1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
6 The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.
7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them.
9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.
11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.
12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
13 And the priest's custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;
14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.
16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.
17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.
18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home.
21 And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD.
22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.
24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD's people to transgress.
25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.
26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the LORD, and also with men.
27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?
28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?
29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.
32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.
33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.
35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.
36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
1 And Hannah H2584 prayed, H6419 and said, H559 My heart H3820 rejoiceth H5970 in the LORD, H3068 mine horn H7161 is exalted H7311 in the LORD: H3068 my mouth H6310 is enlarged H7337 over mine enemies; H341 because I rejoice H8055 in thy salvation. H3444
2 There is none holy H6918 as the LORD: H3068 for there is none beside H1115 thee: neither is there any rock H6697 like our God. H430
3 Talk H1696 no more H7235 so exceeding H1364 proudly; H1364 let not arrogancy H6277 come H3318 out of your mouth: H6310 for the LORD H3068 is a God H410 of knowledge, H1844 and by him actions H5949 are weighed. H8505
4 The bows H7198 of the mighty men H1368 are broken, H2844 and they that stumbled H3782 are girded H247 with strength. H2428
5 They that were full H7649 have hired out H7936 themselves for bread; H3899 and they that were hungry H7457 ceased: H2308 so that the barren H6135 hath born H3205 seven; H7651 and she that hath many H7227 children H1121 is waxed feeble. H535
6 The LORD H3068 killeth, H4191 and maketh alive: H2421 he bringeth down H3381 to the grave, H7585 and bringeth up. H5927
7 The LORD H3068 maketh poor, H3423 and maketh rich: H6238 he bringeth low, H8213 and H637 lifteth up. H7311
8 He raiseth up H6965 the poor H1800 out of the dust, H6083 and lifteth up H7311 the beggar H34 from the dunghill, H830 to set H3427 them among princes, H5081 and to make them inherit H5157 the throne H3678 of glory: H3519 for the pillars H4690 of the earth H776 are the LORD'S, H3068 and he hath set H7896 the world H8398 upon them.
9 He will keep H8104 the feet H7272 of his saints, H2623 and the wicked H7563 shall be silent H1826 in darkness; H2822 for by strength H3581 shall no man H376 prevail. H1396
10 The adversaries H7378 of the LORD H3068 shall be broken to pieces; H2865 out of heaven H8064 shall he thunder H7481 upon them: the LORD H3068 shall judge H1777 the ends H657 of the earth; H776 and he shall give H5414 strength H5797 unto his king, H4428 and exalt H7311 the horn H7161 of his anointed. H4899
11 And Elkanah H511 went H3212 to Ramah H7414 to his house. H1004 And the child H5288 did H1961 minister H8334 unto the LORD H3068 before H6440 Eli H5941 the priest. H3548
12 Now the sons H1121 of Eli H5941 were sons H1121 of Belial; H1100 they knew H3045 not the LORD. H3068
13 And the priests' H3548 custom H4941 with the people H5971 was, that, when any man H376 offered H2076 sacrifice, H2077 the priest's H3548 servant H5288 came, H935 while the flesh H1320 was in seething, H1310 with a fleshhook H4207 of three H7969 teeth H8127 in his hand; H3027
14 And he struck H5221 it into the pan, H3595 or kettle, H1731 or caldron, H7037 or pot; H6517 all that the fleshhook H4207 brought up H5927 the priest H3548 took H3947 for himself. So they did H6213 in Shiloh H7887 unto all the Israelites H3478 that came H935 thither.
15 Also before they burnt H6999 the fat, H2459 the priest's H3548 servant H5288 came, H935 and said H559 to the man H376 that sacrificed, H2076 Give H5414 flesh H1320 to roast H6740 for the priest; H3548 for he will not have H3947 sodden H1310 flesh H1320 of thee, but raw. H2416
16 And if any man H376 said H559 unto him, Let them not fail H6999 to burn H6999 the fat H2459 presently, H3117 and then take H3947 as much as thy soul H5315 desireth; H183 then he would answer H559 him, Nay; but thou shalt give H5414 it me now: and if not, I will take H3947 it by force. H2394
17 Wherefore the sin H2403 of the young men H5288 was very H3966 great H1419 before H6440 the LORD: H3068 for men H582 abhorred H5006 the offering H4503 of the LORD. H3068
18 But Samuel H8050 ministered H8334 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 being a child, H5288 girded H2296 with a linen H906 ephod. H646
19 Moreover his mother H517 made H6213 him a little H6996 coat, H4598 and brought H5927 it to him from year H3117 to year, H3117 when she came up H5927 with her husband H376 to offer H2076 the yearly H3117 sacrifice. H2077
20 And Eli H5941 blessed H1288 Elkanah H511 and his wife, H802 and said, H559 The LORD H3068 give H7760 thee seed H2233 of this woman H802 for the loan H7596 which is lent H7592 to the LORD. H3068 And they went H1980 unto their own home. H4725
21 And H3588 the LORD H3068 visited H6485 Hannah, H2584 so that she conceived, H2029 and bare H3205 three H7969 sons H1121 and two H8147 daughters. H1323 And the child H5288 Samuel H8050 grew H1431 before H5973 the LORD. H3068
22 Now Eli H5941 was very H3966 old, H2204 and heard H8085 all that his sons H1121 did H6213 unto all Israel; H3478 and how they lay H7901 with the women H802 that assembled H6633 at the door H6607 of the tabernacle H168 of the congregation. H4150
23 And he said H559 unto them, Why do H6213 ye such things? H1697 for I hear H8085 of your evil H7451 dealings H1697 by all this people. H5971
24 Nay, my sons; H1121 for it is no good H2896 report H8052 that I hear: H8085 ye make the LORD'S H3068 people H5971 to transgress. H5674
25 If one man H376 sin H2398 against another, H376 the judge H430 shall judge H6419 him: but if a man H376 sin H2398 against the LORD, H3068 who shall intreat H6419 for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened H8085 not unto the voice H6963 of their father, H1 because the LORD H3068 would H2654 slay H4191 them.
26 And the child H5288 Samuel H8050 grew H1432 on, H1980 and was in favour H2896 both with the LORD, H3068 and also with men. H582
27 And there came H935 a man H376 of God H430 unto Eli, H5941 and said H559 unto him, Thus saith H559 the LORD, H3068 Did I plainly H1540 appear H1540 unto the house H1004 of thy father, H1 when they were in Egypt H4714 in Pharaoh's H6547 house? H1004
28 And did I choose H977 him out of all the tribes H7626 of Israel H3478 to be my priest, H3548 to offer H5927 upon mine altar, H4196 to burn H6999 incense, H7004 to wear H5375 an ephod H646 before H6440 me? and did I give H5414 unto the house H1004 of thy father H1 all the offerings made by fire H801 of the children H1121 of Israel? H3478
29 Wherefore kick H1163 ye at my sacrifice H2077 and at mine offering, H4503 which I have commanded H6680 in my habitation; H4583 and honourest H3513 thy sons H1121 above me, to make yourselves fat H1254 with the chiefest H7225 of all the offerings H4503 of Israel H3478 my people? H5971
30 Wherefore the LORD H3068 God H430 of Israel H3478 saith, H5002 I said H559 indeed H559 that thy house, H1004 and the house H1004 of thy father, H1 should walk H1980 before H6440 me for H5704 ever: H5769 but now the LORD H3068 saith, H5002 Be it far from me; H2486 for them that honour H3513 me I will honour, H3513 and they that despise H959 me shall be lightly esteemed. H7043
31 Behold, the days H3117 come, H935 that I will cut off H1438 thine arm, H2220 and the arm H2220 of thy father's H1 house, H1004 that there shall not be an old man H2205 in thine house. H1004
32 And thou shalt see H5027 an enemy H6862 in my habitation, H4583 in all the wealth which God shall give H3190 Israel: H3478 and there shall not be an old man H2205 in thine house H1004 for ever. H3117
33 And the man H376 of thine, whom I shall not cut off H3772 from mine altar, H4196 shall be to consume H3615 thine eyes, H5869 and to grieve H109 thine heart: H5315 and all the increase H4768 of thine house H1004 shall die H4191 in the flower of their age. H582
34 And this shall be a sign H226 unto thee, that shall come H935 upon thy two H8147 sons, H1121 on Hophni H2652 and Phinehas; H6372 in one H259 day H3117 they shall die H4191 both H8147 of them.
