1 Samuel 2:4
in 1 Samuel 2The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble are equipped with strength.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The bows of the mighty men are broken; And they that stumbled are girded with strength.
KJV
The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 2
Commentary
2 notes on this verseThe bows of the mighty - The Targum considers the first verse as including a prophecy against the Philistines; the second verse, against Sennacherib and his army; the third, against Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans; the fourth, against the Greeks; the fifth, against Haman and his posterity; and the tenth, against Magog, and the enemies of the Messiah.
This site's exposition
bows of the mighty men
on 1 Samuel 2:4-5
The bows of the mighty men are broken pictures the reversal Hannah has already lived, and verse 5 states it as a proverb of Israel's God: the barren hath born seven, seven marking fullness rather than a literal count. Hannah stands in a chain of barren women whose sons carry the story forward, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Manoah's wife and now Hannah, each opened by the Lord's own hand rather than by nature's course.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קֶ֥שֶׁת | keshet | [the] bow of | H7198 → | 76 times |
| גִּבֹּרִ֖ים | giborim | warriors | H1368 → | 158 times |
| חַתִּ֑ים | chatim | [are] shattered | H2844 → | |
| וְנִכְשָׁלִ֖ים | venikhshalim | and [those who] stumble | H3782 → | |
| אָ֥זְרוּ | ʾazeru | they gird on | H247 → | |
| חָֽיִל׃ | chayil | strength | H2428 → | 246 times |
קֶ֥שֶׁת[the] bow of
keshetH7198 →76 times
גִּבֹּרִ֖יםwarriors
giborimH1368 →158 times
חַתִּ֑ים[are] shattered
chatimH2844 →
וְנִכְשָׁלִ֖יםand [those who] stumble
venikhshalimH3782 →
אָ֥זְרוּthey gird on
ʾazeruH247 →
חָֽיִל׃strength
chayilH2428 →246 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
Philippians 4:13I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:29–31
He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- 2 Corinthians 12:9–10
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of…
- Colossians 1:11
being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully
- Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
- Isaiah 40:29–31
Through
2 Corinthians 12:9But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of…
it leads to
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- 2 Corinthians 12:10
That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
- Ephesians 3:16
I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,
- Philippians 4:13
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel.