He had two wives. The name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
Parallel Translations
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He had two wives. The name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
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And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
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And he had two wives: the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
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Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 1:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 4:23 Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice. You wives of Lamech, listen to my speech, for I have slain a man for wounding me, a young man for bruising me.
- Genesis 16:1-2 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, “See now, Yahweh has restrained me from bearing. Please go in to my servant. It may be that I will obtain children by her.” Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
- Genesis 25:21 Isaac entreated Yahweh for his wife, because she was barren. Yahweh was entreated by him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
- Genesis 29:23-29 In the evening, he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to Jacob. He went in to her. Laban gave Zilpah his servant to his daughter Leah for a servant. In the morning, behold, it was Leah! He said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Didn’t I serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” Laban said, “It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfill the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you will serve with me for seven more years.” Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week. He gave him Rachel his daughter as wife. Laban gave Bilhah, his servant, to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.
- Genesis 29:31 Yahweh saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
- Deuteronomy 21:15-17 If a man has two wives, the one beloved and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and if the firstborn son is hers who was hated, then it shall be, in the day that he causes his sons to inherit that which he has, that he may not give the son of the beloved the rights of the firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn; but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he has; for he is the beginning of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
- Judges 8:30 Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body, for he had many wives.
- Judges 13:2 There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and childless.
- Matthew 19:8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so.
- Luke 1:7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
- Genesis 4:19 Lamech took two wives: the name of the first one was Adah, and the name of the second one was Zillah.
- Luke 2:36 There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 1:2 And he had two wives; the name…
1Sa 1:2 And he had two wives; the name of the one [was] Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
Ver. 2. And he had two wives.] Polygamy was ever a sin, though in the patriarchs and ancient saints, a sin of ignorance. "It was not so from the beginning." {Mat 19:8 Mal 2:15} Lamech, of the cursed seed of Cain, first brought it in: but his second wife Zillah was but the shadow of a wife, {a} as her name also signifieth. And although before the law given by Moses, polygamy is not reprehended; yet in Lev 18:18 it is flatly forbidden, "Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister," or one wife to another, "to vex her," as here Peninnah did Hannah. This passage good Elkanah and those other ancients mistook, as it is thought, by taking the word "sister" for one so by blood, which was spoken of a sister by neighbourhood, or by nation as those phrases "to vex her," and "during her life," do evince.
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{a} Quomodo Menander, φιλου σκιαν, dixit.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain He had two wives; as divers other good men…
He had two wives; as divers other good men had in those ages. And it is probable that he took a second wife, to wit, Peninnah, because Hannah, who being first named seems to have been his first wife, was barren.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he had two wives,.... Which, though connived at…
And he had two wives,.... Which, though connived at in those times, was contrary to the original law of marriage; and for which, though a good man, he was chastised, and had a great deal of vexation and trouble, the two wives not agreeing with each other; perhaps not having children by the one so soon as he hoped and wished for, he took another:
the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah; the first name signifies "grace" or "gracious", and she was a woman who had the grace of God, and very probably was also very comely, beautiful, and acceptable, as she was in the sight of her husband; the other signifies a cornered gem, a precious stone or jewel, as the pearl, ruby, amethyst, &c. Very likely Hannah was his first wife, and having no children by her, he took Peninnah, who proved to be a rough diamond: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children; how many Peninnah had is not said, perhaps ten; see Sa1 1:8 and that Hannah had none was not because she was naturally barren, but because the Lord had shut up her womb, or restrained her from bearing children, to put her upon praying for one, and that the birth of Samuel might be the more remarkable: see Sa1 1:5.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Two wives - As many had in those ages,…
Two wives - As many had in those ages, tho' it was a transgression of the original institution of marriage. And it is probable that he took his second wife, namely, Peninnah, because Hannah was barren.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. He had two wives] The custom of…
Verse 2. He had two wives] The custom of those times permitted polygamy; but wherever there was more than one wife, we find the peace of the family greatly disturbed by it.