35 And I will raise me up H6965 a faithful H539 priest, H3548 that shall do H6213 according to that which is in mine heart H3824 and in my mind: H5315 and I will build H1129 him a sure H539 house; H1004 and he shall walk H1980 before H6440 mine anointed H4899 for ever. H3117
36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left H3498 in thine house H1004 shall come H935 and crouch H7812 to him for a piece H95 of silver H3701 and a morsel H3603 of bread, H3899 and shall say, H559 Put H5596 me, I pray thee, into one H259 of the priests' offices, H3550 that I may eat H398 a piece H6595 of bread. H3899
1 And Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exulteth in Jehovah; My horn is exalted in Jehovah; My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; Because I rejoice in thy salvation.
2 There is none holy as Jehovah; For there is none besides thee, Neither is there any rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; For Jehovah is a God of knowledge, And by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty men are broken; And they that stumbled are girded with strength.
5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; And they that were hungry have ceased `to hunger': Yea, the barren hath borne seven; And she that hath many children languisheth.
6 Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up.
7 Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich: He bringeth low, he also lifteth up.
8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, And inherit the throne of glory: For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah's, And he hath set the world upon them.
9 He will keep the feet of his holy ones; But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; For by strength shall no man prevail.
10 They that strive with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces; Against them will he thunder in heaven: Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth; And he will give strength unto his king, And exalt the horn of his anointed.
11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto Jehovah before Eli the priest.
12 Now the sons of Eli were base men; they knew not Jehovah.
13 And the custom of the priests with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand;
14 and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
15 Yea, before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have boiled flesh of thee, but raw.
16 And if the man said unto him, They will surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would say, Nay, but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.
17 And the sin of the young men was very great before Jehovah; for the men despised the offering of Jehovah.
18 But Samuel ministered before Jehovah, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
19 Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, Jehovah give thee seed of this woman for the petition which was asked of Jehovah. And they went unto their own home.
21 And Jehovah visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before Jehovah.
22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did unto all Israel, and how that they lay with the women that did service at the door of the tent of meeting.
23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.
24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make Jehovah's people to transgress.
25 If one man sin against another, God shall judge him; but if a man sin against Jehovah, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because Jehovah was minded to slay them.
26 And the child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with Jehovah, and also with men.
27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Did I reveal myself unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt `in bondage' to Pharaoh's house?
28 and did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up unto mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?
29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in `my' habitation, and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
30 Therefore Jehovah, the God of Israel, saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now Jehovah saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house.
32 And thou shalt behold the affliction of `my' habitation, in all the wealth which `God' shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever.
33 And the man of thine, `whom' I shall not cut off from mine altar, `shall be' to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy heart; and all the increase of thy house shall die in the flower of their age.
34 And this shall be the sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them.
35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.
36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thy house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.
1 And Hannah prayeth, and saith: `My heart hath exulted in Jehovah, My horn hath been high in Jehovah, My mouth hath been large over mine enemies, For I have rejoiced in Thy salvation.
2 There is none holy like Jehovah, For there is none save Thee, And there is no rock like our God.
3 Ye multiply not -- ye speak haughtily -- The old saying goeth out from your mouth, For a God of knowledge `is' Jehovah, And by Him actions are weighed.
4 Bows of the mighty are broken, And the stumbling have girded on strength.
5 The satiated for bread hired themselves, And the hungry have ceased. While the barren hath borne seven, And she abounding with sons hath languished.
6 Jehovah putteth to death, and keepeth alive, He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up.
7 Jehovah dispossesseth, and He maketh rich, He maketh low, yea, He maketh high.
8 He raiseth from the dust the poor, From a dunghill He lifteth up the needy, To cause `them' to sit with nobles, Yea, a throne of honour He doth cause them to inherit, For to Jehovah `are' the fixtures of earth, And He setteth on them the habitable world.
9 The feet of His saints He keepeth, And the wicked in darkness are silent, For not by power doth man become mighty.
10 Jehovah -- broken down are His adversaries, Against them in the heavens He thundereth: Jehovah judgeth the ends of earth, And giveth strength to His king, And exalteth the horn of His anointed.'
11 And Elkanah goeth to Ramath, unto his house, and the youth hath been serving Jehovah, `in' the presence of Eli the priest;
12 and the sons of Eli `are' sons of worthlessness, they have not known Jehovah.
13 And the custom of the priests with the people `is': any man sacrificing a sacrifice -- then hath the servant of the priest come in when the flesh is boiling, and the hook of three teeth in his hand,
14 and hath struck `it' into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the hook bringeth up doth the priest take for himself; thus they do to all Israel who are coming in, there, in Shiloh.
15 Also before they make perfume with the fat -- then hath the priest's servant come in, and said to the man who is sacrificing, `Give flesh to roast for the priest, and he doth not take of thee flesh boiled, but raw;'
16 and the man saith unto him, `Let them surely make a perfume (as to-day) with the fat, then take to thee as thy soul desireth;' and he hath said to him, `Surely now thou dost give; and if not -- I have taken by strength.'
17 And the sin of the young men is very great `in' the presence of Jehovah, for the men have despised the offering of Jehovah.
18 And Samuel is ministering `in' the presence of Jehovah, a youth girt `with' an ephod of linen;
19 and a small upper coat doth his mother make to him, and she hath brought it up to him from time to time, in her coming up with her husband to sacrifice the sacrifice of the time.
20 And Eli blessed Elkanah, and his wife, and said, `Jehovah doth appoint for thee seed of this woman, for the petition which she asked for Jehovah;' and they have gone to their place.
21 When Jehovah hath looked after Hannah, then she conceiveth and beareth three sons and two daughters; and the youth Samuel groweth up with Jehovah.
22 And Eli `is' very old, and hath heard all that his sons do to all Israel, and how that they lie with the women who are assembling `at' the opening of the tent of meeting,
23 and he saith to them, `Why do ye things like these? for I am hearing of your evil words from all the people -- these!
24 Nay, my sons; for the report which I am hearing is not good causing the people of Jehovah to transgress. --
25 If a man sin against a man, then hath God judged him; but if against Jehovah a man sin, who doth pray for him?' and they hearken not to the voice of their father, though Jehovah hath delighted to put them to death.
26 And the youth Samuel is going on and growing up, and `is' good both with Jehovah, and also with men.
27 And there cometh a man of God unto Eli, and saith unto him, `Thus said Jehovah, Was I really revealed unto the house of thy father in their being in Egypt, before Pharaoh's house,
28 even to choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to Me for a priest, to go up on Mine altar, to make a perfume, to bear an ephod before Me, and I give to the house of thy father all the fire-offerings of the sons of Israel?
29 Why do ye kick at My sacrifice, and at Mine offering which I commanded `in' My habitation, and dost honour thy sons above Me, to make yourselves fat from the first part of every offering of Israel, of My people?
30 `Therefore -- the affirmation of Jehovah, God of Israel -- I certainly said, Thy house and the house of thy father, do walk up and down before Me to the age; and now -- the affirmation of Jehovah -- Far be it from Me! for he who is honouring Me, I honour, and those despising Me, are lightly esteemed.
31 `Lo, days `are' coming, and I have cut off thine arm, and the arm of the house of thy father, that an old man is not in thy house;
32 and thou hast beheld an adversary `in My' habitation, in all that He doth good with Israel, and there is not an old man in thy house all the days.
33 `And the man I cut not off of thine from Mine altar, `is' to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thy soul; and all the increase of thy house do die men;
34 and this `is' to thee the sign that cometh unto thy two sons, unto Hophni and Phinehas -- in one day they die both of them;
35 and I have raised up for Me a stedfast priest; as in My heart and in My soul he doth do; and I have built for him a stedfast house, and he hath walked up and down before Mine anointed all the days;
36 and it hath been, every one who is left in thy house doth come in to bow himself to him, for a wage of silver, and a cake of bread, and hath said, Admit me, I pray thee, unto one of the priest's offices, to eat a morsel of bread.'
1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart exulteth in Jehovah, my horn is lifted up in Jehovah; my mouth is opened wide over mine enemies; for I rejoice in thy salvation.
2 There is none holy as Jehovah, for there is none beside thee, neither is there any rock like our God.
3 Do not multiply your words of pride, let not vain-glory come out of your mouth; For Jehovah is a ùGod of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bow of the mighty is broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
5 They that were full have hired themselves out for bread; and the hungry are [so] no more: Even the barren beareth seven, and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.
6 Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive; he bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up.
