1 Samuel 2 Study Notes

2:1 A lifted up horn provides a picture of a proud animal with its head held high. Hannah is saying that the Lord has given her strength. She ends her song with the confidence that God will give strength to the anointed one (v. 10). Enemies may allude to Peninnah (1:6-7) and perhaps to others who had spoken cruelly to Hannah during her time of barrenness.

2:2 The twofold occurrence of no one emphasizes God’s uniqueness. Rock denotes an immovable, jutting cliff, not a mere stone. This word commonly occurs in the Bible to describe God’s support and defense of his people (Ps 18:2; 95:1; Is 44:8).

2:3 Arrogant words might come from people who did not realize God’s ways were higher than theirs (Is 55:8-9).

2:4 Warriors are broken . . . feeble are clothed. These images are not surprising from God’s perspective, where poor become rich and rich become poor (2Co 8:9; Jms 2:5), the first become last and the last first (Mt 19:30; 20:16), and those who seek to save their lives lose them while others who willingly lose their lives gain life (Lk 9:24-25).

2:5 Full . . . starving . . . childless . . . many sons. As in v. 4, life often brings unexpected turnabouts, especially since the Lord can intervene to overrule the expected.

2:6-7 God is sovereign; nothing happens apart from his control.

2:8 The argument of this verse is from the greater to the lesser; if God controls the earth’s foundations, he controls the status of its citizens.

2:9 The Lord not only sees people’s actions, but he knows his faithful ones (cp. Nah 1:7) and the hearts of the wicked; he blesses or judges them accordingly.

2:10 The Hebrew word behind oppose has a legal connotation; no one has a case against the Lord. The mention of God’s king and his anointed may anticipate the establishment of the kingship in Israel. Some interpreters have suggested that Hannah spoke prophetically of God’s everlasting kingdom under the Messiah.

2:11 The term served is not used of slaves, and it often denotes a higher level of service (Jos 1:1), including priestly service (Dt 10:8; 1Kg 8:11).

2:12 The phrase wicked men means literally “sons of worthlessness.” The expression commonly denotes morally corrupt individuals; Hannah used the feminine form of the expression as she implored Eli not to consider her a daughter of worthlessness (1:16). Did not respect is literally “did not know.”

2:13-14 The priests’ share of the sacrifices was specifically prescribed in the law of Moses (Lv 7:32-34). A three-pronged meat fork was nowhere stipulated; rather, Eli’s sons were making their own rules for sacrifice, presumably to secure more for themselves.

2:15-16 The fat was the Lord’s portion of the sacrifice (Lv 3:3-5). The text implies Eli’s sons were also eating the fat of the sacrificial animals. The warning that the fat must be burned first—a warning that went unheeded—indicates the common people had a greater moral conscience than Eli’s sons did.

2:17 The Hebrew verb translated treated . . . with contempt indicates strong displeasure or disdain; it also would later describe David’s sin with Bathsheba (2Sm 12:14). It is often translated “despise” (Nm 14:11; Is 1:4; 5:24).

2:18 On served, see note at v. 11. Samuel’s linen ephod was a vest-like garment that priests or the high priest wore (Ex 28:6-13). It contained special embroidery and twelve stones as a visible reminder of Israel’s twelve tribes.

2:19 The little robe that Hannah made for Samuel may be linked with the one prescribed for the priests (Ex 28:31; Lv 8:7). Samuel was gone from Hannah’s home but not from her heart.

2:20 The one she has given is literally “request she requested” or “grant she granted” (cp. 1:28), and it reinforces the special nature of Samuel’s birth and dedication.

2:21 The Lord paid attention to Hannah’s need is literally “Yahweh visited Hannah.” The same Hebrew expression occurs in reference to Abraham’s wife Sarah when she conceived Isaac, another child of promise (Gn 21:1). Hannah is abundantly blessed, but her three sons and two daughters are nonetheless contrasted with the boy Samuel, who grew up in the presence of the Lord.

2:22 The words very old probably hint at Eli’s lack of strength to stop his sons from their sins, which the text now mentions also included sexual immorality. On the women at the sanctuary, see Ex 38:8.

2:23-25 In a dispute between two men, God might intercede, but if someone’s sin was directly against the Lord, no intercession was possible—only condemnation. The words since the Lord intended to kill them reveal that much like Pharaoh in Moses’s day (Ex 4:21; 5:2; 7:13), the persistent unbelief of Hophni and Phinehas led to God’s giving them over to judgment.

2:26 The phrase grew in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people is strikingly similar to the description of Jesus as a child (Lk 2:52).

2:27 Forefather’s family . . . in Egypt recalls God’s choice of Aaron (Ex 4:14-16).

2:28 The responsibilities listed were strictly limited to the priests, whom the law of Moses designated as the sons of Aaron (Ex 28:1-5; Lv 8-9).

2:29 Eli is held responsible for his sons’ actions. Despise is literally “kick at.” You have honored your sons more than me rebukes Eli on the basis of the first commandment and the command to love the Lord with all one’s heart, soul, and strength.

2:30 With the words no longer, God indicated that he had not set aside his promise to Aaron’s line. The words those who honor me I will honor reveal that God had judged Eli’s house unfit to serve as priests among Aaron’s sons.

2:31-32 God in his grace did not destroy Eli’s house, but drastically reduced its strength.

2:33 As Ronald Youngblood points out, “The only member of Eli’s line to ‘be spared’ (v. 33) was Abiathar, and in any case he was removed from the priesthood (1Kg 2:26-27).”

2:34 As the chief sinners, Hophni and Phinehas would be the first to die—and would do so on the same day.

2:35 Some suggest Samuel is intended by the phrase a faithful priest, but Samuel did not have a lasting dynasty (8:1-5). The term may denote the priestly line of Zadok, who eventually succeeded Eli’s line (1Kg 2:27), or any and all priests who followed the Lord faithfully. My anointed one designates the line of David, for whom God also built a lasting dynasty (2Sm 7:11-16).

2:36 This verse suggests that Eli’s descendants would not even partake of the sacrificial portions reserved for the priests (Lv 2:3; 5:13; 7:7-10).