Anna the wife of Elcana being barren, by vow and prayer obtaineth a son: whom she calleth Samuel: and presenteth him to the service of God in Silo, according to her vow.
Elcana hauing two wiues, the one called Anna, is barren, and for the same is reproched by the other, called Phenenna. 9. Anna voweth, and prayeth for a man child, 19. conceiueth and beareth a sonne, calleth him Samuel: 24. and presenteth him to the seruice of God in Silo.
1There was a man of Ramathaimsophim, of Mount Ephraim, and his name was Elcana, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliu, the son of Thohu, the son of Suph, an Ephraimite:Vi fu un uomo della montagna di Ephraim, della città di Ramathaim Sophim, che avea nome Elcana, figliuolo di Jeroham, figliuolo di Eliu, figliuolo di Thohu, figliuolo di Suph, Ephrateo:THERE was a man of Ramathaimsophim, of mount Ephraim, & his name Elcana, the sonne of Ieroham, the sonne of Eliu, the sonne of Thohu, the sonne of Suph, an Ephraite:Fuit vir unus de Ramathaimsophim, de monte Ephraim, et nomen ejus Elcana, filius Jeroham, filii Eliu, filii Thohu, filii Suph, Ephrathæus: 2And he had two wives, the name of one was Anna, and the name of the other Phenenna. Phenenna had children: but Anna had no children.Ed ebbe due mogli, una per nome Anna, la seconda per nome Phenenna. E Phenenna avea figliuoli, ma Anna non ne aveva.and he had two wiues, the name of one was Anna, and the name of the second Phenenna. Phenenna had children: but Anna had not children.et habuit duas uxores, nomen uni Anna, et nomen secundæ Phenenna. Fueruntque Phenennæ filii: Annæ autem non erant liberi. 3And this man went up out of his city upon the appointed days, to adore and to offer sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Silo. And the two sons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, were there priests of the Lord.E quest'uomo andava nei giorni determinati dalla sua città ad adorare, e offerir sacrifizii al Signore degli eserciti a Silo: e ivi erano i due figliuoli di Eli, Ophni, e Phinees, sacerdoti del Signore.And that man went vp from his citie vpon ordinarie dayes, to adore and sacrifice vnto the Lord of hostes in Silo. And there were the two sonnes of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, priestes of our Lord.Et ascendebat vir ille de civitate sua statutis diebus, ut adoraret et sacrificaret Domino exercituum in Silo. Erant autem ibi duo filii Heli, Ophni et Phinees, sacerdotes Domini. 4Now the day came, and Elcana offered sacrifice, and gave to Phenenna, his wife, and to all her sons and daughters, portions:Venuto adunque un dì (solenne) Elcana offerse sacrifizio, e diede le parti a Phenenna sua moglie, e a tutti i figliuoli di lei, e figliuole:The day came therfore, & Elcana immolated, and gaue to Phenenna his wife, & to al her sonnes and daughters partes:Venit ergo dies, et immolavit Elcana, deditque Phenennæ uxori suæ, et cunctis filiis ejus et filiabus, partes: 5But to Anna he gave one portion with sorrow, because he loved Anna. And the Lord had shut up her womb.Diede poi una sola parte ad Anna, afflitto, perchè ei l'amava: e il Signore l'avea fatta sterile.but to Anna he gaue one part with heauie cheere, because he loued Anna. And our Lord had shut her matrice.Annæ autem dedit partem unam tristis, quia Annam diligebat. Dominus autem concluserat vulvam ejus.