7 Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich, he bringeth low, also he lifteth up:
8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust; from the dung-hill he lifteth up the needy, To set [him] among nobles; and he maketh them inherit a throne of glory; For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah's, and he hath set the world upon them.
9 He keepeth the feet of his saints, but the wicked are silenced in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
10 They that strive with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces; in the heavens will he thunder upon them. Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth; and he will give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.
11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the boy ministered to Jehovah in the presence of Eli the priest.
12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not Jehovah.
13 And the priests' custom with the people was, when any man sacrificed a sacrifice, the priest's servant came, when the flesh was cooked, with a flesh-hook of three prongs in his hand;
14 and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot; the priest took of it all that the flesh-hook brought up. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites that came there.
15 Even before they burned the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest, and he will not accept sodden flesh of thee, but raw.
16 If the man said to him, They will immediately burn the fat entire, then take as thy soul desires; he would say [to him], No, but thou shalt give [it] now; and if not, I will take [it] by force.
17 And the sin of the young men was very great before Jehovah, for men despised the offering of Jehovah.
18 And Samuel ministered before Jehovah, a boy girded with a linen ephod.
19 And his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to sacrifice the yearly sacrifice.
20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, Jehovah give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to Jehovah. And they went to their own home.
21 So Jehovah visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before Jehovah.
22 And Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and that they lay with the women that served at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
23 And he said to them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil deeds from all this people.
24 No, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear: ye make Jehovah's people transgress.
25 If one man sin against another, God will judge him; but if a man sin against Jehovah, who shall intreat for him? But they hearkened not to the voice of their father, for Jehovah was minded to slay them.
26 And the boy Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with Jehovah and also with men.
27 And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, Thus saith Jehovah: Did I plainly reveal myself to the house of thy father when they were in Egypt, in Pharaoh's house,
28 and choose him out of all the tribes of Israel, to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear the ephod before me? and I gave unto the house of thy father all the offerings by fire of the children of Israel.
29 Wherefore do ye trample upon my sacrifice and upon mine oblation which I have commanded [in my] habitation? And thou honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the primest of all the oblations of Israel my people.
30 Wherefore Jehovah the God of Israel saith, I said indeed, Thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever. But now Jehovah saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
31 Behold, days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house.
32 And thou shalt see an oppressor [in my] habitation, amidst all the good that shall be done to Israel; and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever.
33 And the man of thine [whom] I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to cause thine eyes to fail and to grieve thy soul; and all the increase of thy house shall die in their vigour.
34 And this shall be the sign to thee, which shall come upon thy two sons, upon Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die, both of them.
35 And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, [who] shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind; and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed continually.
36 And it shall come to pass [that] every one that is left of thy house shall come to crouch to him for a small piece of silver and for a cake of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priestly offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.
1 Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exults in Yahweh; My horn is exalted in Yahweh; My mouth is enlarged over my enemies; Because I rejoice in your salvation.
2 There is none holy as Yahweh; For there is none besides you, Neither is there any rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; Don't let arrogance come out of your mouth; For Yahweh is a God of knowledge, By him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty men are broken; Those who stumbled are girded with strength.
5 Those who were full have hired out themselves for bread; Those who were hungry have ceased [to hunger]: Yes, the barren has borne seven; She who has many children languishes.
6 Yahweh kills, and makes alive: He brings down to Sheol, and brings up.
7 Yahweh makes poor, and makes rich: He brings low, he also lifts up.
8 He raises up the poor out of the dust, He lifts up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, Inherit the throne of glory: For the pillars of the earth are Yahweh's, He has set the world on them.
9 He will keep the feet of his holy ones; But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness; For by strength shall no man prevail.
10 Those who strive with Yahweh shall be broken to pieces; Against them will he thunder in the sky: Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth; He will give strength to his king, Exalt the horn of his anointed.
11 Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. The child did minister to Yahweh before Eli the priest.
12 Now the sons of Eli were base men; they didn't know Yahweh.
13 The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was boiling, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand;
14 and he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest took therewith. So they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.
15 Yes, before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man who sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have boiled flesh of you, but raw.
16 If the man said to him, They will surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as your soul desires; then he would say, No, but you shall give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.
17 The sin of the young men was very great before Yahweh; for the men despised the offering of Yahweh.
18 But Samuel ministered before Yahweh, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
19 Moreover his mother made him a little robe, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
20 Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, Yahweh give you seed of this woman for the petition which was asked of Yahweh. They went to their own home.
21 Yahweh visited Hannah, and she conceived, and bore three sons and two daughters. The child Samuel grew before Yahweh.
22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and how that they lay with the women who served at the door of the tent of meeting.
23 He said to them, Why do you such things? for I hear of your evil dealings from all this people.
24 No, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: you make Yahweh's people to disobey.
25 If one man sin against another, God shall judge him; but if a man sin against Yahweh, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding, they didn't listen to the voice of their father, because Yahweh was minded to kill them.
26 The child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with Yahweh, and also with men.
27 There came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Did I reveal myself to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt [in bondage] to Pharaoh's house?
28 and did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire?
29 Why kick you at my sacrifice and at my offering, which I have commanded in [my] habitation, and honor your sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel my people?
30 Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, I said indeed that your house, and the house of your father, should walk before me forever: but now Yahweh says, Be it far from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off your arm, and the arm of your father's house, that there shall not be an old man in your house.
32 You shall see the affliction of [my] habitation, in all the wealth which [God] shall give Israel; and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.
33 The man of yours, [whom] I shall not cut off from my altar, [shall be] to consume your eyes, and to grieve your heart; and all the increase of your house shall die in the flower of their age.
34 This shall be the sign to you, that shall come on your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall die both of them.
35 I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my anointed forever.
36 It shall happen, that everyone who is left in your house shall come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and shall say, Please put me into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a morsel of bread.
1 And Hannah, in prayer before the Lord, said, My heart is glad in the Lord, my horn is lifted up in the Lord: my mouth is open wide over my haters; because my joy is in your salvation.
2 No other is holy as the Lord, for there is no other God but you: there is no Rock like our God.
3 Say no more words of pride; let not uncontrolled sayings come out of your mouths: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, by him acts are judged.
4 The bows of the men of war are broken, and the feeble are clothed with strength.
5 Those who were full are offering themselves as servants for bread; those who were in need are at rest; truly, she who had no children has become the mother of seven; and she who had a family is wasted with sorrow.
6 The Lord is the giver of death and life: sending men down to the underworld and lifting them up.
7 The Lord gives wealth and takes a man's goods from him: crushing men down and again lifting them up;
8 Lifting the poor out of the dust, and him who is in need out of the lowest place, to give them their place among rulers, and for their heritage the seat of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's and he has made them the base of the world.
9 He will keep the feet of his holy ones, but the evil-doers will come to their end in the dark night, for by strength no man will overcome.
10 Those who make war against the Lord will be broken; against them he will send his thunder from heaven: the Lord will be judge of the ends of the earth, he will give strength to his king, lifting up the horn of him on whom the holy oil has been put.
11 Then Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child became the servant of the Lord under the direction of Eli the priest.
12 Now the sons of Eli were evil and good-for-nothing men, having no knowledge of the Lord.
13 And the priests' way with the people was this: when any man made an offering, the priest's servant came while the flesh was being cooked, having in his hand a meat-hook with three teeth;
14 This he put into the pot, and everything which came up on the hook the priest took for himself. This they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.
15 And more than this, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was making the offering, Give me some of the flesh to be cooked for the priest; he has no taste for meat cooked in water, but would have you give it uncooked.
16 And if the man said to him, First let the fat be burned, then take as much as you will; then the servant would say, No, you are to give it to me now, or I will take it by force.
17 And the sin of these young men was very great before the Lord; for they gave no honour to the Lord's offerings.
18 But Samuel did the work of the Lord's house, while he was a child, dressed in a linen ephod.
19 And his mother made him a little robe and took it to him every year when she came with her husband for the year's offering.
20 And every year Eli gave Elkanah and his wife a blessing, saying, May the Lord give you offspring by this woman in exchange for the child you have given to the Lord. And they went back to their house.
21 And the Lord had mercy on Hannah and she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the young Samuel became older before the Lord.
22 Now Eli was very old; and he had news from time to time of what his sons were doing to all Israel.
23 And he said to them, Why are you doing such things? for from all this people I get accounts of your evil ways.
24 No, my sons, the account which is given me, which the Lord's people are sending about, is not good.
25 If one man does wrong to another, God will be his judge: but if a man's sin is against the Lord, who will take up his cause? But they gave no attention to the voice of their father, for it was the Lord's purpose to send destruction on them.
