In this chapter the song of Hannah is recorded, 1 Sam. 2:1–10, and an account is given of the return of Elkanah and Hannah to their own home, and of the care she took yearly to provide a coat for Samuel, and of her being blessed with many other children, and of the growth and ministry of Samuel…

And Hannah prayed and said She had prayed before, but that was mental, this vocal; she had prayed and was answered, and had what she prayed for, and now she gives thanks for it; and thanksgiving is one kind of prayer, or a part of it; see , wherefore though what follows is a song, it was expressed…

There is none holy as the Lord From the consideration of what the Lord had done for her, which had filled her heart and mouth with joy and praise, she is led to celebrate the perfections of God, and begins with his holiness, in which he is glorious, and which appears in all his ways and works; he…

Talk no more so exceeding proudly At such an high rate, in such an overbearing manner, as if above everyone; this may have respect to Peninnah, and all that joined with her to provoke Hannah to anger, and make her fret, insulting and triumphing over her, because she had not children, as they had;…

The bows of the mighty men are broken Hannah, from relating gracious experiences, and celebrating, the divine perfections of holiness, omniscience, and sovereignty, passes on to take notice of the dealings of God with men in providence and grace; bows are here put for all military arms, which men…

They that are full have hired out themselves for bread Such as have been full of the good things of this life have been stripped of all, and reduced to such circumstances as to be obliged to hire themselves out to persons to labour under them for their bread.

The Lord killeth, and maketh alive Which is true of different persons; some he takes away by death, and others he preserves and continues in life; and of the same persons, whom God removes by death, and restores them to life again, of which there are instances both in the Old and New Testament; and…

The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich Which is true in a natural sense of the same persons, as might be exemplified in the case of Job; and of different persons, as in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus; for both poverty and riches are of God, see .

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill This is but a further illustration of what is before expressed. Literally; such poor as are beggars, are those that are extremely poor, that sit in the dust and beg, and have nothing but a dunghill to lie on; yet…

He will keep the feet of his saints Now follow promises and prophecies of future things respecting the Israel of God, either in a literal or spiritual sense.

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces Or Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, “shall break in pieces those that contend with him”; with the Lord, or with his people, or with Samuel particularly; for this may be considered as a prophecy of Hannah concerning her son, what God would do…

And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house Of which see . This was after he had offered the sacrifices at the feast, worshipped the Lord, and Hannah had delivered her prayer or song of praise, and both had committed Samuel to the care of Eli, and left him with him: and the child did minister unto the…

Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial Not that Eli their father was Belial, a wicked man; but though they had so good a father, they were very wicked men, unprofitable abandoned wretches, that cast off the yoke of the law of God, and gave themselves up to all manner of wickedness: they knew not…

And the priest’s custom with the people was Not what was according to the will and law of God, but which the sons of Eli had introduced; and in which they were followed by the rest of the priests, and so it became an established custom, and had the force of a law, statute, or judgment, as the word…

And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot, &c.] Whatever vessel was made use of, larger or lesser, according to the quantity of flesh the owner boiled for himself and friends, the trident the priest’s servants brought with him, he struck into the boiler to the bottom; of it: all…

Also before they burnt the fat Which belonged to the Lord, and was to be offered to him by fire, in the first place, as it ought to be; and the order of sacrificing required that he should have his part first before the priest or the owner: but so impious were the priests become, that the priest’s…

And if any man said unto him, let them not fail to burn the fat presently Or stay till they have offered the fat, as the Targum; let that be done in the first place, which may be quickly done, in a very little time, and let as much haste be made as can be to do it: and then take as much as thy soul…

Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord That is, the sons of Eli; for they were the ringleaders who set these bad examples, which other priests followed, and therefore the sin is ascribed to them; and which was sadly aggravated by taking what was not their own, and by…

But Samuel ministered before the Lord The ministration of Samuel, though a child, is observed both before and after the account of the ill behaviour and wickedness of Eli’s sons; partly to the shame and disgrace of them, and as serving to aggravate their sin, and make it appear the more black and…

