1 Samuel 1:12
in 1 Samuel 1As Hannah kept on praying before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, as she continued praying before Jehovah, that Eli marked her mouth.
KJV
And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 1
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA 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].
This site's exposition
as she continued praying before the Lord
on 1 Samuel 1:12-14
Eli watches her lips move without sound and reads wine into a silence that was actually prayer pushed past speech. It is the priest at Shiloh's own altar who cannot tell true devotion from drunkenness, a small early sign of the discernment failing in Eli's house that the coming chapters will show at full scale. The rebuke, how long wilt thou be drunken, falls on the one worshipper in the chapter who is actually seeking the Lord.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 1 · Written before 604.
proposed
26. What was it for the holy Church to multiply prayers before the Lord out of desire for giving birth, except to persist in constant prayers for the conversion of the Synagogue? And what was it for the Jewish priesthood to watch her mouth, except to lie in wait against the preaching of the holy Church? For it watched her mouth, because it strove vehemently to criticize the right preaching of the faith. And it is rightly said to have watched her mouth when she was multiplying prayers, because the more it recognized her greater desires in the urgency of her preaching, the more cunningly it strove to harm her. Finally, it would not have watched but would have heeded her mouth, if it had wished to hear the preaching of our faith for the fruit of its own salvation. It follows: (Verse 13.) Now Hannah was speaking in her heart, and only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard at all.
It came to pass, therefore, when she was multiplying prayers, etc. It happened that, as the Church began to multiply across the world, new emblems of its devotion began to multiply, whose praise comes not from men but from God, so that the priests of …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
(Moral Exposition) But because we have said these last things about the history, we are not acting amiss if we examine our learning somewhat more carefully in these words of sacred history. If therefore the order of events is sought, she first ate and drank, then had a bitter spirit, prayed to the Lord weeping abundantly, afterward made a vow, and multiplied her prayers. What does the multiplication of Anna's prayers signify, except that perfection of the elect to which the excellent Teacher exhorts us, saying: "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17)?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Watched her mouth. He waited for her to stop, as Targum Yonoson renders, 'and Eili waited until she stopped.'
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Adonoy of Hosts. Why was this Name designated here? She [Chana] said before Him, "Lord of the universe, You created two hosts in Your world. The heavenly beings neither multiply nor do they die; the earthly beings both multiply and die.
Eili thought she was drunk. Because they were not accustomed to praying silently.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָה֙ | vehayah | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִרְבְּתָ֔ה | hirbetah | she had increased | H7235 → | 227 times |
| לְהִתְפַּלֵּ֖ל | lehitpalel | to pray | H6419 → | 84 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְעֵלִ֖י | veeli | and Eli | H5941 → | 33 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֥ר | shomer | [was] watching | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פִּֽיהָ׃ | piha | mouth her | H6310 → | 498 times |
וְהָיָה֙and it was
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
הִרְבְּתָ֔הshe had increased
hirbetahH7235 →227 times
לְהִתְפַּלֵּ֖לto pray
lehitpalelH6419 →84 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְעֵלִ֖יand Eli
veeliH5941 →33 times
שֹׁמֵ֥ר[was] watching
shomerH8104 →468 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פִּֽיהָ׃mouth her
pihaH6310 →498 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
1 Thessalonians 5:17Pray without ceasing.
it leads to
- Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful,
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ephesians 6:18
Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 18:1
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:
- Colossians 4:2
Through
Ephesians 6:18Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Through
Luke 18:1Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:
it leads to
- Philippians 4:6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Philippians 4:6
Through
James 5:16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Proverbs 15:29
The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonJudges to monarchyHannahThe barren wife who wept at Shiloh, vowed her son to the LORD, and sang the song of reversal — "he raiseth up the poor out of the…
- PersonJudges eraEliHigh priest of Israel at Shiloh who mistook Hannah's silent prayer for drunkenness and raised the boy Samuel; his corrupt sons def…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 1; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).