26 And the young Samuel, becoming older, had the approval of the Lord and of men.
27 And a man of God came to Eli and said to him, The Lord says, Did I let myself be seen by your father's people when they were in Egypt, servants in Pharaoh's house?
28 Did I take him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest and to go up to my altar to make the smoke of the offerings go up and to take up the ephod? Did I give to your father's family all the offerings made by fire by the children of Israel?
29 Why then are you looking with envy on my offerings of meat and of meal which were ordered by my word, honouring your sons before me, and making yourselves fat with all the best of the offerings of Israel, my people?
30 For this reason the Lord God of Israel has said, Truly I did say that your family and your father's people would have their place before me for ever: but now the Lord says, Let it not be so; I will give honour to those by whom I am honoured, and those who have no respect for me will be of small value in my eyes.
31 See, the days are coming when your arm and the arm of your father's people will be cut off;
32 And never again will there be an old man in your family.
33 But one man of your family will not be cut off by my hand, and his eyes will be made dark, and grief will be in his heart: and all the offspring of your family will come to their end by the sword of men.
34 And this will be the sign to you, which will come on Hophni and Phinehas, your sons; death will overtake them on the same day.
35 And I will make a true priest for myself, one who will do what is in my heart and in my mind: and I will make for him a family which will not come to an end; and his place will be before my holy one for ever.
36 Then it will be that the rest of your family, anyone who has not been cut off, will go down on his knees to him for a bit of silver or a bit of bread, and say, Be pleased to put me into one of the priest's places so that I may have a little food.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on 1 Samuel 2
Commentary on 1 Samuel 2 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Hannah's song of praise . - The prayer in which Hannah poured out the feelings of her heart, after the dedication of her son to the Lord, is a song of praise of a prophetic and Messianic character. After giving utterance in the introduction to the rejoicing and exulting of her soul at the salvation that had reached her (1 Samuel 2:1), she praises the Lord as the only holy One, the only rock of the righteous, who rules on earth with omniscience and righteousness, brings down the proud and lofty, kills and makes alive, maketh poor and maketh rich (1 Samuel 2:2-8). She then closes with the confident assurance that He will keep His saints, and cast down the rebellious, and will judge the ends of the earth, and exalt the power of His king (1 Samuel 2:9, 1 Samuel 2:10).
This psalm is the mature fruit of the Spirit of God. The pious woman, who had gone with all the earnest longings of a mother's heart to pray to the Lord God of Israel for a son, that she might consecrate him to the lifelong service of the Lord, “discerned in her own individual experience the general laws of the divine economy, and its signification in relation to the whole history of the kingdom of God” (Auberlen, p. 564). The experience which she, bowed down and oppressed as she was, had had of the gracious government of the omniscient and holy covenant God, was a pledge to her of the gracious way in which the nation itself was led by God, and a sign by which she discerned how God not only delivered at all times the poor and wretched who trusted in Him out of their poverty and distress, and set them up, but would also lift up and glorify His whole nation, which was at that time so deeply bowed down and oppressed by its foes. Acquainted as she was with the destination of Israel to be a kingdom , from the promises which God had given to the patriarchs, and filled as she was with the longing that had been awakened in the nation for the realization of these promises, she could see in spirit, and through the inspiration of God, the king whom the Lord was about to give to His people, and through whom He would raise it up to might and dominion.
The refusal of modern critics to admit the genuineness of this song is founded upon an a priori and utter denial of the supernatural saving revelations of God, and upon a consequent inability to discern the prophetic illumination of the pious Hannah, and a complete misinterpretation of the contents of her song of praise. The “proud and lofty,” whom God humbles and casts down, are not the heathen or the national foes of Israel, and the “poor and wretched” whom He exalts and makes rich are not the Israelites as such; but the former are the ungodly , and the latter the pious , in Israel itself. And the description is so well sustained throughout, that it is only by the most arbitrary criticism that it can be interpreted as referring to definite historical events, such as the victory of David over Goliath (Thenius), or a victory of the Israelites over heathen nations ( Ewald and others). Still less can any argument be drawn from the words of the song in support of its later origin, or its composition by David or one of the earliest of the kings of Israel. On the contrary, not only is its genuineness supported by the general consideration that the author of these books would never have ascribed a song to Hannah, if he had not found it in the sources he employed; but still more decisively by the circumstance that the songs of praise of Mary and Zechariah, in Luke 1:46. and Luke 1:68., show, through the manner in which they rest upon this ode, in what way it was understood by the pious Israelites of every age, and how, like the pious Hannah, they recognised and praised in their own individual experience the government of the holy God in the midst of His kingdom.
1 Samuel 2:1
The first verse forms the introduction to the song. Holy joy in the Lord at the blessing which she had received impelled the favoured mother to the praise of God:
1 My heart is joyful in the Lord,
My horn is exalted in the Lord,
My mouth is opened wide over mine enemies:
For I rejoice in Thy salvation.
Of the four members of this verse, the first answers to the third, and the second to the fourth. The heart rejoices at the lifting up of her horn, the mouth opens wide to proclaim the salvation before which the enemies would be dumb. “ My horn is high ” does not mean 'I am proud' ( Ewald ), but “my power is great in the Lord.” The horn is the symbol of strength, and is taken from oxen whose strength is in their horns (vid., Deuteronomy 33:17; Psalms 75:5, etc.). The power was high or exalted by the salvation which the Lord had manifested to her. To Him all the glory was due, because He had proved himself to be the holy One, and a rock upon which a man could rest his confidence.
1 Samuel 2:2-3
2 None is holy as the Lord; for there is none beside Thee;
And no rock is as our God.
3 Speak ye not much lofty, lofty;
Let (not) insolence go out of thy mouth!
For the Lord is an omniscient God,
And with Him deeds are weighed.
God manifests himself as holy in the government of the kingdom of His grace by His guidance of the righteous to salvation (see at Exodus 19:6). But holiness is simply the moral reflection of the glory of the one absolute God. This explains the reason given for His holiness, viz., “there is not one (a God) beside thee” (cf. 2 Samuel 22:32). As the holy and only One, God is the rock (vid., Deuteronomy 32:4, Deuteronomy 32:15; Psalms 18:3) in which the righteous can always trust. The wicked therefore should tremble before His holiness, and not talk in their pride of the lofty things which they have accomplished or intend to perform. גּבהה is defined more precisely in the following clause, which is also dependent upon אל by the word עתק , as insolent words spoken by the wicked against the righteous (see Psalms 31:19). For Jehovah hears such words; He is “ a God of knowledge ” ( Deus scientiarum ), a God who sees and knows every single thing. The plural דּעות has an intensive signification. עללות נתכּנוּ לא might be rendered “deeds are not weighed, or equal” (cf. Ezekiel 18:25-26; Ezekiel 33:17). But this would only apply to the actions of men; for the acts of God are always just, or weighed. But an assertion respecting the actions of men does not suit the context. Hence this clause is reckoned in the Masora as one of the passages in which לא stands for לו (see at Exodus 21:8). “ To Him (with Him) deeds are weighed :” that is to say, the acts of God are weighed, i.e., equal or just. This is the real meaning according to the passages in Ezekiel, and not “the actions of men are weighed by Him” (De Wette, Maurer, Ewald , etc.): for God weighs the minds and hearts of men (Proverbs 16:2; Proverbs 21:2; Proverbs 24:12), not their actions. This expression never occurs. The weighed or righteous acts of God are described in 1 Samuel 2:4-8 in great and general traits, as displayed in the government of His kingdom through the marvellous changes which occur in the circumstances connected with the lives of the righteous and the wicked.
1 Samuel 2:4-8
4 Bow-heroes are confounded,
And stumbling ones gird themselves with strength;
5 Full ones hire themselves out for bread,
And hungry ones cease to be.
Yea, the barren beareth seven (children),
And she that is rich in children pines away.
6 The Lord kills and makes alive;
Leads down into hell, and leads up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
Humbles and also exalts.
8 He raises mean ones out of the dust,
He lifts up poor ones out of the dunghill,
To set them beside the noble;
And He apportions to them the seat of glory:
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
And He sets the earth upon them.