6Her rival also afflicted her, and troubled her exceedingly, insomuch that she upbraided her, that the Lord had shut up her womb:Ed ella era anche inquietata, e tormentata dalla sua rivale, a segno che questa le rinfacciava la sterilità mandatale dal Signore:Her aduersarie also afflicted her, and vexed her sore, in so much that she vp brayded her, that our Lord had shut her matrice:Affligebat quoque eam æmula ejus, et vehementer angebat, in tantum ut exprobraret quod Dominus conclusisset vulvam ejus: 7And thus she did every year, when the time returned, that they went up to the temple of the Lord: and thus she provoked her: but Anna wept, and did not eat.E così faceva tutti gli anni, allorché tornava la stagione di andare al tempio del Signore: e così la tribolava, ed ella piangeva, e non prendeva cibo.and so did she euerie yeare, when the time returned, that they went vp to the temple of our Lord: and so she prouoked her: moreouer she wept, and tooke not meat.sicque faciebat per singulos annos: cum redeunte tempore ascenderent ad templum Domini, et sic provocabat eam: porro illa flebat, et non capiebat cibum. 8Then Elcana, her husband, said to her: Anna, why weepest thou? and why dost thou not eat? and why dost thou afflict thy heart? Am not I better to thee than ten children?Ma Elcana suo marito le disse: Anna perchè piangi tu? e perchè non mangi? e perchè si affanna il cuor tuo? non son'io qualche cosa di meglio per te, che dieci figliuoli?Elcana therfore her husband said to her: Anna, why weepest thou? and why doest thou not eate? and wherfore doest thou afflict thy hart? Am not I better to thee, then tenne children?Dixit ergo ei Elcana vir suus: Anna, cur fles ? et quare non comedis ? et quam ob rem affligitur cor tuum ? numquid non ego melior tibi sum, quam decem filii ? 9So Anna arose after she had eaten and drunk in Silo: And Heli, the priest, sitting upon a stool before the door of the temple of the Lord;E Anna si alzò dopo aver mangiato, e bevuto in Silo. E sedendo Heli sommo sacerdote sulla sua sedia davanti alla porta del tempio del Signore,And Anna arose after she had eaten and drunke in Silo. And Heli the priest sitting vpon a Stoole before the postes of the house of our Lord,Surrexit autem Anna postquam comederat et biberat in Silo. Et Heli sacerdote sedente super sellam ante postes templi Domini, 10As Anna had her heart full of grief, she prayed to the Lord, shedding many tears,Anna col cuore amareggiato andò a pregare il Signore, spargendo gran copia di lacrime,wheras Anna had a heauie hart, she praied to our Lord, weeping aboundantly,cum esset Anna amaro animo, oravit ad Dominum, flens largiter, 11And she made a vow, saying: O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt look down on the affliction of thy servant, and wilt be mindful of me, and not forget thy handmaid, and wilt give to thy servant a manchild: I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.E fece voto, e disse: Signor degli eserciti, se tu volgerai l'occhio a mirar l'afflizione della tua serva, e ti ricorderai di me, e non lascerai dimenticata la tua serva, e darai alla tua schiava un figlio maschio, io l'offerirò al Signore per tutti i giorni della sua vita, e il rasojo non passerà sulla testa di lui.and she vowed a vowe, saying: O Lord of hostes, if regarding thou wilt behold the affliction of thy seruant, and wilt be mindeful of me, and not forgette thy handmaide, and wilt geue vnto thy seruant a man childe: I wil geue him to our Lord al the daies of his life, & the rasour shal not come vpon his head.et votum vovit, dicens: Domine exercituum, si respiciens videris afflictionem famulæ tuæ, et recordatus mei fueris, nec oblitus ancillæ tuæ, dederisque servæ tuæ sexum virilem: dabo eum Domino omnibus diebus vitæ ejus, et novacula non ascendet super caput ejus.
12And it came to pass, as she multiplied prayers before the Lord, that Heli observed her mouth.E avvenne, che, pregando ella, e ripregando dinanzi al Signore, Heli la stava osservando.And it came to passe, when she multiplied praiers before our Lord, that Heli obserued her mouth.Factum est autem, cum illa multiplicaret preces coram Domino, ut Heli observaret os ejus. 13Now Anna spoke in her heart, and only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard at all. Heli therefore thought her to be drunk,Or Anna parlava in cuor suo: e si movevano solamente le sue labbra, ma non si sentiva niente la voce. Credette perciò Heli, che ella fosse briaca:Moreouer Anna spake in her hart, and onlie her lippes moued, and voice there was not heard at al. Heli therfore thought her to be drunke,Porro Anna loquebatur in corde suo, tantumque labia illius movebantur, et vox penitus non audiebatur. Æstimavit ergo eam Heli temulentam, 14And said to her: How long wilt thou be drunk? digest a little the wine, of which thou hast taken too much.E le disse: Sino a quando durerà la tua ebbrezza? Digerisci un po' il vino, di cui se' zeppa.and sayd to her: How long wilt thou be drunke? digest a litle the wyne, wherwith thou art wette.dixitque ei: Usquequo ebria eris ? digere paulisper vinum, quo mades. 15Anna answering, said: Not so, my lord: for I am an exceeding unhappy woman, and have drunk neither wine nor any strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the Lord.Rispose Anna: Non è così, signor mio: perocché io sono una donna troppo infelice, e non ho bevuto nè vino, nè altra cosa, che possa inebriare, ma stava spandendo l'anima mia nel cospetto del Signore.Anna answering, Not so, quoth she, my lord: for I am an exceding vnhappie woman, and wine and whatsoeuer may inebriate, I haue not drunke, but I haue powred out my soule in the sight of our Lord.Respondens Anna: Nequaquam, inquit, domine mi: nam mulier infelix nimis ego sum: vinumque et omne quod inebriare potest, non bibi, sed effudi animam meam in conspectu Domini. 16Count not thy handmaid for one of the daughters of Belial: for out of the abundance of my sorrow and grief have I spoken till now.Non pensare, che la tua serva sia quasi una delle figlie di Belial: perocché la grandezza del dolore, e dell'afflizione mia mi ha fatto parlare sino adesso.Account not thy handmaide as one of the daughters of Belial: for of the multitude of my sorrow and heauines haue I spoken vntil this present.Ne reputes ancillam tuam quasi unam de filiabus Belial: quia ex multitudine doloris et mœroris mei locuta sum usque in præsens. 17Then Heli said to her: Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition, which thou hast asked of him.Allora Heli le disse: Va in pace, e il Dio d'Israele ti conceda l'effetto della petizione, che hai fatto a lui.Then Heli saied to her: Goe in peace: and the God of Israel geue thee thy petition, which thou hast asked him.Tunc Heli ait ei: Vade in pace: et Deus Israël det tibi petitionem tuam quam rogasti eum.
