1 Samuel 2

This is the second chapter of 1 Samuel. In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah dedicated Samuel, the son she had received in answer to prayer, to the LORD at Shiloh. This chapter opens with Hannah's song of thanksgiving and then alternates between the corruption of Eli's house and the growth of Samuel.

Outline

• Verses 1–10: Hannah's song. She praises the holiness of the LORD and celebrates the reversal by which He brings low the exalted and lifts up the lowly. At the close she declares that the LORD will give strength to "his king" and exalt the horn of "his anointed."
• Verse 11: Elkanah returns to Ramah, and the child ministers to the LORD before Eli.
• Verses 12–17: Eli's sons help themselves to the sacrificial meat with a three-pronged fleshhook. Before the fat has even been burned, they demand raw meat by force, treating the offering of the LORD with contempt.
• Verses 18–21: Samuel ministers wearing a linen ephod, and each year Hannah makes him a little robe. After Eli blesses her, Hannah bears three sons and two daughters.
• Verses 22–25: Eli hears of his sons' wickedness and of their lying with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and he rebukes them. His sons, however, do not listen.
• Verse 26: Samuel grows and finds favor with the LORD and with men.
• Verses 27–36: A man of God pronounces judgment on the house of Eli: there will not be an old man in his house; Hophni and Phinehas will die on the same day; and the LORD will raise up a faithful priest.

Key Verses

• 1 Samuel 2:2, "There is none holy as the LORD" — the central confession of Hannah's song.
• 1 Samuel 2:26, "and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men" — a portrait of Samuel in contrast to Eli's sons.
• 1 Samuel 2:30, "them that honour me I will honour" — a summary of the reason for the judgment on Eli's house.

People and Places

• Hannah: Samuel's mother.
• Elkanah: Hannah's husband.
• Eli: the priest at Shiloh.
• Samuel: the child growing up in the sanctuary.
• Hophni and Phinehas: Eli's two sons. This Phinehas is a different person from Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron.
• The man of God: an unnamed prophet.
• Shiloh: the place where the tent of meeting, the tabernacle, stood.
• Ramah: the location of Elkanah's home.
• Ephod: one of the garments worn by a priest.

Points for Reflection

• Hannah's song resembles the Magnificat of Mary in Luke 1 in both wording and theme, and the two are often read together. Verse 26 is also frequently noted for its similarity to Luke 2:52.
• Verse 10 mentions a king at a time when Israel had no king. Some interpreters read this as prophecy. Some historical-critical scholars, by contrast, hold that the song took shape during the monarchy and was later incorporated into the narrative.
• The "faithful priest" of verse 35 has been understood in various ways. A common interpretation sees the fulfillment of this prophecy in Solomon's removal of Abiathar in 1 Kings 2:27 and takes it to refer to the line of Zadok. Many Christian interpreters go further and connect it with Christ, the High Priest of Hebrews.
• In verse 25, the phrase "because the LORD would slay them" is read with different emphases depending on how one understands divine sovereignty and human responsibility. Calvinism and Arminianism explain this verse differently.

In the Korean Church

Verse 30 is frequently quoted in preaching. The story of Eli and his two sons is commonly used as a sermon illustration on ministerial ethics or on the spiritual nurture of children.