In 1 Samuel 2:4, the predicate חתּים is construed with the nomen rectum גּבּרים , not with the nomen regens קשׁת , because the former is the leading term (vid., Ges. §148, 1, and Ewald , §317, d .). The thought to be expressed is, not that the bow itself is to be broken, but that the heroes who carry the bow are to be confounded or broken inwardly. “ Bows of the heroes ” stands for heroes carrying bows. For this reason the verb is to be taken in the sense of confounded, not broken, especially as, apart from Jeremiah 51:56, חתת is not used to denote the breaking of outward things, but the breaking of men.
1 Samuel 2:5-8
שׂבעים are the rich and well to do; these would become so poor as to be obliged to hire themselves out for bread. חדל , to cease to be what they were before. The use of עד as a conjunction, in the sense of “yea” or “in fact,” may be explained as an elliptical expression, signifying “it comes to this, that.” “ Seven children ” are mentioned as the full number of the divine blessing in children (see Ruth 4:15). “The mother of many children” pines away, because she has lost all her sons, and with them her support in her old age (see Jeremiah 15:9). This comes from the Lord, who kills, etc. (cf. Deuteronomy 32:39). The words of 1 Samuel 2:6 are figurative. God hurls down into death and the danger of death, and also rescues therefrom (see Psalms 30:3-4). The first three clauses of 1 Samuel 2:8 are repeated verbatim in Psalms 113:7-8. Dust and the dunghill are figures used to denote the deepest degradation and ignominy. The antithesis to this is, sitting upon the chair or throne of glory, the seat occupied by noble princes. The Lord does all this, for He is the creator and upholder of the world. The pillars ( מצקי , from צוּק = יצק ) of the earth are the Lord's ; i.e., they were created or set up by Him, and by Him they are sustained. Now as Jehovah, the God of Israel, the Holy One, governs the world with His almighty power, the righteous have nothing to fear. With this thought the last strophe of the song begins:
1 Samuel 2:9-10
9 The feet of His saints He will keep,
And the wicked perish in darkness;
For by power no one becomes strong.
10 The Lord - those who contend against Him are confounded.
He thunders above him in the heavens;
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth,
That He may lend might to His king, And exalt the horn of His anointed.
The Lord keeps the feet of the righteous, so that they do not tremble and stumble, i.e., so that the righteous do not fall into adversity and perish therein (vid., Ps. 56:14; Psalms 116:8; Psalms 121:3). But the wicked, who oppress and persecute the righteous, will perish in darkness, i.e., in adversity, when God withdraws the light of His grace, so that they fall into distress and calamity. For no man can be strong through his own power, so as to meet the storms of life. All who fight against the Lord are destroyed. To bring out the antithesis between man and God, “Jehovah” is written absolutely at the commencement of the sentence in 1 Samuel 2:10 : “ As for Jehovah, those who contend against Him are broken ,” both inwardly and outwardly ( חתת , as in 1 Samuel 2:4). The word עלו , which follows, is not to be changed into עליהם . There is simply a rapid alternation of the numbers, such as we frequently meet with in excited language. “ Above him ,” i.e., above every one who contends against God, He thunders. Thunder is a premonitory sign of the approach of the Lord to judgment. In the thunder, man is made to feel in an alarming way the presence of the omnipotent God. In the words, “ The Lord will judge the ends of the earth ,” i.e., the earth to its utmost extremities, or the whole world, Hannah's prayer rises up to a prophetic glance at the consummation of the kingdom of God. As certainly as the Lord God keeps the righteous at all times, and casts down the wicked, so certainly will He judge the whole world, to hurl down all His foes, and perfect His kingdom which He has founded in Israel. And as every kingdom culminates in its throne, or in the full might and government of a king, so the kingdom of God can only attain its full perfection in the king whom the Lord will give to His people, and endow with His might. The king , or the anointed of the Lord , of whom Hannah prophesies in the spirit, is not one single king of Israel, either David or Christ, but an ideal king, though not a mere personification of the throne about to be established, but the actual king whom Israel received in David and his race, which culminated in the Messiah. The exaltation of the horn of the anointed to Jehovah commenced with the victorious and splendid expansion of the power of David, was repeated with every victory over the enemies of God and His kingdom gained by the successive kings of David's house, goes on in the advancing spread of the kingdom of Christ, and will eventually attain to its eternal consummation in the judgment of the last day, through which all the enemies of Christ will be made His footstool.
Samuel the servant of the Lord under Eli. Ungodliness of the sons of Eli . - 1 Samuel 2:11 forms the transition to what follows. After Hannah's psalm of thanksgiving, Elkanah went back with his family to his home at Ramah, and the boy (Samuel) was serving, i.e., ministered to the Lord, in the presence of Eli the priest. The fact that nothing is said about Elkanah's wives going with him, does not warrant the interpretation given by Thenius, that Elkanah went home alone. It was taken for granted that his wives went with him, according to 1 Samuel 1:21 (“all his house”). את־יחוה שׁרת , which signifies literally, both here and in 1 Samuel 3:1, to serve the Lord, and which is used interchangeably with יי את־פּני שׁרת (1 Samuel 2:18), to serve in the presence of the Lord, is used to denote the duties performed both by priests and Levites in connection with the worship of God, in which Samuel took part, as he grew up, under the superintendence of Eli and according to his instruction.
1 Samuel 2:12
But Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas (1 Samuel 2:34), were בליּעל בּני , worthless fellows, and knew not the Lord, sc., as He should be known, i.e., did not fear Him, or trouble themselves about Him (vid., Job 18:21; Hosea 8:2; Hosea 13:4).
1 Samuel 2:13-14
“ And the right of the priests towards the people was (the following).” Mishpat signifies the right which they had usurped to themselves in relation to the people. “ If any one brought a sacrifice ( זבח זבח כּל־אישׁ is placed first, and construed absolutely: 'as for every one who brought a slain-offering'), the priest's servant ( lit . young man) came while the flesh was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, and thrust into the kettle, or pot, or bowl, or saucepan. All that the fork brought up the priest took. This they did to all the Israelites who came thither to Shiloh .”
1 Samuel 2:15-16
They did still worse. “ Even before the fat was consumed ,” i.e., before the fat portions of the sacrifice had been placed in the altar-fire for the Lord (Leviticus 3:3-5), the priest's servant came and demanded flesh of the person sacrificing, to be roasted for the priest; “ for he will not take boiled flesh of thee, but only חי , raw , i.e., fresh meat.” And if the person sacrificing replied, “ They will burn the fat directly ( lit . 'at this time,' as in Genesis 25:31; 1 Kings 22:5), then take for thyself, as thy soul desireth ,” he said, “ No ( לו for לא ), but thou shalt give now; if not, I take by force .” These abuses were practised by the priests in connection with the thank-offerings, with which a sacrificial meal was associated. Of these offerings, with which a sacrificial meal was associated. Of these offerings, the portion which legally fell to the priest as his share was the heave-leg and wave-breast. And this he was to receive after the fat portions of the sacrifice had been burned upon the altar (see Leviticus 7:30-34). To take the flesh of the sacrificial animal and roast it before this offering had been made, was a crime which was equivalent to a robbery of God, and is therefore referred to here with the emphatic particle גּם , as being the worst crime that the sons of Eli committed. Moreover, the priests could not claim any of the flesh which the offerer of the sacrifice boiled for the sacrificial meal, after burning the fat portions upon the altar and giving up the portions which belonged to them, to say nothing of their taking it forcibly out of the pots while it was being boiled.
1 Samuel 2:17
Such conduct as this on the part of the young men (the priests' servants), was a great sin in the sight of the Lord, as they thereby brought the sacrifice of the Lord into contempt. נאץ , causative, to bring into contempt, furnish occasion for blaspheming (as in 2 Samuel 12:14). “The robbery which they committed was a small sin in comparison with the contempt of the sacrifices themselves, which they were the means of spreading among the people” ( O. v. Gerlach ). Minchah does not refer here to the meat-offering as the accompaniment to the slain-offerings, but to the sacrificial offering generally, as a gift presented for the Lord.
Samuel's service before the Lord . - 1 Samuel 2:18. Samuel served as a boy before the Lord by the side of the worthless sons of Eli, girt with an ephod of white material ( בּד , see at Exodus 28:42). The ephod was a shoulder-dress, no doubt resembling the high priest's in shape (see Exodus 28:6.), but altogether different in the material of which it was made, viz., simple white cloth, like the other articles of clothing that were worn by the priests. At that time, according to 1 Samuel 22:18, all the priests wore clothing of this kind; and, according to 2 Samuel 6:14, David did the same on the occasion of a religious festival. Samuel received a dress of this kind even when a boy, because he was set apart to a lifelong service before the Lord. חגוּר is the technical expression for putting on the ephod, because the two pieces of which it was composed were girt round the body with a girdle.