The name of the one was Hannah] חנה Channah, which signifies fixed or settled, and the other פננה Peninnah, which signifies a jewel or pearl.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Sa 1:2. He had two wives — As many…
1Sa 1:2. He had two wives — As many had in those days, though it was a transgression of the original institution of marriage. Hannah seems to have been his first wife; and as she proved barren, he was induced, it is probable, through his earnest desire of children, to take another, as Abraham had done, by Sarah’s consent.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain He had two wives - Compare Gen 4:19. This…
He had two wives - Compare Gen 4:19. This was permitted by the law Deu 21:15, and sanctioned by the practice of Jacob Gen. 29, Ashur 1Ch 4:5, Shaharaim 1Ch 8:8, David 1Sa 25:43, Joash 2Ch 24:3, and others.
Hannah - i. e. “Beauty or charm,” is the same as “Anna” Luk 2:36.
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Peninnah - i. e. “a Pearl,” is the same name in signification as “Marqaret.”
The frequent recurrence of the mention of barrenness in those women who were afterward famous through their progeny (as Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel) coupled with the prophetic language of Hannah’s song in 1 Sam. 2, justifies us in seeking a mystical sense. Besides the apparent purpose of marking the children so born as raised up for special purposes by divine Providence, the weakness and comparative barrenness of the Church of God, to be followed at the set time by her glorious triumph and immense increase, is probably intended to be foreshadowed.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Phenenna. She was only of inferior dignity. At that…
Phenenna. She was only of inferior dignity. At that time polygamy was lawful, (Menochius) as Moses insinuates, if he do not expressly allow it.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2. Two wives — Such bigamy at this day,…
2. Two wives — Such bigamy at this day, and in the light of a Christian civilization, would be criminal; but the ancient laws allowed it, and custom sanctioned it. But the practice was nearly always the occasion of domestic broils. Polygamy seems to have begun with Lamech, (Gen_4:19,) and it prevailed extensively in the patriarchal age. Jacob had two wives, and most of the ancient worthies had, besides the proper wife, one or more concubines. The great desire for offspring often prompted to this, as in the case of Abraham, (Gen_16:2;) and it is generally supposed that Hannah was Elkanah’s proper wife, but she proving barren, his desire for children led him to take Peninnah. According to the Talmud a man was bound, after ten years of childless conjugal life, to marry another wife, and if she proved barren he should marry even a third. And all this might be done without repudiation of the first wife. This great desire for offspring is generally supposed to have been inspired by the expectation of the Messiah, and the hope, which every Hebrew woman entertained, that she might be the mother of the Promised Seed.
Hannah had no children — A great affliction to a Hebrew wife. But Hannah is on this account to be associated with other saintly women — Sarah, (Gen_16:1,) Rachel, (Gen_29:31,) and Elizabeth, (Luk_1:7,) who yet, by the favour of God, became the most distinguished mothers in Israel. The ancient expositors represent Hannah as a type of the Christian Church, for a long time barren, and mocked by her rival the Jewish Synagogue, but at length triumphing over her rival, and bringing forth many children to the Lord. Compare 1Sa_2:5.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. two wives] Polygamy, though at variance with the…
2. two wives] Polygamy, though at variance with the original institution of marriage (Gen_2:24), was tolerated by the Mosaic law as an existing custom (Deu_21:15-17), and the fact that Abraham, Jacob, Gideon, David and Solomon were all polygamists, shews that no moral blame attached to the practice in this period. It gradually became less frequent, and no case is on record in the Biblical history after the Captivity, but it was reserved for Christianity to re-establish the primeval ideal.
Hannah] i.e. “Grace.” The same name is borne in the N.T. by “Anna, a prophetess” (Luk_2:36): and according to tradition the wife of Joachim and mother of the Virgin Mary was named Anna. In the Phoenician colony of Carthage, where a language closely akin to Hebrew was spoken, the sister of the queen Dido was named Anna (Verg. Aen. iv. 9).
