1 Samuel 2

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1 Samuel 2

1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.

2 There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

6 The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

7 The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon them.

9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest.

12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord.

13 And the priest's custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;

14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.

15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.

16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.

17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord.

18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.

19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The Lord give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lord. And they went unto their own home.

21 And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the Lord.

22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people.

24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord's people to transgress.

25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.

26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.

27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?

28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel?

29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

30 Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house.

32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.

33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.

34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.

35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.

36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.

Notes

Cross Reference

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

<html>My mouth is enlarged. Against Penina.</html>

Verse 2

<html>And there is no stronghold like our God. There is no artist¹ Rashi disregards the usual rendering of צוֹר [=Rock], which represents the awesome powers of ‘ה Who is able to change the laws of nature. Seen Devarim 32:4. [צַיָר] like our God Who fashions a form within a form.²Maseches Berachos 10a.</html>

Verse 3

<html>Do not abound in speaking so very proudly. All those who are haughty when they experience good fortune. About Penina who behaved haughtily toward her, was she speaking, according to the simple explanation. However, according to the drash, we follow Targum Yonoson's rendition [that she is referring to Nevuchadnetzar]. Harshness. Strong speech. Others explain עָתָק as an expression of something which is removed [from the truth], as in “from there he moved [וַיַעְתֵּק] to the mountain.”³Bereishis 12:8. [The meaning here being “let not] falsehood come out of your mouth.” For a God of knowledge is Adonoy. He knows what is in your hearts. And by Him all actions are counted. All people's deeds are counted before Him. Counted. An expression of number, as in, “and the number [וְתֹכֶן] of bricks shall you give.”⁴Shemos 5:18.</html>

Verse 4

<html>The bows of the mighty are broken… This is the custom of the Holy One, Blessed is He. He weakens the mighty and strengthens the weak, He sates the hungry and starves the sated.</html>

Verse 5

<html>The sated have hired themselves out for bread. [The sated] who do not need to hire themselves out for any work, He starves them and they must hire themselves out for bread, And the hungry Who would toil and weary themselves for food. Have ceased. From their toil. Until the barren has born seven and she with many children…. While the barren woman has born seven,⁵ Others interpret that the seven children mentioned are not literally seven and with reference to Peninah, but rather it is an expression that means “many children.” See above 1:8.—Radak she that had many children has been bereaved and buries her children. Chana bore seven as it is stated, “For Adonoy remembered Chana and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters.” When Chana bore one, Penina buried two.⁶Below ==== Verse 21. Penina had ten children as it is stated, “Am I not better to you than [the] ten sons of Penina?”⁷Above 1:8. When Chana bore four, Penina buried eight. When she [Chana] conceived and bore a fifth child, Penina prostrated herself at her feet and begged for mercy and they lived and were therefore considered as hers. This is R. Nechemya's opinion. R. Yehudah however says that grandchildren are considered as children. Some are of the opinion that the numerical value of שִׁבְעָה(377) is equivalent to that of שְׁמוּאֵל(377).</html>

Verse 9

<html>His pious ones. It is spelled חֲסִידוֹ “His pious one” but read חֲסִידָיו “His pious ones,” [meaning] whether a single one or many. Similarly “may His adversaries be broken.” [The reading is מְרִיבָיו “His adversaries” but] the spelling is מְרִיבוֹ “His adversary,” meaning whether a single adversary or many.</html>

Verse 10

<html>Let Him thunder against them from heaven. The spelling is עָלוּ “they have ascended” meaning that even if they have ascended to the heavens, He thunders upon them and casts them down. May Adonoy judge the ends of the earth. He judges and punishes them. Justisier in O. F.</html>

Verse 11

<html>Served Adonoy in the presence of Eili the kohein. From here [our Sages conclude] that “whoever serves before a Torah scholar is considered as though he had served before the Divine Presence.”⁸Talmud Yerushalmi Eruvin 5:1. The reason being that a Torah scholar cleaves to ‘ה in his thoughts at all times so that even his physical activities are holy.</html>

Verse 13

<html>The custom of the kohanim. They established this law for themselves, since they rightfully inherited only the breast and the thigh of the peace offering.</html>

Verse 14

<html>Pot. Fire pot. Pan. Cauldron. Bowl. Pan.</html>

Verse 17

<html>They had disgraced. Meaning despised.</html>

Verse 18

<html>A lad girded with a linen robe. [Targum renders] “כַּרְדּוּט of linen,” meaning a robe, for Targum Yonoson renders מְעִילִים in the passage כִּי כֵן תִּלְבַּשְׁנָה הַבְּתוּלוֹת מְעִילִים “for such so מְעִילִים were worn by the maidens…”,⁹II Shmuel 13:18. as כַּרְדוּטִין.</html>

Verse 19

<html>His mother would make for him a small robe. From year to year.</html>

Verse 20

<html>Eili would then bless them. This is the present tense, i.e., he would bless him every year. Because of the request that he had made. For himself a son. [Eili] would say to him, “May השם grant you seed, etc., i.e., may it be the Divine Will that all the children that you will have, will be from this righteous woman. This is an inverted sentence.</html>

Verse 22

<html>That they would lie. The explanation is according to the simple sense. Our Rabbis however said¹⁰In Maseches Yoma 9a-b. that since they delayed [the sacrifice of] their birds¹¹ See Vayikra 15:29 and 22:6-8. and they would wait until they would see their birds being offered, Scripture charges them as though they had lain with them.¹²See Maseches Shabbos 55b. Metzudas Dovid translates this phrase as “they would cause the women who assembled at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to sleep there,” thereby not allowing them to return to their homes and husbands.</html>

Verse 24

<html>That I hear being passed on by Adonoy's people. The rumor which השם's people are spreading about you, an expression similar to, “and they proclaimed [וַיַעֲבִירוּ] throughout the camp;¹³Shemos 36:6. meaning, they let out a rumor about you which is not good.¹⁴Although it was only a rumor, kohanim are held accountable even for an appearance of impropriety.</html>

Verse 25

<html>Tries him.וּפִלְלוֹ is an expression of judgment, as in, “and he shall pay by order of the judges ]פְלִילִים[.”¹⁵Shemos 21:22. Judge. The judge. For it was Adonoy's will to kill them. For their verdict had already been sealed.¹⁶See Maseches Rosh Hashanah 18b. Before the verdict is sealed however, Scripture states, “for I do not desire the death of one who should die.”¹⁷Yechezkeil 27:32.</html>

Verse 27

<html>The man of God came. This was Elkonoh. Have I not repeatedly revealed Myself to your ancestor's family. From here [our Sages concluded] that Aharon prophesied in Egypt. What was the prophecy? It is stated, “and I said to them, 'Every man, cast away the detestable idols of his eyes, do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt.'”¹⁸Ibid., 20:7. Have I not repeatėdly revealed Myself. Did you know that this favor and greatness I gave to Aharon.¹⁹Ralbag interprets this phrase as an affirmative statement, i.e., “I did indeed reveal myself to the…”</html>

Verse 29

<html>Which I commanded you [to bring in My] Sanctuary. Which I commanded in My dwelling place. To feed yourselves from the choice parts… This is an inverted sentence [meaning], “you honor your sons more than Me ,” ]לְעַמִּי[ before My people, i.e., in the eyes of My people, you honor your sons more than Me. And what is the honor? To feed yourselves from the choice parts of all the offerings of Yisroel. Your meal preceded My meal, as it is stated, “even before they would burn the fat…”²⁰Above Verse 15. To feed yourselves. [לְהַבְרִיאֲכֶם] is an expression of having a meal, as in, “Please let my sister Tamar come and serve [וְתַבְרֵנִי] me bread.”²¹ II Shmuel 13:5. My people. This reverts to, “you honor your sons more than Me.” You showed My people that you are more honored than I. And how have you shown this? By feeding yourselves from the choice parts of My offerings.²²It may also be interpreted as referring to the part of the sacrifice that belonged to the people who brought the offering, that Eili’s sons took for themselves.</html>