1 Samuel 2:19
The small מעיל also ( Angl . “coat”), which Samuel's mother made and brought him every year, when she came with her husband to Shiloh to the yearly sacrifice, was probably a coat resembling the meïl of the high priest (Exodus 28:31.), but was made of course of some simpler material, and without the symbolical ornaments attached to the lower hem, by which that official dress was distinguished.
1 Samuel 2:20
The priestly clothing of the youthful Samuel was in harmony with the spiritual relation in which he stood to the high priest and to Jehovah. Eli blessed his parents for having given up the boy to the Lord, and expressed this wish to the father: “ The Lord lend thee seed of this woman in the place of the one asked for ( השּׁאלה ), whom they (one) asked for from the Lord .” The striking use of the third pers. masc. שׁאל instead of the second singular or plural may be accounted for on the supposition that it is an indefinite form of speech, which the writer chose because, although it was Hannah who prayed to the Lord for Samuel in the sight of Eli, yet Eli might assume that the father, Elkanah, had shared the wishes of his pious wife. The apparent harshness disappears at once if we substitute the passive; whereas in Hebrew active constructions were always preferred to passive, wherever it was possible to employ them ( Ewald , §294, b .). The singular suffix attached to למקומו after the plural הלכוּ may be explained on the simple ground, that a dwelling-place is determined by the husband, or master of the house.
1 Samuel 2:21
The particle כּי , “ for ” (Jehovah visited), does not mean if , as , or when , nor is it to be regarded as a copyist's error. It is only necessary to supply the thought contained in the words, “ Eli blessed Elkanah ,” viz., that Eli's blessing was not an empty fruitless wish; and to understand the passage in some such way as this: Eli's word was fulfilled, or still more simply, they went to their home blessed ; for Jehovah visited Hannah , blessed her with “ three sons and two daughters; but the boy Samuel grew up with the Lord ,” i.e., near to Him (at the sanctuary), and under His protection and blessing.
Eli's treatment of the sins of his sons . - 1 Samuel 2:22. The aged Eli reproved his sons with solemn warnings on account of their sins; but without his warnings being listened to. From the reproof itself we learn, that beside the sin noticed in 1 Samuel 2:12-17, they also committed the crime of lying with the women who served at the tabernacle (see at Exodus 38:8), and thus profaned the sanctuary with whoredom. But Eli, with the infirmities of his old age, did nothing further to prevent these abominations than to say to his sons, “ Why do ye according to the sayings which I hear, sayings about you which are evil, of this whole people .” רעים את־דּבריכם is inserted to make the meaning clearer, and כּל־ה מאת is dependent upon שׁמע . “ This whole people ” signifies all the people that came to Shiloh, and heard and saw the wicked doings there.
בּני אל , “ Not, my sons ,” i.e., do not such things, “ for the report which I hear is not good; they make the people of Jehovah to transgress .” מערים is written without the pronoun אתּם in an indefinite construction, like משׁלּחים in 1 Samuel 6:3 (Maurer). Ewald 's rendering as given by Thenius, “The report which I hear the people of God bring,” is just as inadmissible as the one proposed by Böttcher, “The report which, as I hear, the people of God are spreading.” The assertion made by Thenius, that העביר , without any further definition, cannot mean to cause to sin or transgress, is correct enough no doubt; but it does not prove that this meaning is inadmissible in the passage before us, since the further definition is actually to be found in the context.
“ If man sins against man, God judges him; but if a man sins against Jehovah, who can interpose with entreaty for him ?” In the use of פּללו and יתפּלּל־לו there is a paranomasia which cannot be reproduced in our language. פּלּל signifies to decide or pass sentence ( Genesis 48:11), then to arbitrate, to settle a dispute as arbitrator (Ezekiel 16:52; Psalms 106:30), and in the Hithpael to act as mediator, hence to entreat. And these meanings are applicable here. In the case of one man's sin against another, God settles the dispute as arbitrator through the proper authorities; whereas, when a man sins against God, no one can interpose as arbitrator. Such a sin cannot be disposed of by intercession. But Eli's sons did not listen to this admonition, which was designed to reform daring sinners with mild words and representation; “ for ,” adds the historian, “ Jehovah was resolved to slay them .” The father's reproof made no impression upon them, because they were already given up to the judgment of hardening. (On hardening as a divine sentence, see the discussions at Exodus 4:21.)
The youthful Samuel, on the other hand, continued to grow in stature, and in favour with God and man (see Luke 2:52).
Announcement of the judgment upon Eli and his house . - 1 Samuel 2:27. Before the Lord interposed in judgment, He sent a prophet (a “ man of God ,” as in Judges 13:6) to the aged Eli, to announce as a warning for all ages the judgment which was about to fall upon the worthless priests of his house. In order to arouse Eli's own conscience, he had pointed out to him, on the one hand, the grace manifested in the choice of his father's house, i.e., the house of Aaron, to keep His sanctuary ( 1 Samuel 2:27 and 1 Samuel 2:28), and, on the other hand, the desecration of the sanctuary by the wickedness of his sons (1 Samuel 2:29). Then follows the sentence: The choice of the family of Aaron still stood fast, but the deepest disgrace would come upon the despisers of the Lord (1 Samuel 2:30): the strength of his house would be broken; all the members of his house were to die early deaths. They were not, however, to be removed entirely from service at the altar, but to their sorrow were to survive the fall of the sanctuary (1 Samuel 2:31-34). But the Lord would raise up a faithful priest, and cause him to walk before His anointed, and from him all that were left of the house of Eli would be obliged to beg their bread (1 Samuel 2:35, 1 Samuel 2:36). To arrive at the true interpretation of this announcement of punishment, we must picture to ourselves the historical circumstances that come into consideration here. Eli the high priest was a descendant of Ithamar, the younger son of Aaron, as we may see from the fact that his great-grandson Ahimelech was “of the sons of Ithamar” (1 Chronicles 24:3). In perfect agreement with this, Josephus ( Ant . v. 11, 5) relates, that after the high priest Ozi of the family of Eleazar, Eli of the family of Ithamar received the high-priesthood. The circumstances which led to the transfer of this honour from the line of Eleazar to that of Ithamar are unknown. We cannot imagine it to have been occasioned by an extinction of the line of Eleazar, for the simple reason that, in the time of David, Zadok the descendant of Eleazar is spoken of as high priest along with Abiathar and Ahimelech, the descendants of Eli (2 Samuel 8:17; 2 Samuel 20:25). After the deposition of Abiathar he was reinstated by Solomon as sole high priest (1 Kings 2:27), and the dignity was transmitted to his descendants. This fact also overthrows the conjecture of Clericus, that the transfer of the high-priesthood to Eli took place by the command of God on account of the grievous sins of the high priests of the line of Eleazar; for in that case Zadok would not have received this office again in connection with Abiathar. We have, no doubt, to search for the true reason in the circumstances of the times of the later judges, namely in the fact that at the death of the last high priest of the family of Eleazar before the time of Eli, the remaining son was not equal to the occasion, either because he was still an infant, or at any rate because he was too young and inexperienced, so that he could not enter upon the office, and Eli, who was probably related by marriage to the high priest's family, and was no doubt a vigorous man, was compelled to take the oversight of the congregation; and, together with the supreme administration of the affairs of the nation as judge, received the post of high priest as well, and filled it till the time of his death, simply because in those troublous times there was not one of the descendants of Eleazar who was able to fill the supreme office of judge, which was combined with that of high priest. For we cannot possibly think of an unjust usurpation of the office of high priest on the part of Eli, since the very judgment denounced against him and his house presupposes that he had entered upon the office in a just and upright way, and that the wickedness of his sons was all that was brought against him. For a considerable time after the death of Eli the high-priesthood lost almost all its significance. All Israel turned to Samuel, whom the Lord established as His prophet by means of revelations, and whom He also chose as the deliverer of His people. The tabernacle at Shiloh, which ceased to be the scene of the gracious presence of God after the loss of the ark, was probably presided over first of all after Eli's death by his grandson Ahitub, the son of Phinehas, as his successor in the high-priesthood. He was followed in the time of Saul by his son Ahijah or Ahimelech, who gave David the shew-bread to eat at Nob, to which the tabernacle had been removed in the meantime, and was put to death by Saul in consequence, along with all the priests who were found there. His son Abiathar, however, escaped the massacre, and fled to David ( 1 Samuel 22:9-20; 1 Samuel 23:6). In the reign of David he is mentioned as high priest along with Zadok; but he was afterwards deposed by Solomon (2 Samuel 15:24; 2 Samuel 17:15; 2 Samuel 19:12; 2 Samuel 20:25; 1 Kings 2:27).
