ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for 1 Samuel 2

1 Sam 2:1–10 Hannah’s song is very similar to the prayer of Mary in Luke 1:46–56. There are also many similarities to psalms and other passages of the OT—especially Psalm 113—as the numerous esv cross-references show. The reference to the “king” in 1 Sam. 2:10 looks forward to the rest of 1 Samuel.

1 Sam 2:1 my horn is exalted in the Lord. This is the theme of Hannah’s song. When Hannah speaks of my enemies, she is referring to the enemies of God.

1 Sam 2:2 there is none besides you. There is no holy being besides the Lord. Only the Lord is God (see Deut. 4:35; 32:39). The Lord is often described as a rock (compare Deut. 32:4, 15; 2 Sam. 22:2), which means that he provides shelter and protection for his people. In saying our God, Hannah is speaking as a member of the covenant community.

1 Sam 2:3 by him actions are weighed. God’s knowledge extends even to the motives behind human actions.

1 Sam 2:5 seven. Hannah actually had only six children, including Samuel (v. 21). This is a general statement, and seven is a poetic number for perfection.

1 Sam 2:6–7 The Lord controls not only birth and death, but all of life in between.

1 Sam 2:6 Sheol. The place of the dead. God also raises up a soul from Sheol (compare Ps. 30:3). He has authority over the dead as well as the living.

1 Sam 2:8 the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s. The Lord is sovereign over life, for he created and owns the world (on them he has set the world). Compare “pillars” (Job 9:6; Ps. 75:3) and “foundations” (2 Sam. 22:16). The Lord upholds the physical place where his people live as well as the moral order of this world. He protects his faithful, while he destroys the wicked (1 Sam. 2:9).

1 Sam 2:10 The Lord will judge. See Ps. 96:10. The ends of the earth describes God’s uniqueness, majesty, and authority (compare Ps. 67:7; 98:3; Prov. 30:4; Isa. 52:10; Mic. 5:4; Zech. 9:10). Since there was currently no king in Israel, it is possible that the last two lines of this verse are a comment by the writer of 1 Samuel rather than part of Hannah’s actual prayer. The law made provision for a king, however, and the idea of kingship was well known in Israel even before it was practiced (Judg. 9:6; 1 Samuel 8), so these could have been Hannah’s words. The phrase his anointed appears here for the first time in the Bible. In Samuel, it usually refers to a king. The Hebrew word for “anointed” can also be translated “Messiah.”

1 Sam 2:11–36 At the same time that the boy Samuel is ministering to the Lord (vv. 11; 18; 3:1), Eli’s own two sons, Hophni and Phineas (see 1:3; 2:34), are hindering the worship there.

1 Sam 2:12–17 These verses describe how the worthless . . . sons of Eli (v. 12) treated the tabernacle sacrifices with contempt (v. 17). They behaved in this way because they did not know the Lord (v. 12).

1 Sam 2:13–14 The priests were to be supported by portions of the sacrifices of the people (see, e.g., Lev. 7:31–32; Deut. 18:3). But the custom described in these verses seems to have been a serious deviation from the law.

1 Sam 2:15–16 These verses seem to suggest that Eli’s sons were guilty of a further deviation from the already degenerate custom described in vv. 13–14. This is an extraordinary situation: the priest, who was supposed to know the rules of sacrifice, was engaging in behavior that shocked even the ordinary worshiper.

1 Sam 2:18–21 The story returns to Samuel. Before, Samuel was ministering “in the presence of Eli the priest” (v. 11), but now he is ministering simply before the Lord, in the garment of a priest. The linen ephod was probably a simple tunic or apron worn by priests (22:18).

1 Sam 2:22–23 Eli’s sons committed sexual immorality with women who worked with them in the sanctuary.

1 Sam 2:25 if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him? This shows the need for a mediator between man and God. Hophni and Phineas had rebelled against God, even ignoring their father’s warnings about their behavior. Because of Eli’s sons’ willful rejection of him, it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

1 Sam 2:26 Similar language is used in Luke 2:52 to describe the physical and spiritual growth of the boy Jesus.

1 Sam 2:27–28 A man of God (a prophet) confronts Eli about the wicked behavior of his two sons. I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire. When an offering was made, part was burned as a “memorial portion.” The remaining part was normally eaten by the priests (Lev. 6:14–18; 7:1–38). But Eli’s sons have made a mockery of this law (1 Sam. 2:12–17).

1 Sam 2:30 Though the Lord had promised the priesthood (go in and out before me) to the descendants of Levi, the agreement can be broken if they are not obedient.

1 Sam 2:31–34 The man of God (see v. 27) declares a curse for Eli and all his descendants for their breaking of the covenant. Compare the punishments described in Deut. 28:15–68. Behold, the days are coming indicates that the prophesied events will happen during a future time of God’s judgment. The only one who would be spared from this judgment would be Abiathar, who escaped when the 85 priests of Nob were killed (1 Sam. 22:18–20). Solomon later banished him, and this was seen as the final fulfillment of the prophecy against Eli and his priestly descendants (1 Kings 2:26–27). Eli will not live to experience the punishment, but the death of his two sons on the same day (see 1 Sam. 4:11) will be a sign to him that the prophecy is true.

1 Sam 2:35 The faithful priest with a sure house is probably Zadok, a priest under David and a descendant of Ithamar’s brother Eleazar, son of Aaron (2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Chron. 24:3; see also Judg. 20:28). The anointed is the king (see 2 Sam. 7:16).