1 Samuel 1:4

1:4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he used to give meat portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters.

1 Samuel 1:19

1:19 They got up early the next morning and after worshiping the Lord, they returned to their home at Ramah. Elkanah had marital relations with ¹  his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered ²  her.

1 Samuel 25:3

25:3 The man’s name was Nabal, ³  and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise ⁴  and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.

1 Samuel 25:37

25:37 In the morning, when Nabal was sober, ⁵  his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. ⁶ 

1 Samuel 2:20

2:20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the Lord raise up for you descendants ⁷  from this woman to replace the one that she ⁸  dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would go to their ⁹  home.

1 Samuel 19:11

19:11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Then David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save yourself ¹⁰  tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!”

1 Samuel 30:22

30:22 But all the evil and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Since they didn’t go with us, ¹¹  we won’t give them any of the loot we retrieved! They may take only their wives and children. Let them lead them away and be gone!”

[1:19]  ¹ tn Heb “Elkanah knew his wife.” The Hebrew expression is a euphemism for sexual relations.

[1:19]  ² sn The Lord “remembered” her in the sense of granting her earlier request for a child. The Hebrew verb is often used in the OT for considering the needs or desires of people with favor and kindness.

[25:3]  ¹ sn The name נָבָל (Nabal) means “foolish” or “senseless” in Hebrew, and as an adjective the word is used especially of persons who have no perception of ethical or religious claims. It is an apt name for this character, who certainly typifies such behavior.

[25:3]  ² tn Heb “good of insight”; KJV “of good understanding”; NAB, NIV, TEV “intelligent”; NRSV “clever.”

[25:37]  ¹ tn Heb “when the wine had gone out from Nabal.”

[25:37]  ² tn Heb “and his heart died within him and he became a stone.” Cf. TEV, NLT “stroke”; CEV “heart attack.” For an alternative interpretation than that presented above, see Marjorie O’Rourke Boyle, “The Law of the Heart: The Death of a Fool (1 Samuel 25),” JBL 120 (2001): 401-27, who argues that a medical diagnosis is not necessary here. Instead, the passage makes a connection between the heart and the law; Nabal dies for his lawlessness.

[2:20]  ¹ tn Heb “seed.”

[2:20]  ² 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.

[2:20]  ³ tn Heb “his.”

[19:11]  ¹ tn Heb “your life.”

[30:22]  ¹ tc Heb “with me.” The singular is used rather than the plural because the group is being treated as a singular entity, in keeping with Hebrew idiom. It is not necessary to read “with us,” rather than the MT “with me,” although the plural can be found here in a few medieval Hebrew mss. See also the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate, although these versions may simply reflect an understanding of the idiom as found in the MT rather than a different textual reading.