1 Samuel 2:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

NIV: The LORD brings death and makes alive; he brings down to the grave and raises up.

NASB: The Lord puts to death and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and brings up.

CSB: The Lord brings death and gives life; he sends some down to Sheol, and he raises others up.

NLT: The Lord gives both death and life; he brings some down to the grave but raises others up.

KJV: The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

NKJV: “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up.

Hannah has warned all who hear her words not to speak with arrogance, as if any circumstance in life is beyond God's ability to change (1 Samuel 2:3; James 4:13–16). Now she adds that this applies even to life and death. Put bluntly, the Lord kills and brings to life. God granted Hannah's request that He bring life through her womb, something completely out of her own control (1 Samuel 1:1–6). She understood the creation of life to be the work of God (1 Samuel 2:5).

The Lord is ultimately responsible for bringing an end to life, as well. Israelites and others in the ancient Near East believed in an afterlife, although their views were vague. sheol was said to be the place of the dead. Those who entered the grave were said to go "down" there. This was not understood to be a place of either reward or torment; rather it was some level of minimal consciousness.

Hannah's statement that the Lord brings people down to sheol may have also been a denial of the claims of false religions that their god or goddess was the one who guided the living into death or sheol. This is the work of the Lord, who is the only God. No matter how powerful, strong, rich, healthy, or unbeatable any human person seems to be, the Lord can end their life in an instant. God is the One who determines death and can even raise up those who have died if He so chooses.

Hannah's statement also hints at the true nature of afterlife for those who belong to the Lord: resurrection. The Lord is the one who raises up, and He will ultimately do this through the Messiah who will die for the sins of humanity and then be resurrected to new life. Those who have put their faith in God, and in the New Testament era specifically in the person and work of Jesus Christ, will be raised to new life, as well (1 Corinthians 15:20–22; Daniel 12:2).

Hannah's point, though, is that God alone is the giver and taker of life (Job 1:21; Psalm 139:13–16; Acts 17:26–27).

First Samuel 2:1–11 contains Hannah's poetic prayer of praise to the Lord in response to His gift of a son, Samuel. She offers the prayer after delivering Samuel into Eli's care at the sanctuary in keeping with her vow to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:11, 24–28). The main emphasis of the prayer is that God is holy and sovereign. He can reverse life situations, bringing the rich and powerful down and lifting the poor, hungry, and barren. The one who controls life and death guards those faithful to Him.

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.