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Peninnah] i.e. “Coral,” or “Pearl.” The name may be compared with our Margaret, which means pearl.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) And he had two wives.—The primeval Divine ordination,…
(2) And he had two wives.—The primeval Divine ordination, we know, gave its sanction alone to monogamy. The first who seems to have violated God’s original ordinance appears to have been Lamech, of the family of Cain (Gen_4:19). The practice apparently had become general throughout the East when the Mosaic Law was formulated. In this Divine code it is noticeable that while polygamy is accepted as a custom everywhere prevailing, it is never approved. The laws of Moses—as in the case of another universally accepted practice, slavery—simply seek to restrict and limit it by wise and humane regulations. The inspired writer in this narrative of the home life of Elkanah of “Ramah of the Watchers” quietly shows up the curse which almost invariably attended this miserable violation of the relations of the home life to which in the old Eden days the eternal law had given its sanction and blessing. The Old Testament Book contains many of these gently-worded but fire-tipped rebukes of sin and frailty—sins condoned and even approved by the voice of mankind.
Peninnah.—Hannah signifies grace or favour, and has ever been a favourite name among the women of the East. It was the name of the Punic Queen Dido’s sister, Anna. The traditional mother of the Virgin Mary was named Anna. (See Luk_2:36.) Peninnah is translated by some scholars “coral;” according to others it signifies “pearl.” We have adopted the same name under the modem “Margaret.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain As a wealthy man, Elkanah had two wives, Hannah…
As a wealthy man, Elkanah had two wives, Hannah the Anna of Virgil, who very properly gives this name to the sister of the Phoenician Dido, the language of Phoenicia being identical with Hebrewand Peninnah. The word Hannah signifies gracefulness, while Peulnnah is the red pearl, translated coral in Job_28:18, but ruby in Pro_3:15, etc. Its ruddy colour is vouched for in Lam_4:7. The Hebrew names for women generally bear witness to the affection and respect felt for them; while those for men are usually religious. Though polygamy was a licence permitted to the Jews, it does not seem to have been generally indulged in, except by the kings. Here, as elsewhere, it was the ruin of family life. In Christianity it was marked for final extinction by the rule that no polygamist should be admitted even to the diaconate, and much less to higher office. (1Ti_3:2, 1Ti_3:12)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And he had two wives.
1Sa_1:2-7
And he had two wives.
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The folly of polygamy
Abrahams domestic peace was embittered, so that he was at length compelled to dismiss Hagar; and Jacob saw much strife arise amongst his household whose interest polygamy had divided. It is probable that the same feeling which operated with Abraham for taking Hagar influenced Elkanah in taking Peninneh, for Hannah seems to have been the first wife. There was doubtless an impatient desire of children; but in this case, as in those already alluded to, Elkanahs deviation from the original law of marriage, though in a manner then tolerated, conduced not at all to his domestic peace and comfort. (T. E. Redwar, M. A.)
Polygamy not primeval
There can have been no polygamy when as yet there was only a single pair, or when there were several single pairs widely separated from each other. The presumption, if not the certainty, therefore, is that primeval man must have been monogamous. It is a presumption supported by the general equality of the sexes in respect to the numbers born, with only just such an excess of the male sex as tends to maintain that equality against the greater risks to life arising out of manly pursuits and duties. Thus the facts of Nature point to polygamy as in all probability a departure from the habits of primeval times. (Argyll, Unity of Nature.)
The name of the one was Hannah.
Hannah the matron
Outraged and disgraced by the crimes of its ministers, religion sank into public contempt, and, almost mortally wounded in the house of its friends, seemed ready to expire. At first indignant, and in the end demoralised, the people deserted the house of God and abandoned the profession of a religion which the crimes of its priests had made to stink in their nostrils. Wherefore, alluding to Hophni and Phinehas, it is said, Wherefore the sin of the young men was great before the Lord, for men abhorred the offering of the Lord. But even in those days God did not leave himself without a witness. There were some who felt that His, like other good causes, has never more need of support than when it is betrayed by its supporters. Such an act closed the life of Colonel Gardener, the grand old Christian soldier, who, deserted by his own regiment on the fatal field of Prestonpans, and seeing a handful of men without an officer bravely maintaining the fight, spurred his horse through a shower of bullets to place himself at their head, and fall a sacrifice to truth and loyalty. Such an act also was the womens who openly followed our Lord with tears when no disciple had the courage to show his face in the streets. We cannot perhaps apply to the father of Samuel and husband of Hannah the saying, Faithful among the faithless only he; yet to Elkanah certainly belongs the honour of resisting the current of popular opinion, and, in an age of all but universal defection, clinging to the cause and the house of God. When its ministers had brought dishonour on the service of God, and their crimes had made the people abhor it, he felt that there was the more need for him to stand by it. He was not the man to desert the ship. To divine grace, his steadfastness to duly against the popular influence and amid almost universal defection was mainly due. Yet I cannot doubt, that in the bold and faithful part he acted, Elkanah owed much to Hannah. When adherence to principle involved painful sacrifices, men have found such support in gentle women as I have seen the green and pliant ivy lend the wall it clothed and clung to, when that, undermined or shaken, was ready to fall. Such was the spirit of Hannah.
I. Her patience--There is a skeleton in every house! The grim monitor that stands in every house to teach us that unmingled pleasures are to be sought in heaven, Hannah found in here. Happier than some that have been unequally yoked with unbelievers, she had a pious husband. Never was wife more prized and more loved than she. In what esteem Elkanah held her, how fondly he cherished her, and how kind he was to her, appears in the very strong and tender terms with which he essays to soothe her grief, saying, Why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better to thee than ten sons? As is indicated by that question, her great trial was to be childless. But her trial, like a wound into which cruel hands rub salt, or some other smarting thing, turning ordinary pain into intolerable torture, wan greatly aggravated by the happier fortune and insolent reproaches of a rival. Elkanah was a polygamist. To his own misfortune, not less than to Hannahs, he had another wife besides her. In some kind and gentle women Hannahs misfortune would have excited feelings of sympathy. But the other wife, who had children--a rude, coarse, proud, and vulgar woman--turned it into an occasion for triumphing over her, and embittering all the springs of her life. In these circumstances--circumstances to which the adage, so generally true, applies with peculiar force, Speech is silvern, but silence is golden--Hannah teaches us how to bear our trials, whatever their nature be; and how to seek, and where to find relief.
II. Her meekness--A singular phenomenon has sometimes been noticed at sea. In a gale, when the storm, increasing in violence, has at length risen into a hurricane, the force of the wind has been observed to actually beat down the waves, producing a temporary and comparative calm; and similar is the effect occasionally produced by overwhelming trials--these, by their very power and pressure on the heart, abating both the violence and the expression of its feelings. But what is equally remarkable and still more observable in trials is, that we can more easily bear a heavy blow from Gods hand than a light one from mans. Smarting under the cruel reproaches of her rival, to use the very words of Scripture, in bitterness of soul, she lingers in the temple behind the rest, and there alone, as she supposed, pours out her tears and prayers before the Lord. His eyes dim as well as his head grey with years--Eli--too much accustomed in these evil times to see abandoned women--thought she was drunk; and more ready, like other indulgent fathers, to reprove sin in others than in his own sons, he addresses her sharply, saying, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee: A very offensive accusation! Under such a charge, and in the rapid alternation with which the mind passes from one passion to another, who would have been astonished had her grief suddenly changed to anger? The meekness of Moses has become a proverb; and justly so. But did he, did any man or woman, ever show a milder, gentler, lovelier spirit, a more magnanimous example of how to suffer wrong, than Hannah? No wonder that Eli, perceiving the wrong he had done, should have turned his reproaches on himself; and touched with Hannahs grief, answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of Him.
