1 Samuel 1:5

1:5 But he would give a double ¹  portion to Hannah, because he especially loved her. ²  Now the Lord had not enabled her to have children. ³ 

1 Samuel 16:21

16:21 David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him a great deal, ⁴  and he became his armor bearer.

1 Samuel 18:16

18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he was the one leading them out to battle and back.

1 Samuel 18:20

18:20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about this, it ⁵  pleased him.

1 Samuel 18:28

18:28 When Saul realized ⁶  that the Lord was with David and that his ⁷  daughter Michal loved David, ⁸ 

1 Samuel 20:17

20:17 Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life. ⁹ 

[1:5]  ¹ tn The exact sense of the Hebrew word אַפָּיִם (’appayim, “two faces”) is not certain here. It is most likely used with the preceding expression (“one portion of two faces”) to mean a portion double than normally received. Although evidence for this use of the word derives primarily from Aramaic rather than from Hebrew usage, it provides an understanding that fits the context here better than other suggestions for the word do. The meaning “double” is therefore adopted in the present translation. Other possibilities for the meaning of the word include the following: “heavily” (cf. Vulg., tristis) and “worthy” or “choice” (cf. KJV and Targum). Some scholars have followed the LXX here, emending the word to אֶפֶס (’efes) and translating it as “but” or “however.” This seems unnecessary. The translators of the LXX may simply have been struggling to make sense of the word rather than following a Hebrew text that was different from the MT here.

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “for Hannah he loved.” Repetition of the proper name would seem redundant in contemporary English, so the pronoun (“her”) has been used here for clarity. The translation also adds the adverb “especially” to clarify the meaning of the text. Without this addition one might get the impression that only Hannah, not Peninnah, was loved by her husband. But the point of the text is that Hannah was his favorite.

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “and the Lord had closed her womb.” So also in v. 6. The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information that is pertinent to the story.

[16:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “he loved him.”

[18:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “the matter.”

[18:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “saw and knew.”

[18:28]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Saul’s.” In the translation the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun for stylistic reasons.

[18:28]  ¹² tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “for [with] the love of his [own] life he loved him.”