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1 Samuel 1:23

in 1 Samuel 1

“Do what you think is best,” her husband Elkanah replied, “and stay here until you have weaned him. Only may the LORD confirm His word.” So Hannah stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only Jehovah establish his word. So the woman tarried and gave her son suck, until she weaned him.

KJV

And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth thee good; tarry until thou have weaned him; only the Lord establish his word. So the woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.

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This verse in 1 Samuel 1

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

For the peace-offerings typified Christ's mediation, as well as the sin-offerings: since by this not only atonement is made for sin, but an answer to our prayers obtained. Give him - That is, consecrate him to God's service in his temple. No razor - That is, he shall be a perpetual Nazarite.

This site's exposition

to make the annual sacrifice to the LORD

on 1 Samuel 1:21-23

Hannah stays home until the boy is weaned, an interval ancient nursing measured in years. Elkanah's answer, “Only may the LORD confirm His word”, sets his headship under what Hannah has already promised. Numbers 30 lets a husband cancel his wife's vow on the day he hears it, and Elkanah confirms it instead, so the vow stands unbroken.

This site's exposition

“Do what you think is best,” her husband Elkanah replied

Elkanah leaves the timing to Hannah. His one request is that the LORD confirm His word, which Adam Clarke reads as a prayer that God keep the child and make him a blessing to Israel. Matthew Henry holds that the boy came to the tabernacle at about three, and he records others who say eight or ten.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Gregory the Dialogist

Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 1 · Written before 604.

proposed

43. Now when Elkanah's ascent is described, his whole house is said to have ascended with him, because those whose minds he elevates he holds as members of his household and intimates in the height of his contemplation. But what is the solemn sacrifice of Elkanah, that is, of our Redeemer, if not the love of that ineffable inner instruction in the hearts of his saints? For each of them finds ineffable delight in himself through that which the revealed sublimity of the Redeemer teaches so sublimely.

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The solemn entering of this child into the service of the sanctuary. We may take it for granted that he was presented to the Lord at forty days old, as all the first-born were ( Luke ii. 22, 23 ): but this is not mentioned, because there was nothing in it singular; but now that he was weaned he was presented, not to be redeemed.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Others think it was not till he was weaned from childish things, at eight or ten years old. But I see no inconvenience in admitting such an extraordinary child as this into the tabernacle at three years old, to be educated among the children of the priests.
And Elkanah her husband said unto her, do what seemeth thee good,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Until thou have weaned him - On the nature of this weaning, and the time in which it was usually done, the reader will be pleased to refer to the note on Gen 21:8. The Lord establish his word - Or, may the Lord establish his word - preserve the child, cause him to grow up, and make him a blessing to Israel.

The words behind it

24 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • לָהּ֩to <the> her

    lah

  • אֶלְקָנָ֨הElkanah

    ʾelkanahH511 →21 times

  • אִישָׁ֜הּhusband her

    ʾishahH376 →1663 times

  • עֲשִׂ֧יdo

    ʾasiH6213 →2628 times

  • הַטּ֣וֹבthe good

    hatovH2896 →538 times

  • בְּעֵינַ֗יִךְin view your

    beeinayikhH5869 →887 times

  • שְׁבִי֙remain

    sheviH3427 →1079 times

  • עַד־until

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • גָּמְלֵ֣ךְwean you

    gamelekhH1580 →37 times

  • אֹת֔וֹ<obj.> him

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

  • אַ֛ךְonly

    ʾakhH389 →161 times

  • יָקֵ֥םmay he carry out

    yakemH6965 →628 times

  • יְהוָ֖הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • דְּבָר֑וֹword his

    devaroH1697 →1440 times

  • וַתֵּ֤שֶׁבand she remained

    vateshevH3427 →1079 times

  • הָֽאִשָּׁה֙the woman

    haishahH802 →781 times

  • וַתֵּ֣ינֶקand she suckled

    vateinekH3243 →33 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • בְּנָ֔הּson her

    benahH1121 →4930 times

  • עַד־until

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • גָּמְלָ֖הּhad weaned she

    gamelahH1580 →37 times

  • אֹתֽוֹ׃<obj.> him

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

2 Samuel 7:25And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house. Do as You have promised,3 worksIsaiah 44:26who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’2 worksLuke 11:27As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”2 worksPsalms 22:9Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure at my mother’s breast.2 worksNumbers 30:7–11and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her on that day, then the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.2 worksGenesis 21:7–8She added, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”2 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
Matthew 24:19How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers!2 works1 Samuel 1:17“Go in peace,” Eli replied, “and may the God of Israel grant the petition you have asked of Him.”2 works1 Kings 3:21The next morning, when I got up to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. But when I examined him, I realized that he was not the son I had borne.”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 22:9

    Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure at my mother’s breast.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 71:6

      I have leaned on You since birth; You pulled me from my mother’s womb. My praise is always for You.

    • Isaiah 49:1–2

      Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.

    • Psalms 71:17

      O God, You have taught me from my youth, and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds.

    • Psalms 139:15–16

      My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

  • Through

    Isaiah 44:26

    who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 42:9

      Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

    • 1 Kings 18:36–38

      At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in…

    • Acts 2:25–28

      David says about Him: ‘I saw the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

    • 2 Peter 1:19–21

      We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day…

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Samuel

Anointing of David by Samuel, Félix-Joseph Barrias, 1842, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris. Public domain.
Anointing of David by Samuel, Félix-Joseph Barrias, 1842, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris. Public domain.
1 Samuel: the study guide →Read 1 Samuel 1 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 1, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 1 Samuel 1 →