III. Her faith--I know an island that stands crowned by its ancient fortalice in the middle of a lake, some good bow shots from the shore With the walls of the old ruin mantled in ivy, and its tower rising grim and grey above the foliage of hoary elms, it serves no purpose now but to recall old times and ornament a lovely landscape. But once that island and its stronghold were the refuge and life of those whose ordinary residence was the castle that, with gates, and bulwarks, and many a tower, and floating banner rose in baronial pride on the shore. When in the troublous times of old that wait beleaguered, and its defenders could hold out no longer against the force and fury of the siege, they sought their boats, and, escaping by the postern gate over waters too deep to wade and too broad to swim, threw themselves on the island--within the walls of the stout old keep to enjoy peace in the midst of war, and safe beyond the shot of cross bow, to laugh their enemies to scorn. In their hardest plight, and against the greatest numbers, this refuge never failed them. Such a refuge and relief his people find in God. Hence the confidence and bold language of the Psalmist, Truly my soul waiteth upon God; from Him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my salvation: I shall not be greatly moved. Hence, also, in allusion to the security such strongholds offered in the East, as well as here, in olden times, the Bible says, The name of the Lord is a strong tower, into which the righteous runneth, and is safe. And thus, as prayer is our way of access to God, and the means by which we place ourselves under His protection, it is a resource that never fails. There is no burden too heavy for the back of prayer to carry, nor wound too deep for its balm to heal. Hannah sought her comfort in prayer. Let her case teach us that the way to get anything is first to get faith--all things are possible to him that believeth. There are people, who claim to be philosophers, that laugh such hopes to scorn. According to them God leaves all events to the operation of what they call the ordinary laws of nature, without guiding, controlling, or interfering with them in any way whateverse No wonder that with such views the Divine Being is to them neither an object of reverential worship nor of filial affection. How should they fear, or love God? Their God is a Sovereign, who, parting with his sceptre though he retains his crown, is denuded of all authority--a Father who, careless of their fate, casts his children out on the world, like the poor babe a guilty mother exposes, which, though it may perchance be pitied and protected by others, is cruelly forsaken by the author of its being. How dark and dreary such a philosophy! All nature, and every religion, Pagan as well as Christian, revolts against it. Someone has said of prayer, It moves the hand that moves the world. A grand truth! to a poor conscience-stricken sinner, to an alarmed soul, to an anxious, weary, trembling spirit, a truth more precious than all science and philosophy. Hannah behaved it. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
But Hannah had no children.
Anomalies of Providence
Inside Elkanahs house we see two strange arrangements of Providence, of a kind that often moves our astonishment elsewhere. First, we see a woman eminently fitted to bring up children, but having none to bring up. On the other hand, we see another woman, whose temper and ways are fitted to ruin children, entrusted with the rearing of a family. In the one case a God-fearing woman does not receive the gifts of Providence; in the other case a woman of a selfish and cruel nature seems loaded with His benefits. In looking round us, we often see a similar arrangement of other gifts; we see riches, for example, in the very worst of hands; while those who from their principles and character are fitted to make the best use of them have often difficulty in securing the bare necessaries of life. How it this? Does God really govern, or do time and chance regulate all? If it were Gods purpose to distribute His gifts exactly as men are able to estimate and use them aright, we should doubtless see a very different distribution; but Gods aim in this world is much more to try and to train than to reward and fulfil. All these anomalies of Providence point to a future state. What God does we know not now, but we shall know hereafter. In many cases home affords a refuge from our trials, but in this case home was the very scene of the trial. There is another refuge from trial, which is very grateful to devout hearts--the house of God and the exercises of public worship. (W. G. Blaikie, D. D.)
