1 Samuel 1

Notes

[Ver. 1. Ramathaim-zophim. This is the only place in Scripture in which the full name occurs. In other places it is written simply Ramah, of which Ramathaim appears to be the dual ('the two Ramahs'), and Zophim indicates that Zuph, one of Samuel's ancestors, had migrated from his home in Ephrata and settled in a district which was thence called 'the land of Zuph,' 1 Sa. 9. 5. The position of the city is one of the great difficulties of biblical geography. Some seven or eight different localities have been mentioned by different writers as its probable site. None of them appear to me to accord with all the statements of the sacred writers. From a careful comparison of these statements, I have been led to conclude that Ramah was situated a few miles to the west or south-west of Bethlehem; but the exact site is unknown. P.——An Ephrathite. Not that Elkanah was an Ephraimite, that is, of the tribe of Ephraim, but merely a dweller in one of the Levitical cities within the bounds of that tribe; for Elkanah was a Levite, and of the family of Kohath, 1 Ch. 6. 34; 33. 27, 28. C.]

Ver. 3. [Lord of hosts. The title here for the first time used appears to be an abbreviation of Jehovah God of Hosts. It is applied to the Lord as the supreme Ruler of the universe, who governs all the powers of heaven, visible and invisible, who rules the spheres, and exercises dominion over the earth and all that is therein. P.]

Ver. 9. [Temple of the Lord. From mention of the temple, some have supposed that this book was not written till after the time of Solomon. But as the temple is mentioned, Ps. 5. 7; 25. 4, in the time of David, no inference as to time can be drawn from the use of the word. C.]

Ver. 11. [And she vowed a vow. There was a twofold vow—1st. That the son she prayed for should be dedicated to the Lord, and should serve him all his life; 2d. That he should be a Nazarite, as is implied in the words 'there shall no razor come upon his head.' As a descendant of Levi his business was to serve the Lord; but by his maternal vow he was bound to a still closer and holier service. P.——Remember me, and not forget thine handmaid. These are not equivalent expressions, approaching tautology, but expressions in which the thoughts vary from each other with the delicacy with which the commingling colours in a painting vary, yet concur. She pleads, (1) Her affliction; (2) Entreats remembrance of her without any characteristic; (3) Prays not to be forgotten as an handmaid, a servant;—all just arguments of prayer, which she had a right to plead with God, to whom she looks in faith, through sacrifice.—I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. As a Kohathite, see ver. 1, he was devoted to the Lord from 25 to 50, but his mother devotes him from his birth, and all his days after 50. An emblem of true Christian education, in which a parent 'trains up a child in the way he should go;' and of believing perseverance, for, 'when such an one is old, he will not depart from it.' C.]

Ver. 16. [Belial is not a proper name; it signifies 'worthlessness.' 'A daughter of worthlessness' is equivalent to 'a worthless woman;' the quality being here, as is common in Hebrew idiom, personified. P.]

Reflections.—A divided family is most unhappy: and they bring upon themselves redoubled trouble and vexation who dare transgress God's institution of marriage in order to obtain redoubled pleasures. Rarely do we behave aright under either remarkable prosperity or remarkable adversity: under the former, the heart swells with pride; under the latter, it sinks and rends with discontent and murmuring. The fretfulness of our temper often lays us open to continual uneasiness; and the unthankfulness of our heart doubles our affliction by overlooking our mercies. But sinful and hurtful is that grief which diverts us from our duty to God, and imbitters the comfort which we have in him. Our most deserved crosses are abundantly mixed with undeserved mercies; and religion and reason will afford us a cure. Distress ought to make us double our diligence in attending on the ordinances of God. Fervent prayers and solemn vows are often means of relief to broken spirits: yea, it is peculiarly becoming under sore trials, and amidst general apostasy and profaneness, to be punctual and earnest attenders on the ordinances of God. But base and devilish must that spirit be which can take pleasure to vex the distressed in mind, even when they are attending upon God's solemn worship. It is more becoming to balance others' abuse with our tender affection, and do all that we can to comfort those who are cast down. For peculiarly afflicting is it to perplexed souls to have the godly, and even ministers, misinterpreting their wrestlings with God as hypocrisy and wickedness. Yet, however distressing, injurious reproach should always be answered with the greatest candour and meekness. And men, convinced of their mistake, should turn their sinful censures into fervent prayers for the persons injured. Devotions towards God ought to be preferred to every convenience of our own. Early and earnest devotions are the best presages of happy days and successful undertakings: and nothing but works of necessity and mercy ought to detain us from the solemn worship of God. With the most distinguished expressions of gratitude ought we to commemorate the mercies which we have received in answer to our prayers. Children ought to be carefully trained up, not merely with an eye to the law of nature, as they are ours, but chiefly with an eye to the promise of grace, as they are given to God. And with great care and expedition ought we to perform our vows, particularly in the solemn surrender of our children to God.