1Sa 1, 1Sa 22 | ESV | STEP | There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham , son of Elihu , son of Tohu , son of Zuph , an Ephrathite .

ba[See ver. 10 above]

bb ver. 8

bd[See ver. 10 above]

be ch. 25:36

bf[2 Kgs. 10:25; 11:4, 6; 2 Chr. 12:10]

bi ch. 23:6, 9

1 Samuel 1

The Birth of Samuel

1 There was a certain man of ^aRamathaim-zophim of ^bthe hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, ^can Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3 Now this man used to go up ^dyear by year from his city ^eto worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts ^fat Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. 4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, ^ghe would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. ^{▼▼Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. Septuagint And, although he loved Hannah, he would give Hannah only one portion, because the Lord had closed her womb} 6 And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? ⁱAm I not more to you than ten sons?”

9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of ^jthe temple of the Lord. 10 She was ^kdeeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she ^lvowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed ^mlook on the affliction of your servant and ⁿremember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, ^oand no razor shall touch his head.”

12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but ^pI have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as ^qa worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, ^r“Go in peace, and the God of Israel ^sgrant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, ^t“Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman ^uwent her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at ^vRamah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord ^wremembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.” ^{▼▼ Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard of God}

Samuel Given to the Lord

21 The man Elkanah and all his house ^ywent up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord ^zand dwell there forever.” 23 ^aaElkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; ^abonly, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, ^acshe took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, ^{▼▼Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text three bulls} an ephah ^{▼▼An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters} of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to ^afthe house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! ^agAs you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, ^ahand the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”

^aiAnd he worshiped the Lord there.

1 Samuel 22

David at the Cave of Adullam

1 David departed from there and escaped to ^ajthe cave of ^akAdullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 ^alAnd everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, ^{▼▼Or discontented} gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him ^anabout four hundred men.

3 And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay ^{▼▼Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew go out} with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 Then the prophet ^apGad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth.

Saul Kills the Priests at Nob

6 Now Saul heard that David was discovered, and the men who were with him. Saul was sitting at Gibeah under ^aqthe tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. 7 And Saul said to his servants who stood about him, “Hear now, people of Benjamin; will the son of Jesse ^argive every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, 8 that all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me ^aswhen my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you ^atis sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, ^auto lie in wait, as at this day.” 9 Then answered ^avDoeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse ^awcoming to Nob, to ^axAhimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 ^ayand he inquired of the Lord for him and ^azgave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and ^bahave inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, ^bbto lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and captain over ^{▼▼Septuagint, Targum; Hebrew and has turned aside to} your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time ^bdthat I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, ^bemuch or little.” 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” 17 And the king said to ^bfthe guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, ^bgand he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; ^bhboth man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.

20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, named ^biAbiathar, escaped and fled after David. 21 And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22 And David said to Abiathar, “I knew on that day, ^bjwhen Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father’s house. 23 ^bkStay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safekeeping.”