Childless parents
Abraham and Sarah had no children. Isaac and Rebekah had no children. Jacob and Rachel had no children. Manoah had no children. Hannah had no children. The Shunamite had no children. Zacharias and Elizabeth had no children. Till it came to be nothing short of a mark of a special election, and a high calling, and a great coming service of God in Israel to have no children. Time after time, till it became nothing short of a special Providence, those husbands and wives whose future children were predestinated to be patriarchs, and prophets, and judges, and forerunners of Jesus Christ in the house of Israel, began their married life having no children. Now, why was that? Well, we may make guesses, and we may propose reasons for that perplexing dispensation, but they are only guesses and proposed reasons. All the more--Why is it? Is it to spare and shield them from the preoccupation and the dispersion of affection, and from the coldness and the rudeness and the neglect of one another that so many of their neighbours suffer from? And is it to teach them a far finer tenderness, and a far rarer honour, and a far sweeter solicitude for one another? Or, on the other hand, is it out of pure jealousy on Gods part? Is it that He may be able to say to them, Am I not better to thee than ten sons? Or again, is it in order to make them meet, long before His other sons and daughters around them are made meet, for that life in which they shall neither marry nor be given in marriage? Which of all these reasons, or what other reason, has their God for what He does with so many of His best saints? But all this time we have been intruding into those things of which He says to us--What is that to thee? And, then, those whose concern this is, and those who are deepest down in Gods counsels, they are just the men and the women, they are just the husbands and the wives, who will not once open their mouths to publish abroad to a world that fears not God what all this time God is doing for their souls. (A. Whyte, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain 1Sa_1:2. “Two wives.” “Perhaps he took the second on…
CRITICAL AND EXPOSITORY NOTES.—
1Sa_1:2. “Two wives.” “Perhaps he took the second on account of Hannah’s barrenness” (Wordsworth).
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1Sa_1:3. “Yearly.” Probably to the Passover, as that was the only feast which the whole family were accustomed to attend (Luk_2:41). “To worship and sacrifice.” “The beautiful picture of Israelitish piety which we have in the following account of Elkanah and Hannah is introduced by these features, as the chief and fundamental ones. The worship relates to the name of the Lord, who dwells in His chosen place in the sanctuary, and is the expression of the remembrance of this name before the Lord. The sacrifice is the embodied prayer. In the sacrifice worship is presented to the Lord as the act by which the offerer brings himself and all that he has to the Lord” (Lange’s Commentary). If the Law given by God to Moses had been observed, Elkanah would (unless he was now more than fifty years of age, which seems unlikely) have been required to officiate in his turn in the service of the tabernacle. (See Num_8:24-26). That he did not do so is only one evidence, among many, of the low state of religion at the time. “Lord of Hosts,” “Jehovah Zebaoth.” “Here first used as a Divine name. It represents Jehovah as ruler of the heavenly hosts, i.e., the angels (Gen_32:2) and the stars (Isa_40:26); it is simply applied to Jehovah as the God of the universe” (Keil). “This appellation occurs sixty-two times in Isaiah, sixty-five in Jeremiah, and not once in Job or Ezekiel” (Wordsworth). “Shiloh.” i.e., “Rest.” The tabernacle was set up here in the days of Joshua (Jos_18:1). Its position is described in Jdg_21:19. This minute description has enabled modern travellers to identify it. “This quiet place, situated on a hill (Psa_78:54), was the scene of the mighty revolution brought about in the history of the theocracy by the call of Samuel to be the prophet of God, and by the overthrow of the priestly house of Eli” (Lange’s Commentary). “And the two sons of Eli,” etc. They performed the priestly functions for their father, on account of his great age.
1Sa_1:4. “When Elkanah offered.” “That this sacrifice was a praise or thank-offering (Lev_7:15) is clear from what follows” (Lange’s Commentary). “Portions.” Of that part of the peace-offerings which belonged to them that offered. This was the whole, except the fat, which belonged to the Lord, and the breast and the right shoulder, which belonged to the priest, This feast was intended to be of a joyful character (Deu_12:12; Deu_16:11).
1Sa_1:5. “A worthy portion.” This phrase has been much disputed, but it seems most likely to mean a double portion. This was an Oriental mode of expressing favour. See Gen_43:34. “The Lord had shut up her womb.” Childlessness was not only held to be a misfortune, but a Divine punishment (Gen_19:31; Gen_30:1; Gen_30:23).