Different interpretations have been given of these verses. The majority of commentators understand them as signifying that the loss of the high-priesthood is here foretold to Eli, and also the institution of Zadok in the office. But such a view is too contracted, and does not exhaust the meaning of the words. The very introduction to the prophet's words points to something greater than this: “ Thus saith the Lord, Did I reveal myself to thy father's house, when they were in Egypt at the house of Pharaoh ?” The ה interrogative is not used for הלא ( nonne ), but is emphatic, as in Jeremiah 31:20. The question is an appeal to Eli's conscience, which he cannot deny, but is obliged to confirm. By Eli's father's house we are not to understand Ithamar and his family, but Aaron, from whom Eli was descended through Ithamar. God revealed himself to the tribe-father of Eli by appointing Aaron to be the spokesman of Moses before Pharaoh ( Exodus 4:14. and Exodus 4:27), and still more by calling Aaron to the priesthood, for which the way was prepared by the fact that, from the very beginning, God made use of Aaron, in company with Moses, to carry out His purpose of delivering Israel out of Egypt, and entrusted Moses and Aaron with the arrangements for the celebration of the passover (Exodus 12:1, Exodus 12:43). This occurred when they, the fathers of Eli, Aaron and his sons, were still in Egypt at the house of Pharaoh, i.e., still under Pharaoh's rule.
1 Samuel 2:28
“ And did I choose him out of all the tribes for a priest to myself .” The interrogative particle is not to be repeated before וּבחור , but the construction becomes affirmative with the inf. abs. instead of the perfect. “ Him ” refers back to “ thy father ” in 1 Samuel 2:27, and signifies Aaron. The expression “ for a priest ” is still further defined by the clauses which follow: על מ לעלות , “ to ascend upon mine altar ,” i.e., to approach my altar of burnt-offering and perform the sacrificial worship; “ to kindle incense ,” i.e., to perform the service in the holy place, the principal feature in which was the daily kindling of the incense, which is mentioned instar omnium ; “ to wear the ephod before me ,” i.e., to perform the service in the holy of holies, which the high priest could only enter when wearing the ephod to represent Israel before the Lord (Exodus 28:12). “ And have given to thy father's house all the firings of the children of Israel ” (see at Leviticus 1:9). These words are to be understood, according to Deuteronomy 18:1, as signifying that the Lord had given to the house of Aaron, i.e., to the priesthood, the sacrifices of Jehovah to eat in the place of any inheritance in the land, according to the portions appointed in the sacrificial law in Lev 6-7, and Num 18.
1 Samuel 2:29
With such distinction conferred upon the priesthood, and such careful provision made for it, the conduct of the priests under Eli was an inexcusable crime. “ Why do ye tread with your feet my slain-offerings and meat-offerings, which I have commanded in the dwelling-place ?” Slain-offering and meat-offering are general expressions embracing all the altar-sacrifices. מעון is an accusative (“ in the dwelling ”), like בּית , in the house. “ The dwelling ” is the tabernacle. This reproof applied to the priests generally, including Eli, who had not vigorously resisted these abuses. The words which follow, “ and thou honourest thy sons more than me ,” relate to Eli himself, and any other high priest who like Eli should tolerate the abuses of the priests. “ To fatten yourselves with the first of every sacrificial gift of Israel, of my people .” לעמּי serves as a periphrasis for the genitive, and is chosen for the purpose of giving greater prominence to the idea of עמּי (my people). רשׁית , the first of every sacrificial gift ( minchah , as in 1 Samuel 2:17), which Israel offered as the nation of Jehovah, ought to have been given up to its God in the altar-fire because it was the best; whereas, according to 1 Samuel 2:15, 1 Samuel 2:16, the sons of Eli took away the best for themselves.
1 Samuel 2:30
For this reason, the saying of the Lord, “ Thy house (i.e., the family of Eli) and thy father's house (Eli's relations in the other lines, i.e., the whole priesthood) shall walk before me for ever ” (Numbers 25:13), should henceforth run thus: “ This be far from me; but them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be despised .” The first declaration of the Lord is not to be referred to Eli particularly, as it is by C. a Lapide and others, and understood as signifying that the high-priesthood was thereby transferred from the family of Eleazar to that of Ithamar, and promised to Eli for his descendants for all time. This is decidedly at variance with the fact, that although “walking before the Lord” is not a general expression denoting a pious walk with God, as in Genesis 17:1, but refers to the service of the priests at the sanctuary as walking before the face of God, yet it cannot possibly be specially and exclusively restricted to the right of entering the most holy place, which was the prerogative of the high priest alone. These words of the Lord, therefore, applied to the whole priesthood, or the whole house of Aaron, to which the priesthood had been promised, “ for a perpetual statute ” (Exodus 29:9). This promise was afterwards renewed to Phinehas especially, on account of the zeal which he displayed for the honour of Jehovah in connection with the idolatry of the people at Shittim (Numbers 25:13). But even this renewed promise only secured to him an eternal priesthood as a covenant of peace with the Lord, and not specially the high-priesthood, although that was included as the culminating point of the priesthood. Consequently it was not abrogated by the temporary transfer of the high-priesthood from the descendants of Phinehas to the priestly line of Ithamar, because even then they still retained the priesthood. By the expression “ be it far from me ,” sc., to permit this to take place, God does not revoke His previous promise, but simply denounces a false trust therein as irreconcilable with His holiness. That promise would only be fulfilled so far as the priests themselves honoured the Lord in their office, whilst despisers of God who dishonoured Him by sin and presumptuous wickedness, would be themselves despised.
This contempt would speedily come upon the house of Eli.
1 Samuel 2:31
“ Behold, days come ,” - a formula with which prophets were accustomed to announce future events (see 2 Kings 20:17; Isaiah 39:6; Amos 4:2; Amos 8:11; Amos 9:13; Jeremiah 7:32, etc.), - “ then will I cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall be no old man in thine house .” To cut off the arm means to destroy the strength either of a man or of a family (see Job. 1 Samuel 22:9; Psalms 37:17). The strength of a family, however, consists in the vital energy of its members, and shows itself in the fact that they reach a good old age, and do not pine away early and die. This strength was to vanish in Eli's house; no one would ever again preserve his life to old age.
1 Samuel 2:32
“ And thou wilt see oppression of the dwelling in all that He has shown of good to Israel .” The meaning of these words, which have been explained in very different ways, appears to be the following: In all the benefits which the lord would confer upon His people, Eli would see only distress for the dwelling of God, inasmuch as the tabernacle would fall more and more into decay. In the person of Eli, the high priest at that time, the high priest generally is addressed as the custodian of the sanctuary; so that what is said is not to be limited to him personally, but applies to all the high priests of his house. מעון is not Eli's dwelling-place, but the dwelling-place of God, i.e., the tabernacle, as in 1 Samuel 2:29, and is a genitive dependent upon צר . היטיב , in the sense of benefiting a person, doing him good, is construed with the accusative of the person, as in Deuteronomy 28:63; Deuteronomy 8:16; Deuteronomy 30:5. The subject to the verb ייטיב is Jehovah , and is not expressly mentioned, simply because it is so clearly implied in the words themselves. This threat began to be fulfilled even in Eli's own days. The distress or tribulation for the tabernacle began with the capture of the ark by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:11), and continued during the time that the Lord was sending help and deliverance to His people through the medium of Samuel, in their spiritual and physical oppression. The ark of the covenant - the heart of the sanctuary - was not restored to the tabernacle in the time of Samuel; and the tabernacle itself was removed from Shiloh to Nob, probably in the time of war; and when Saul had had all the priests put to death (1 Samuel 21:2; 1 Samuel 22:11.), it was removed to Gibeon, which necessarily caused it to fall more and more into neglect. Among the different explanations, the rendering given by Aquila ( καὶ ἐπιβλέψει [ ? ἐπιβλέψης ] ἀντίζηλον κατοικητηρίου ) has met with the greatest approval, and has been followed by Jerome ( et videbis aemulum tuum ), Luther, and many others, including De Wette. According to this rendering, the words are either supposed to refer to the attitude of Samuel towards Eli, or to the deposition of Abiathar, and the institution of Zadok by Solomon in his place (1 Kings 2:27). But צר does not mean the antagonist or rival, but simply the oppressor or enemy; and Samuel was not an enemy of Eli any more than Zadok was of Abiathar. Moreover, if this be adopted as the rendering of צר , it is impossible to find any suitable meaning for the following clause. In the second half of the verse the threat of 1 Samuel 2:31 is repeated with still greater emphasis. כּל־היּמים , all the time, i.e., so long as thine house shall exist.