Verse 30

<html>I had indeed decreed. Twice I assigned greatness to the sons of Isomor: Concerning the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merori, it is stated, “Under the direction of Isomor, the son of Aharon the kohein.”²³ Bamidbar 4:33. And Eili was one of the descendants of Isomor. This [explanation] I saw in Midrash Shmuel. I have, however, heard a more fitting explanation: “I had indeed decreed that your family and your father's family…” Originally I made Elozor the kohein to serve as kohein gadol, as it is stated, “remove Aharon's vestments, [and dress Elozor his son in them].”²⁴Ibid., 20:26. However, at the time of the concubine,²⁵ See Shoftim Chapters 19-21. Yisroel divested themselves of most mitzvos. And who was to blame [for this]? Pinchas and his associate kohanim, who should have gone around from city to city to reprove them. I therefore took the kehunah gedolah away from them, and gave it to you, for you are of Isomor's descendants, and I said, that they shall walk before Me forever; for when greatness is assigned to a person, it is assigned to him and to his generations forever. For I honor those who honor Me. Pinchas' descendants who honored Me at Shittim.²⁶Bamidbar 25:7-8. And this happened in the days of Shlomo, that when the Temple was built, Shlomo dismissed Evyosor from being a kohein [gadol] to 'ה, fulfilling the word of 'ה which He had spoken concerning Eili's family.²⁷ I Melochim 2:27. And Tzadok became the kohein gadol, because he was of Pinchas' descendants; he is so listed in the genealogical records in Divrei Hayomim.²⁸I Divrei Hayomim 6:35-38. And those who dishonor Me will be cursed. By. themselves, when I will withdraw Myself from them.²⁹Referring to Eili’s sons from whom the kehunah gedolah would be removed in the time of Shlomo Hamelech.</html>

Verse 31

<html>I shall cut off your arm. I.e., the power which you exert in My House, for you say, “or else I will take it by force.”</html>

Verse 32

<html>And you will see a rival [in My] Sanctuary. And you will see your rival at your side in My Sanctuary just as a woman who sees her rival with her in the house. Throughout all the good that He will bring upon Yisroel. When the Temple will be built in the days of Shlomo, and the goodness promised to Yisroel will be complete, as it is said there, “Not one word has gone unfulfilled from His entire gracious promise.³⁰I Melochim 8:56. Yehudah and Yisroel were numerous, like the sand that is by the sea.³¹Ibid. 4:20. And Yehudah and Yisroel dwelt in security, each man under his grapevine and under his fig tree… all the days of Shlomo.”³²Ibid. 5:5. But there will be no elder in your family. This is an appropriate punishment. You ate sacrifices before the [permitted] time, before they burnt the fat, so too, you will die before your time.</html>

Verse 33

<html>And sadden.וְלַאֲדִיב is the same as ³³See Devorim 28:65.וְלַדְאִיב [disillusioned]. Will die as [young] men. Young. There is no comparison between the mourning for a young man and the mourning for a child.³⁴Whose loss though tragic, is less keenly felt than the loss of a young man.</html>

Verse 34

<html>This is the sign to you. That the prophecy will be fulfilled: In one day your two sons will die, and this will be the sign for you for the fulfillment³⁵He needed a sign in the near future to authenticate the prophecy that all the punishments described will come true. of all the retribution that was said to you, “and you will see a rival in My Sanctuary,” “and all those raised in your house will die as [young] men.”³⁶Above verses 32-33.</html>

Verse 35

<html>A faithful kohein. Tzadok.</html>

Verse 36

<html>For a silver coin. In order to earn a מָעָה silver coin. Silver coin. with a weight of twenty gerah.³⁷Shemos 30:13. Let me be included. Let me to join.</html>

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Table of Contents

1 Samuel 2

1 Samuel 2

Notes

Cross Reference

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 4

Verse 5

Verse 9

Verse 10

Verse 11

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 17

Verse 18

Verse 19

Verse 20

Verse 22

Verse 24

Verse 25

Verse 27

Verse 29

Verse 30

Verse 31

Verse 32

Verse 33

Verse 34

Verse 35

Verse 36