1 Samuel 1:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.

NIV: Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the Lord and then went back to their home at Ramah. Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.

NASB: Then they got up early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.

CSB: The next morning Elkanah and Hannah got up early to worship before the Lord. Afterward, they returned home to Ramah. Then Elkanah was intimate with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.

NLT: The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea,

KJV: And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her.

NKJV: Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.

The annual gathering of Elkanah's extended family in Shiloh for sacrifice and feasting had ended. All the yearly traditions had been repeated. The peace offering had been made to the Lord. Elkanah had given a double portion of the meat to his first wife Hannah to honor her. Elkanah's second wife, likely jealous, had tormented Hannah about her infertility. Hannah wept bitterly as her grief was inflamed (1 Samuel 1:4–8).

Something had changed this time, though. Hannah had taken all her bitterness and anger to the Lord and poured out her soul before Him. She had made a vow to give any son God would give to her back to Him. Eli the priest had expressed his desire that God would grant her request, or perhaps affirmatively said that God would (1 Samuel 1:9–17). As Hannah left the temple, she was no longer sad (1 Samuel 1:18).

The next morning, the family got up early to worship before the Lord, perhaps participating at the temple in the daily morning sacrifice (Leviticus 6:8–13). Then they headed back to their home in Ramah. Aware of Eli's words, Elkanah and Hannah slept together expectantly. The Lord "remembered" Hannah. Often this Hebrew word is used to refer to times when God acts on behalf of His people (Genesis 8:1; 19:29; 30:22; Exodus 6:5–8; Leviticus 26:40–45). God acted on Hannah's behalf. He knew her sorrow and her vow, as well as Eli's blessing. God would give Hannah the son she had asked Him for.

First Samuel 1:1–20 describes how Samuel the prophet came to be born. His mother Hannah was barren and mocked by her husband's other wife, who had many children. During a family feast at Shiloh, Hannah prayed out of her deep despair. She vowed to give her son back to God if He would allow her to conceive. Once Eli, the priest, understood that Hannah was not drunk, he told her the Lord would grant her request. Satisfied, she returned home and soon gave birth to a boy. She named him Samuel.

Elkanah lives in Ephraim with two wives. Hannah is barren, while his other wife has many children. At the annual family sacrifice and feast in Shiloh, Hannah weeps and pours out her grief before the Lord. She vows to give a son to Him for lifelong service if the Lord gives her a boy. After confronting Hannah for drunkenness and then seeing that she was praying from her depth of emotion, Eli the priest blesses Hannah and affirms her prayer. Elkanah and Hannah conceive, and she gives birth to a son that she names Samuel. Once he is weaned, she presents him to Eli at the temple and gives him over to the Lord as long as he lives.

First Samuel 1 begins the story of Samuel with the account of his unlikely-seeming birth. Samuel's mother Hannah is barren. During a family trip to temple of the Lord in Shiloh, she weeps bitterly before the Lord and pours out her grief. She vows to give a son back to the Lord if He will allow her to bear one. Eli the priest blesses her and affirms her prayer. Before long, Samuel is conceived and born. Once he is weaned, Hannah brings the boy and a large sacrifice to the temple. She gives Samuel over to the Lord.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.