the variant fits the context better. The MT can be explained as a scribal error caused in part by the earlier occurrence of “camp” in this verse.

³ tn Heb “from days to days.”

⁴ tc Heb “the men,” which is absent from one medieval Hebrew ms, a Qumran ms, and the LXX.

⁵ tn Heb “with the Lord.” Cf. NAB, TEV “in the service of the Lord”; NIV, NRSV, NLT “in the presence of the Lord”; CEV “at the Lord’s house in Shiloh.”

⁶ sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.

⁷ tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”

⁸ tn Or perhaps, “the same day.” On this use of the demonstrative pronoun see Joüon 2:532 §143.f.