Moreover, his mother made him a little coat Suitable to his stature; this was an outer coat to wear over others, and this also was such an one as the priests wore; it is the same word that is used for the priest’s robe, , and this, it is very likely, was altogether of her own spinning, and weaving,…

And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife Not only the first time they brought Samuel to him, and left him with him; but every year they came to worship, as the Jewish commentators mostly interpret it: and said, the Lord give thee seed of this woman; children by her, year after year: for the loan which…

And the Lord visited Hannah In a way of mercy, approving and confirming the blessing of Eli; or rather granting the blessing he prayed for, by giving her power to conceive, bear, and bring forth children, as the following words explain it: so that she conceived and bare three sons and two…

Now Eli was very old It is very probable he was now about ninety years of age, since when he died he was ninety eight, which is observed to show his incapacity for the discharge of his office, and inspection into public affairs; which gave his sons opportunity of acting the wicked part they did…

And he said unto them, why do ye such things? &c.] As to impose upon the people that bring their offerings, by taking more than is due, and in a very indecent and imperious manner; and especially to defile the women when they came to worship: these were very scandalous sins, and deserved a more…

Nay, my sons This seems to be too soft and smooth an appellation, too kind and endearing, considering the offence they were guilty of, and were now reproving for; rather they deserved to be called sons of Belial, the children of the devil, than sons of Eli, or brutes and shameless wretches, and…

If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him When one man does an injury to another in his person and property, the case is brought before the judge, he hears it, examines into it, and determines upon it, and does justice, orders that the injured person have satisfaction made him, and…

And the child Samuel grew up Increased in stature and in grace, grew more and more in all respects, and better and better, while Eli’s sons grew worse and worse; the contrast between these make the one to shine and appear illustrious, and the other to look the blacker: or “he went on, and grew, and…

And there came a man of God unto Eli A prophet, as the Targum; he had gifts and graces bestowed on him by the Lord, qualifying him for that office; he came from God, and spoke in his name, as prophets used to do: who this was is not said, nor can it be known with certainty; many conjectures are…

And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest He did; of all the tribes of Israel the Lord chose the tribe of Levi to place the priesthood in, and of all the families of that tribe he chose the house of Aaron, Eli’s ancestor, to minister in the priest’s office, see to offer…

Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice, and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation To be offered in the tabernacle, where the Lord had his dwelling; which they might be said to kick and spurn at, despising them, as if there were not enough of them, nor the best of them given to them…

Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith This being the case, so much contempt cast upon his sacrifices, and dishonour on himself: I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever; or minister in the priest’s office before him: if the house of Aaron in general…

Behold, the days come Or, are coming [[6]]; and will quickly come, in a very little time the things, after threatened, began to take place, even in the days of Eli’s sons, and the whole was accomplished in about eighty years after: that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father’s house:…

And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation Either the Philistines in the land of Israel, where God chose to dwell, who quickly after made war against Israel, and pitched in Aphek, or, as in the margin of our Bibles, and other versions [[8]], “thou shalt see the affliction of the tabernacle”; as…

And the man of thine . Of his family, which should spring from him: whom I shall not cut off from mine altar: from serving there: who though he shall not be an high priest, but a common priest, as all the descendants of Aaron were, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart; that is,…

This shall be a sign unto thee A confirming one, that all which had been now said would be fulfilled: that shall come upon thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas; which Eli would live to see fulfilled on them; and when it was, he might be assured the rest would be most certainly accomplished, and it was…

And I will raise up a faithful priest Not Samuel, as some, for he was not of the seed of Aaron, and of the priestly race; nor had he a sure house, for his sons declined from the ways of truth and justice; but Zadok, as it is commonly interpreted, who was put into the office of the high priest by…

And it shall come to pass, that everyone that is left in thine house That is not cut off by death, the few remains of Eli’s posterity in succeeding times, after the high priesthood was removed out of his family into another; so that they were reduced at best to common priests, and these, as it…