1 Samuel 2


1 Samuel 2 is the second chapter of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. It recounts the Song of Hannah, the corruption of the priests descended from Eli, Samuel's ministry to God 'even as a child' and the prophecy of a "man of God" against Eli's household.

Text

The original text of this chapter, as with the rest of the Books of Samuel, was written in Hebrew. Since the division of the Bible into chapters in the late medieval period, this chapter is divided into 36 verses. Some ancient Hebrew witnesses for the text of this chapter include the Masoretic Text versions and some fragments among Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e. 4QSama, with extant verses: 1–10, 16–36. There is also a translation into Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC.

Period

The New Revised Standard Version organises this chapter as follows:
Verses 22 to 25 introduce a topic dealing with the condemnation of the house of Eli on account of his sons' transgressions. The Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, Targum, and Vulgate translation refer to Hophni and Phinehas' sins including both the misappropriation of food brought to sacrifice at the shrine in Shiloh and also to their sexual relations with "the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting", although the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls omit the latter issue.
Eli hears of his sons' behaviour and challenges them to reform, but they take no account of his pleading. Then a "man of God" comes to Eli, a prophet of whom "we know nothing".

Commentaries on Samuel