Discovery Box1 Samuel 1:1
Context1:1 There was a man from Ramathaim Zophim, 1 from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
1 Samuel 1:8
Context1:8 Finally her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and not eat? Why are you so sad? 2 Am I not better to you than ten 3 sons?”
1 Samuel 1:23
Context1:23 So her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what you think best. 4 Stay until you have weaned him. May the Lord fulfill his promise.” 5
So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
1 Samuel 2:20
Context2:20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the Lord raise up for you descendants 6 from this woman to replace the one that she 7 dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would go to their 8 home.
[1:1] 1 tc The translation follows the MT. The LXX reads “a man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite”; this is followed by a number of recent English translations. It is possible the MT reading צוֹפִים (tsofim) arose from dittography of the mem (מ) at the beginning of the following word.
[1:8] 2 tn Heb “why is your heart displeased?”
[1:8] 3 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).
[1:23] 3 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
[1:23] 4 tn Heb “establish his word.” This apparently refers to the promise inherent in Eli’s priestly blessing (see v. 17).
[2:20] 5 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.
