1 Samuel 1:15
in 1 Samuel 1“No, my lord,” Hannah replied. “I am a woman oppressed in spirit. I have not had any wine or strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before Jehovah.
KJV
And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseI have drunk neither wine nor strong drink - Neither wine nor inebriating drink has been poured out unto me; but I have poured out my soul unto the Lord. There is a great deal of delicacy and point in this vindication.
This site's exposition
I am a woman oppressed in spirit
on 1 Samuel 1:15-16
Hannah corrects the priest without anger, calling herself “a woman oppressed in spirit” who has “poured out my soul before the LORD”. She asks Eli not to take her “for a wicked woman”, and the same word returns at 2:12, where Eli's sons are called wicked men.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 1 · Written before 604.
proposed
30. For she called him Lord, to whom she rendered the ministry of preaching, but in calling him Lord, she denied that she was drunk; so that she might subject herself to the higher order out of humility, and contradict the false accusation with truth. For in calling him Lord, she honored him; and in denying that she was drunk, she showed with sufficient humility what she was not. However, the accusation of drunkenness against the holy Church can be understood in another way.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(1.) In justice to herself, she expressly denies the charge, speaks to him with all possible respect, calls him, My lord, intimates how very desirous she was to stand right in his opinion and how loth to lie under his censure. "No, my lord, it is not as you suspect;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And Hannah answered and said, no, my lord,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The special cause of Hannah's sorrow arose from the institution of polygamy, which, although it was tolerated under the old Law, is always exhibited to us in practical action as a most fruitful source of sorrow and sin. In no one recorded instance in Holy Scripture is it set forth as admirable. In most cases the proofs of its evil effects lie open to the sun.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
This mistaken impression was immediately removed, and, in the words, "God grant," or rather, "will grant," was followed by an invocation which, as Hannah regarded it in the light of a prophecy pointing to the accomplishment of her earnest desire, dispelled her sadness, and filled her with confident hope [1Sa 1:18].
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The special cause of Hannah's sorrow arose from the institution of polygamy, which, although it was tolerated under the old Law, is always exhibited to us in practical action as a most fruitful source of sorrow and sin. In no one recorded instance in Holy Scripture is it set forth as admirable. In most cases the proofs of its evil effects lie open to the sun. We ought to be grateful that under the Christian religion that abomination has been wiped away, for even with such husbands as Abraham, Jacob, David and Solomon, it did not work towards happiness or righteousness. The husband found the system a heavy burden, grievous to be borne, for he soon found out the truth of the wise man's advice to the Sultan, "First learn to live with two tigresses and then expect to live happily with two wives." The wife must, in nearly every case, have felt the wretchedness of sharing a love which ought to be all her own. What miseries Eastern women have suffered in the harem, none can tell, or perhaps imagine. In the case before us, Elkanah had trouble, enough, through wearing the double chain, but still the heaviest burden fell upon his beloved Hannah, the better of his two wives. The worse the woman, the better she could get on with the system of many wives, but the good woman, the true woman, was sure to smart under it. Though dearly loved by her husband, the jealousy of the rival wife embittered Hannah's life and made her "a woman of a sorrowful spirit." We thank God that no longer is the altar of God covered with tears, with weeping and with crying out of those wives of youth who find their husbands' hearts estranged and divided by other wives. Because of the hardness of their hearts, the evil was tolerated for a while, but the many evils which sprang of it should suffice to put a ban upon it among all who seek the welfare of our race.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
See 1Sa 1:2 and note. She means that wine was not the cause of her present discomposure, but grief of heart.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Will you be drunk: Until when will you show yourself as if you were drunk; since you move the lips of your mouth, but your words are not heard.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתַּ֨עַן | vataan | and she answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| חַנָּ֤ה | chanah | Hannah | H2584 → | 13 times |
| וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | no | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֔י | ʾadoni | O lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| אִשָּׁ֤ה | ʾishah | [am] a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| קְשַׁת־ | keshat- | hard of | H7186 → | 36 times |
| ר֙וּחַ֙ | ruach | spirit | H7307 → | 378 times |
| אָנֹ֔כִי | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| וְיַ֥יִן | veyayin | and wine | H3196 → | 141 times |
| וְשֵׁכָ֖ר | veshekhar | and strong drink | H7941 → | |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁתִ֑יתִי | shatiti | I have drunk | H8354 → | 217 times |
| וָאֶשְׁפֹּ֥ךְ | vaeshpokh | and I have poured out | H8210 → | 114 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֖י | nafshi | soul my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַתַּ֨עַןand she answered
vataanH6030 →331 times
חַנָּ֤הHannah
chanahH2584 →13 times
וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙and she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
לֹ֣אno
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֲדֹנִ֔יO lord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
אִשָּׁ֤ה[am] a woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
קְשַׁת־hard of
keshat-H7186 →36 times
ר֙וּחַ֙spirit
ruachH7307 →378 times
אָנֹ֔כִיI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
וְיַ֥יִןand wine
veyayinH3196 →141 times
וְשֵׁכָ֖רand strong drink
veshekharH7941 →
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁתִ֑יתִיI have drunk
shatitiH8354 →217 times
וָאֶשְׁפֹּ֥ךְand I have poured out
vaeshpokhH8210 →114 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַפְשִׁ֖יsoul my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 62:8Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
it leads to
- Psalms 142:2
I pour out my complaint before Him; I reveal my trouble to Him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
- Lamentations 2:19
Arise, cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives…
- Psalms 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
- Psalms 142:2
Through
Lamentations 2:19Arise, cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the lives…
it leads to
- Psalms 62:8
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 119:147–148
I rise before dawn and cry for help; in Your word I have put my hope.
- Isaiah 26:9
My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
- Psalms 62:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1515: “A Woman of a Sorrowful Spirit” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.