1Sa_1:6. “Her adversary.” i.e., Peninnah.
1Sa_1:7. “He did so year by year,” i.e., every year Elkanah gave Hannah a double portion.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—1Sa_1:2-8
A TROUBLED HOUSEHOLD
I. A violation of the Divine intention in the institution of marriage. Elkanah had two wives. God, by creating one wife only as the helpmeet for the first man, declared against polygamy and bigamy. Our Lord, in expounding to the Pharisees the law of divorce, speaks decidedly upon the subject. “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh” (Mat_19:5). Apostolic teaching reiterates the law. “Let every man have his own wife, and every woman her own husband” (1Co_7:2). “Let every one of you in particular so love his wife, even as himself” (Eph_5:1). The violation of the Divine intention in this institution originated in a bad man. Lamech is the first person of whom it is recorded that he “took unto him two wives” (Gen_4:19), and his own words tell us that he was a man of blood. A descendant of the first murderer, he trod in the same murderous path. His example was not followed by those sons of Seth, who were honoured to re-found the human race. Noah and his three sons entered into the ark, each having his one wife (Gen_7:13), but the sin of Lamech became more and more common until it grew into a custom, and many better men than he thus profaned God’s holy ordinance. Abraham, Jacob, and Elkanah were good men, yet they all in this respect followed in the forbidden path first trodden by a man-slayer. A miner working in darkness unconsciously becomes blackened by the dusty atmosphere in which he is working. Imperceptibly to himself, one sooty particle after another settles upon his body and his raiment, until he becomes entirely assimilated in colour to the blackness and dirt all around him. The custom of society unconsciously colours men’s characters and habits. Their very conscience is influenced by the moral atmosphere which they breathe—they become coloured by the thoughts and actions of those by whom they are surrounded, and often yield their consent to a wicked custom, the sin of which they do not perceive because of the moral darkness in which they live. It was doubtless so with those of the patriarchs who practised bigamy or polygamy, and it was so also with Elkanah.
II. This violation of Divine intention becoming a means of chastisement. The custom of polygamy was doubtless very common in the Hebrew nation, and paved the way to much gross iniquity, and led them to the adoption of many other corrupt practices of the heathen nations, for which, as a nation, they suffered severe chastisement. Here we have an instance of chastisement in the case of an individual and upright man. Although he had committed no exceptional sin—although he had only followed other good men in conforming to a very common custom—he could not escape the inevitable retribution which must always follow breaking any fence which God has placed about man’s path. Doubtless Hannah would have been sorrowful at the absence of children if she had been Elkanah’s only wife, but it would not have been aggravated by the insolence of Peninnah. Custom had quarried these two upper and nether mill-stones, and between them Elkanah’s domestic bliss must have been ground to powder, for the strife was so bitter that it entered even into the service of the house of God. (See 1Sa_1:7.) The history of the world confirms the teaching of this history of a single family. The nations who adhere to God’s original intention in the marriage state are spared from many sorrows, and avoid many crimes which must always be the fruit of such a morally unhealthy and unnatural custom. The joys of the home life are unknown where polygamy is practised—a terrible penalty is paid by all those nations who thus violate God’s holy and blessed institution.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
1Sa_1:1. Elkanah was one of the sons of Korah. Of that gainsaying “sinner against his own soul” came Samuel. Homo ille virtute simillimus.—Trapp.
1Sa_1:2. Polygamy might now plead age and example. Ill customs are like fashions of attire, which at the first are disliked as uncomely, yet, when once they are grown common, are taken up of the gravest. Yet this sin, as then current with the time, could not make Elkanah not religious; the house of God in Shiloh was duly frequented by him, and once a year with all his family. The continuance of an unknown sin cannot hinder the uprightness of a man’s heart with God; as a man may have a mole on his back, and yet think his skin clear; the least touch of wilfulness mars his sincerity.—Bishop Hall.
