UTN uW Translation Notes:

1 Samuel 2 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

This chapter continues the first section of the book, chapters 1–7, which describe Samuel as a religious leader of Israel. This chapter tells how Samuel’s mother Hannah celebrated his birth with a song. It also tells how the sons of the high priest Eli dishonored Yahweh by stealing from his offerings. This information leads into the action of the next chapter, in which Samuel has a central role.Some translations set each line of poetry farther to the right than the rest of the text to make it easier to read. The ULT does this with Hannah’s poetic prayer in 2:1–10 .

Religious and Cultural Issues in This Chapter

Why did Hannah speak of a “king” when Israel had no king?

Hannah says at the end of her prayer that Yahweh will “give strength to his king and lift up the horn of his anointed one” (2:10). Israel had no king at this time. However, the people may have been expecting that Yahweh might soon appoint a king for them. The law of Moses said in [Deuteronomy 17:14–20](../deu/17/04.md) that Israel could have a king, and it described there what kind of person he had to be and how he needed to conduct himself. The enemies of the Israelites were trying to conquer their territory, and the Israelites were wishing for a king to defend them, as Samuel describes in [12:12](../12/12.md). It was the baby whose birth Hannah was celebrating in this prayer, Samuel, whom Yahweh told to anoint Saul as Israel’s first king and then to anoint David as a king who would obey him more faithfully. So it seems that Yahweh also gave Hannah prophetic insight into what he would soon do for Israel through her son. That is why she was able to speak confidently in this prayer about what Yahweh would do for Israel’s king.

What should have happened when people brought sacrifices?

The law of Moses said that when Israelites brought animals to Yahweh as sacrifices, they should slaughter the animal and cut it into pieces. They should lift up the breast and the fat to offer them to Yahweh and that a priest should burn the fat. The priest could then roast and eat the breast. The people would boil the rest of the meat from the animal. The law told them to give the right thigh to the priest. But the people could then eat the rest of the animal with their family and friends as a festive meal. The law of Moses also said that the people making the sacrifice should cut the fat off the meat and that the priests should burn this fat as a sacrifice to Yahweh. In this chapter, the author describes how Eli’s sons disobeyed these regulations and took more for themselves from the sacrifices than they were entitled to have. This was disrespectful and dishonoring to Yahweh, as a prophet tells Eli in this chapter and as Yahweh tells Samuel in the next chapter.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Poetry in Hannah’s prayer

In several places in her prayer in verses 1–10, Hannah speaks consecutive phrases that mean basically the same thing. The second phrase emphasizes the meaning of the first one by repeating the same idea with different words. Hebrew poetry made frequent use of this kind of repetition, and it would be good to show this to your readers by including both phrases in your translation rather than combining them. It may be clearer in your language to connect the phrases with a word that shows that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. For example, in verse 1 you might say, “My heart rejoices in Yahweh, indeed, my horn is high in Yahweh.” (See: figs-parallelism)

Hannah’s use of the third person

In her prayer, although she is addressing Yahweh, Hannah speaks about him respectfully in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this consistently in the first person. For example, as the UST illustrates, you could say “you, Yahweh” rather than simply “Yahweh.” (See: figs-123person)

thunder

A note to 2:10 explains that in her prayer, Hannah uses the term “thunder” to speak of God’s impending judgment against those who oppose him. That note suggests that you could express the idea behind the term with a phrase about impending judgement. However, the author uses this same term “thunder” in [1:6](../01/06.md) to mean that Peninnah was trying to make Hannah so upset that she would lose control of her emotions. Hannah is saying here, in effect, “Be careful of trying to cause thunder—you might make Yahweh thunder against you!” So that your readers can recognize this connection, you may wish to retain the thunder image in your translation and use the same term in 1:6 as in 2:10. (See: figs-metaphor)

Why does the author say “at the face of” instead of “to the face of” in verses 11, 17, and 18?

In three places in this chapter, the author slightly varies the usual phrase “to the face of” and says “at the face of.” In 2:11, the word “at” probably indicates that Samuel was “serving Yahweh” not just in the presence of Eli but together with him, under his guidance and direction. In 2:17, the word “at” may indicate that Eli’s sons were not just committing a great sin in the presence of Yahweh but against him personally, against his honor and holiness. In 2:18, conversely, the word “at” may indicate that Samuel was not merely serving Yahweh in his presence but with personal devotion. For each verse, a note suggests a way to express these possible meanings, and the UST models another way to do that. (See: figs-metonymy)

The author’s reintroduction of participants

In this chapter, after Hannah’s prayer, the author alternates between describing the wickedness of Eli’s sons and the growth of Samuel into a godly young man. He does this to draw a contrast that shows why Yahweh ultimately chose to replace the descendants of Eli with a different line of priests and to have Samuel lead the nation. The author alternately reintroduces Eli or his sons and Samuel at 2:12, 2:18, 2:22, and 2:26, and he introduces the “man of God” as a new participant in 2:27. Your language may have its own way of introducing or reintroducing participants that you can use in your translation in these places. (See: writing-participants)

A long quotation within a quotation in 2:27–36

When the man of God speaks to Eli in 2:27–36, first he attributes what he says to Yahweh, then he communicates Yahweh’s message. As a result, there is a long second-level quotation (that is, a quotation within a quotation) in these verses. In 2:36, it becomes a third-level quotation. If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there it is all a first-level quotation. For example, changing the text of the ULT only slightly, in 2:27 you might say, “Yahweh asks you whether revealing himself, he did not reveal himself to the house of your father in their being in Egypt, to the house of Pharaoh.” In 2:28 you might say, “Yahweh says that he chose him from all of the tribes of Israel for himself for a priest, to go up on his altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod to his face. He says that he gave to the house of your father all of the gifts of the sons of Israel.” The UST models further ways of translating this part of the chapter so that there are not quotations within quotations. ((See: figs-quotesinquotes)

A “faithful” priest or an “established” priest (2:35)?

In 2:35, the word that the ULT translates as “faithful” is actually the same word that it translates as “established” in the second part of that verse and in 3:20. Yahweh could be saying that Samuel will be an “established priest” in the sense that he and his descendants will serve “all of the days,” that is, perpetually, by contrast with the descendants of Eli. In that case, 3:20 would be a confirmation of what Yahweh says here. However, the immediate context suggests that Yahweh may be using the same term in two different senses, as was common in prophetic speech, which often had poetic characteristics. Yahweh says that this priest “will do just as is in my heart and in my soul,” meaning that he will be loyal and obedient. That is why ULT translates the term as “faithful.” But the term really could have either meaning. If a translation of the Bible exists in your region, you may wish to use the reading that it uses. If a translation of the Bible does not exist in your region, you may wish to use the reading of ULT.