1 Samuel 1:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli.

NIV: When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli,

NASB: Then they slaughtered the bull, and brought the boy to Eli.

CSB: Then they slaughtered the bull and brought the boy to Eli.

NLT: After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli.

KJV: And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.

NKJV: Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli.

Hannah (and likely Elkanah) have arrived at the temple in Shiloh to dedicate their son Samuel to a life of service to the Lord and to leave him with Eli at the temple (1 Samuel 1:11, 21–23). They have brought with them a generous sacrifice that includes either a three-year old bull or three bulls, depending on the reading of the Hebrew, along with flour and wine (1 Samuel 1:24).

After the bull was slaughtered for the sacrifice to the Lord, Hannah and Elkanah brought the young boy to Eli, the high priest of Israel at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:9), where the ark of the covenant rested (Joshua 18:1).

Hannah and Eli had met at least once before when she came in deep distress to the temple to pour out her soul to the Lord and offer her vow to Him. Hannah had been barren and her husband's second wife, who had children, intentionally tormented her (1 Samuel 1:2, 6–10). Hannah brought her request for a child to the Lord, promising that if He gave her a son, she would give that son to the Lord for his whole life (1 Samuel 1:11). Seeing Hannah in prayer, with her lips moving yet no words coming from her mouth, Eli had assumed she was drunk. He confronted her, and Hannah explained that she was not drunk but was praying. Eli blessed her, affirmed her prayer, and possibly even told her that God would grant her request (1 Samuel 1:12–18).

First Samuel 1:21–28 tells of how Hannah and her husband Elkanah kept their vow to give a son back to the Lord if she could conceive and give birth to one. Hannah suggests they wait to take the child to Shiloh and give him to the priest until Samuel is weaned. Once he is, they take a large offering to the temple. Hannah tells Eli the priest that this is the boy she was praying for on the night they met. The Lord granted her request. She gives the boy over to the Lord for as long as he lives.

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.