1Sa_1:3. Elkanah’s piety in maintaining a regular attendance on the Divine ordinances is the more worthy of notice, that the character of the two priests who administered them was notoriously bad. But doubtless he believed and acted on the belief that the ordinances were effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them, or in those who administered them, but from the grace of God being communicated through them.—Fausset.
This title, “The Lord of Hosts” (see Critical Notes), seems to be inserted designedly by the sacred historian at the beginning of this book, which relates the craving of Israel for an earthly king, when the Lord was their King, and the setting up of an earthly kingdom in Saul. It is like a preliminary protest against that act of national faithlessness.—Wordsworth.
The offering was the deed which established the faithlessness of the praying word.—Starke.
This subject-matter of adoration is to be referred to the three following heads: Firstly, that when about to adore God we recognise that we owe all things to Him, and in giving thanks for past blessings we implore a still further increase of His gifts; secondly, that confessing our sins as suppliant and guilty, we pray Him to grant us true knowledge of our sins and repentance, and to pardon us; thirdly, and finally, that denying ourselves and taking His yoke upon our shoulders, we profess ourselves ready to render Him true obedience, and to conform our affections to the rule of His law and His will alone.—Calvin.
1Sa_1:4. The whole family take part in the feast of the peace-offerings. So as to the idol-worship in Jer_7:18. Both this passage and that, as to true religion and false, may impress upon us the importance of family worship and family religion.—Lange’s Commentary.
1Sa_1:5. “The Lord had shut up her womb.” This is the language of piety, which refers all to God, and knows only one source of blessings; we only have that which He gives, and we cannot have that which he refuses to us.—Duguet.
Peninnah may have the more children, but barren Hannah hath the most love. If Hannah should have had both, she had been proud, and her rival despised. God knows how to disperse His favours so that everyone may have cause both for thankfulness and humiliation; whilst there is no one that hath all, no one but hath some—Bishop Hall.
Children were then regarded as a blessing, and the correctness of this view is confirmed by the inspired writers, Psa_113:9; Psa_127:3-5; Psa_128:3. The contrary feeling, which is now so rapidly growing in America, is evil, both in its causes and in its consequences.—American Translator of Lange’s Commentary.
1Sa_1:7. Peninnah is an example of those who think themselves to be saints because they participate in holy things and partake of Divine blessings, but Hannah is a model of true penitents, seeking not to justify herself since the Lord seemed to condemn her. She judged herself unworthy to partake of the sacred feast since she deemed herself under the displeasure of God.—Duguet.
1Sa_1:8. In a devout marriage, the love of the one party should not only be to the other a fountain of consolation and of quieting as to painful dispensations of the Lord, but for whatever by the Lord’s will is lacking in good fortune and joy it should seek to offer all the richer compensation.—Lange’s Commentary.
In Elkanah we have an example of a most excellent husband, who patiently tolerated the insolent humour of Peninnah, and comforted dejected Hannah with words full of tender affection, which was truly, in St. Peter’s words, to dwell with his wives according to knowledge.—Patrick.
As the marriage bond is much closer than that between parents and children, it follows that husband and wife must hold each other nearer and dearer than all children.—J. Lange.
1Sa_1:1-8. The priestly calling of the man in his house.
1. In the close connection of his whole house with the service in the house of the Lord (prayer and offering).
2. In the nurture and admonition of the children for the Lord (see comment on 1Sa_1:4).
3. In expelling and keeping at a distance the evil spirit of unlovingness and dissension in the members of a family.
4. In the constant exhibition of faithful, comforting, helping love towards his wife. The preservation of genuine piety amid domestic troubles.
1. In persevering prayer, when the Lord proves faith by not fulfilling particular desires and hopes.
2. In enduring patience towards vexatious members of the family.
3. In consoling and supporting love towards those members who are easily assailed. Lange’s Commentary.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:2 Hardly an instance exists in Scripture where a…
1:2 Hardly an instance exists in Scripture where a man’s simultaneous marriage to two wives did not produce serious friction (1:6-7; Gen 16; 21; 29).
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