1 Samuel 2:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the LORD give you children by this woman for the petition she asked of the LORD.” So then they would return to their home.

NIV: Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, 'May the LORD give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the LORD.' Then they would go home.

NASB: Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, 'May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one she requested of the Lord.' And they went to their own home.

CSB: Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife: "May the Lord give you children by this woman in place of the one she has given to the Lord." Then they would go home.

NLT: Before they returned home, Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife and say, 'May the Lord give you other children to take the place of this one she gave to the Lord. '

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “The Lord give you descendants from this woman for the loan that was given to the Lord.” Then they would go to their own home.

Elkanah's family continued to travel to Shiloh every year. There, they made peace offerings to the Lord and held large family feasts (1 Samuel 1:1–20). After Samuel was born, Hannah would make and bring a new robe for the growing boy every year during that trip (1 Samuel 2:19).

Now we see that every year, Eli the priest would formally and officially bless Elkanah and Hannah. His prayer was that God would give Elkanah more children by Hannah because of the vow she made when asking for a son. Clearly, Eli appreciated Elkanah and Hannah and their sacrifice of Samuel.

The Lord did not need Eli's prayer of blessing to give Hannah her son, Samuel (1 Samuel 1:17), nor the children that came after. Yet God worked through Eli's blessing, anyway. Eli hadn't done much to change the behavior of his sons (1 Samuel 2:11, 17), so it's natural to wonder why God would do that. In fact, God would reject Eli for those very sins (1 Samuel 2:29)? In this case, God seems to have honored the special office He established: the chief representative between Him and His people. Though Eli had not earned God's favor, God maintained His plan to bless His people through the office Eli held.

First Samuel 2:12–21 contrasts Eli's sons with Hannah's son Samuel. Eli's sons are worthless men who don't know the Lord. They abuse their power as priests to take the best cuts of animals offered for themselves, treating the sacrifice to the Lord with contempt. Samuel, just a boy, ministers to the Lord at the sanctuary. Hannah brings him a new robe each year and Eli blesses her with a prayer for more children. She has three more sons and two daughters with her husband Elkanah. Samuel grows up in God's presence at the sanctuary.

After delivering Samuel to the Lord, Hannah offers a poetic prayer of praise. The sons of Eli the priest are evil, depraved men who abuse their power as priests. They coerce worshippers to give them additional meat. They sleep with women who serve at the sanctuary. In contrast, Samuel grows in favor with God and others as he grows up physically. Hannah and Elkanah continue to go to Shiloh yearly; they also have more children. Eli rebukes his sons, but they don't repent. The Lord tells Eli that all his descendants will die young and his two rebellious sons will die on the same day. The Lord will raise up a faithful priest to do His will.

The prior chapter explained how Hannah cried out to God for a son, and that her request was granted. First Samuel 2 begins with Hannah's praise to the Lord in response. Samuel remains in Shiloh where he ministers and matures. By contrast, Eli's sons are wicked and abuse their power as priests. A prophet reveals that God will cause all Eli's descendants to die young and his two sons to die on the same day. The Lord will raise up a faithful priest from another part of the family line. This provides background for Samuel's call from God in chapter 3.

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.