1 Samuel 2:12

Eli’s Sons Misuse Their Sacred Office

2:12 The sons of Eli were wicked men. ¹  They did not recognize the Lord’s authority. ² 

1 Samuel 2:1

Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer

2:1 Hannah prayed, ³ 

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

my horn ⁴  is exalted high because of the Lord.

I loudly denounce ⁵  my enemies,

for I am happy that you delivered me. ⁶ 

1 Samuel 28:9

28:9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed ⁷  the mediums and magicians ⁸  from the land! Why are you trapping me ⁹  so you can put me to death?”

John 17:3

17:3 Now this ¹⁰  is eternal life ¹¹  – that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, ¹²  whom you sent.

[2:12]  ¹ tn Heb “sons of worthlessness.”

[2:12]  ² tn Heb “they did not know the Lord.” The verb here has the semantic nuance “recognize the authority of.” Eli’s sons obviously knew who the Lord was; they served in his sanctuary. But they did not recognize his moral authority.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “prayed and said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[2:1]  ⁴ sn Horns of animals have always functioned as both offensive and defensive weapons for them. As a figure of speech the horn is therefore often used in the Bible as a symbol of human strength (see also in v. 10). The allusion in v. 1 to the horn being lifted high suggests a picture of an animal elevating its head in a display of strength or virility.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “my mouth opens wide against.”

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “for I rejoice in your deliverance.”

[28:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “how he has cut off.”

[28:9]  ⁸ tn See the note at v. 3.

[28:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “my life.”

[17:3]  ¹⁰ tn Using αὕτη δέ (Jauth de) to introduce an explanation is typical Johannine style; it was used before in John 1:19, 3:19, and 15:12.

[17:3]  ¹¹ sn This is eternal life. The author here defines eternal life for the readers, although it is worked into the prayer in such a way that many interpreters do not regard it as another of the author’s parenthetical comments. It is not just unending life in the sense of prolonged duration. Rather it is a quality of life, with its quality derived from a relationship with God. Having eternal life is here defined as being in relationship with the Father, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom the Father sent. Christ (Χριστός, Cristos) is not characteristically attached to Jesus’ name in John’s Gospel; it occurs elsewhere primarily as a title and is used with Jesus’ name only in 1:17. But that is connected to its use here: The statement here in 17:3 enables us to correlate the statement made in 1:18 of the prologue, that Jesus has fully revealed what God is like, with Jesus’ statement in 10:10 that he has come that people might have life, and have it abundantly. These two purposes are really one, according to 17:3, because (abundant) eternal life is defined as knowing (being in relationship with) the Father and the Son. The only way to gain this eternal life, that is, to obtain this knowledge of the Father, is through the Son (cf. 14:6). Although some have pointed to the use of know (γινώσκω, ginwskw) here as evidence of Gnostic influence in the Fourth Gospel, there is a crucial difference: For John this knowledge is not intellectual, but relational. It involves being in relationship.

[17:3]  ¹² tn Or “and Jesus the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).