1 Samuel 2:33
“And I will not cut off every one to thee from mine altar, that thine eyes may languish, and thy soul consume away; and all the increase of thine house shall die as men.” The two leading clauses of this verse correspond to the two principal thoughts of the previous verse, which are hereby more precisely defined and explained. Eli was to see the distress of the sanctuary; for to him, i.e., of his family, there would always be some one serving at the altar of God, that he might look upon the decay with his eyes, and pine away with grief in consequence. אישׁ signifies every one, or any one, and is not to be restricted, as Thenius supposes, to Ahitub, the son of Phinehas, the brother of Ichabod; for it cannot be shown from 1 Samuel 14:3 and 1 Samuel 22:20, that he was the only one that was left of the house of Eli. And secondly, there was to be no old man, no one advanced in life, in his house; but all the increase of the house was to die in the full bloom of manhood. אנשׁים , in contrast with זקן , is used to denote men in the prime of life.
1 Samuel 2:34
“ And let this be the sign to thee, what shall happen to (come upon) thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall both die .” For the fulfilment of this, see 1 Samuel 4:11. This occurrence, which Eli lived to see, but did not long survive (1 Samuel 4:17.), was to be the sign to him that the predicted punishment would be carried out in its fullest extent.
1 Samuel 2:35
But the priesthood itself was not to fall with the fall of Eli's house and priesthood; on the contrary the Lord would raise up for himself a tried priest, who would act according to His heart. “ And I will build for him a lasting house, and he will walk before mine anointed for ever .”
1 Samuel 2:36
Whoever, on the other hand, should still remain of Eli's house, would come “ bowing before him (to get) a silver penny and a slice of bread ,” and would say, “ Put me, I pray, in one of the priests' offices, that I may get a piece of bread to eat .” אגורה , that which is collected , signifies some small coin, of which a collection was made by begging single coins. Commentators are divided in their opinions as to the historical allusions contained in this prophecy. By the “tried priest,” Ephraem Syrus understood both the prophet Samuel and the priest Zadok. “As for the facts themselves,” he says, “it is evident that, when Eli died, Samuel succeeded him in the government, and that Zadok received the high-priesthood when it was taken from his family.” Since his time, most of the commentators, including Theodoret and the Rabbins, have decided in favour of Zadok. Augustine, however, and in modern times Thenius and O. v. Gerlach , give the preference to Samuel. The fathers and earlier theologians also regarded Samuel and Zadok as the type of Christ, and supposed the passage to contain a prediction of the abrogation of the Aaronic priesthood by Jesus Christ.
(Note: Theodoret , qu . vii. in 1 Reg. Οὐκοῦν ἡ πρόῤῥησις κυρίως μὲν ἁρμόττει τῷ σωτὴρι Χριστῷ. Κατὰ δὲ ἱστορίαν τῷ Σαδούκ , ὅς ἐκ τοῦ Ἐλεάζαρ κατάγων τὸ γένος τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην διὰ τοῦ Σολομῶνος ἐδέξατο . Augustine says ( De civit. Dei xvii. 5, 2): “Although Samuel was not of a different tribe from the one which had been appointed by the Lord to serve at the altar, he was not of the sons of Aaron, whose descendants had been set apart as priests; and thus the change is shadowed forth, which was afterwards to be introduced through Jesus Christ.” And again, §3: “What follows (1 Samuel 2:35) refers to that priest, whose figure was borne by Samuel when succeeding to Eli.” So again in the Berleburger Bible, to the words, “I will raise me up a faithful priest,” this note is added: “Zadok, of the family of Phinehas and Eleazar, whom king Solomon, as the anointed of God, appointed high priest by his ordinance, setting aside the house of Eli (1 Kings 2:35; 1 Chronicles 29:22). At the same time, just as in the person of Solomon the Spirit of prophecy pointed to the true Solomon and Anointed One, so in this priest did He also point to Jesus Christ the great High Priest.”)
This higher reference of the words is in any case to be retained; for the rabbinical interpretation, by which Grotius , Clericus, and others abide, - namely, that the transfer of the high-priesthood from the descendants of Eli to Zadok, the descendant of Eleazar, is all that is predicted, and that the prophecy was entirely fulfilled when Abiathar was deposed by Solomon (1 Kings 2:27), - is not in accordance with the words of the text. On the other hand, Theodoret and Augustine both clearly saw that the words of Jehovah, “I revealed myself to thy father's house in Egypt,” and, “Thy house shall walk before me for ever,” do not apply to Ithamar, but to Aaron. “Which of his fathers,” says Augustine, “was in that Egyptian bondage, form which they were liberated when he was chosen to the priesthood, excepting Aaron? It is with reference to his posterity, therefore, that it is here affirmed that they would not be priests for ever; and this we see already fulfilled.” The only thing that appears untenable is the manner in which the fathers combine this historical reference to Eli and Samuel, or Zadok, with the Messianic interpretation, viz., either by referring 1 Samuel 2:31-34 to Eli and his house, and then regarding the sentence pronounced upon Eli as simply a type of the Messianic fulfilment, or by admitting the Messianic allusion simply as an allegory.
The true interpretation may be obtained from a correct insight into the relation in which the prophecy itself stands to its fulfilment. Just as, in the person of Eli and his sons, the threat announces deep degradation and even destruction to all the priests of the house of Aaron who should walk in the footsteps of the sons of Eli, and the death of the two sons of Eli in one day was to be merely a sign that the threatened punishment would be completely fulfilled upon the ungodly priests; so, on the other hand, the promise of the raising up of the tried priest, for whom God would build a lasting house, also refers to all the priests whom the Lord would raise up as faithful servants of His altar, and only receives its complete and final fulfilment in Christ, the true and eternal High Priest. But if we endeavour to determine more precisely from the history itself, which of the Old Testament priests are included, we must not exclude either Samuel or Zadok, but must certainly affirm that the prophecy was partially fulfilled in both. Samuel, as the prophet of the Lord, was placed at the head of the nation after the death of Eli; so that he not only stepped into Eli's place as judge, but stood forth as priest before the Lord and the nation, and “had the important and sacred duty to perform of going before the anointed, the king, whom Israel was to receive through him; whereas for a long time the Aaronic priesthood fell into such contempt, that, during the general decline of the worship of God, it was obliged to go begging for honour and support, and became dependent upon the new order of things that was introduced by Samuel” ( O. v. Gerlach ). Moreover, Samuel acquired a strong house in the numerous posterity that was given to him by God. The grandson of Samuel was Heman, “the king's seer in the words of God,” who was placed by David over the choir at the house of God, and had fourteen sons and three daughters (1 Chronicles 6:33; 1 Chronicles 25:4-5). But the very fact that these descendants of Samuel did not follow their father in the priesthood, shows very clearly that a lasting house was not built to Samuel as a tried priest through them, and therefore that we have to seek for the further historical fulfilment of this promise in the priesthood of Zadok. As the word of the Lord concerning the house of Eli, even if it did not find its only fulfilment in the deposition of Abiathar ( 1 Kings 2:27), was at any rate partially fulfilled in that deposition; so the promise concerning the tried priest to be raised up received a new fulfilment in the fact that Zadok thereby became the sole high priest, and transmitted the office to his descendants, though this was neither its last nor its highest fulfilment. This final fulfilment is hinted at in the vision of the new temple, as seen by the prophet Ezekiel, in connection with which the sons of Zadok are named as the priests, who, because they had not fallen away with the children of Israel, were to draw near to the Lord, and perform His service in the new organization of the kingdom of God as set forth in that vision (Ezekiel 40:46; Ezekiel 43:19; Ezekiel 44:15; Ezekiel 48:11). This fulfilment is effected in connection with Christ and His kingdom. Consequently, the anointed of the Lord, before whom the tried priest would walk for ever, is not Solomon, but rather David, and the Son of David, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.