18And she said: Would to God thy handmaid may find grace in thy eyes. So the woman went on her way, and ate, and her countenance was no more changed.Ed ella disse: Piaccia a Dio, che la tua serva trovi grazia negli occhi tuoi. E se n'andò la donna pel suo viaggio, e mangiò, e il suo volto non fu più or di un colore, or di un altro.But she sayd: Would God thy handmaide may find grace in thyne eyes. And the woman went on her way, and did eate, and her countenance was no more changed otherwise.Et illa dixit: Utinam inveniat ancilla tua gratiam in oculis tuis. Et abiit mulier in viam suam, et comedit, vultusque illius non sunt amplius in diversa mutati. 19And they rose in the morning, and worshipped before the Lord: and they returned, and came into their house at Ramatha. And Elcana knew Anna his wife: And the Lord remembered her.E la mattina alzatisi fecero adorazione dinanzi al Signore, e partirono, e giunsero a casa loro a Ramatha. Ed Elcana conobbe Anna sua moglie: e il Signore si ricordò di lei.And they rose in the morning, and adored before our Lord: and they returned, & came into their house to Ramatha. And Elcana knew Anna his wife: and our Lord remembred her.Et surrexerunt mane, et adoraverunt coram Domino: reversique sunt, et venerunt in domum suam Ramatha. Cognovit autem Elcana Annam uxorem suam: et recordatus est ejus Dominus. 20And it came to pass when the time was come about, Anna conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel: because she had asked him of the Lord.E dopo un giro di giorni Anna concepì e partorì un figlio, e gli pose nome Samuele, perchè lo avea domandato al Signore.And it came to passe after a certaine compasse of dayes, Anna conceiued & bare a sonne, and called his name Samuel: because she asked him of our Lord.Et factum est post circulum dierum, concepit Anna, et peperit filium: vocavitque nomen ejus Samuel, eo quod a Domino postulasset eum. 21And Elcana, her husband, went up, and all his house, to offer to the Lord the solemn sacrifice, and his vow.Andò poi Elcana suo marito con tutta la sua famiglia per immolare al Signore ostia solenne, (e sciorre) il suo voto:And Elcana her husband went vp, and al her house, to immolat vnto our Lord the solemne hoste, and his vowe,Ascendit autem vir ejus Elcana, et omnis domus ejus, ut immolaret Domino hostiam solemnem, et votum suum. 22But Anna went not up: for she said to her husband: I will not go till the child be weaned, and till I may carry him, that he may appear before the Lord, and may abide always there.Ma Anna non andò, perchè diss'ella a suo marito: Io non andrò per sino a tanto che il bambino sia divezzato, e io lo conduca e lo presenti al cospetto del Signore, ed egli ivi si resti per sempre.and Anna went not vp: for she sayd to her husband: I wil not goe til the infant be weaned, and til I may bring him, that he may appeare before the sight of our Lord, and may remayne there continually.Et Anna non ascendit: dixit enim viro suo: Non vadam donec ablactetur infans, et ducam eum, ut appareat ante conspectum Domini, et maneat ibi jugiter.
23And Elcana, her husband, said to her: Do what seemeth good to thee, and stay till thou wean him: and I pray that the Lord may fulfil his word. So the woman staid at home, and gave her son suck, till she weaned him.E dissele il suo marito Elcana: Fa quello che ti pare, e rimanti fino a tanto che lo divezzi: e io prego il Signore, che adempia la sua parola. La donna adunque rimase a casa, e allattò il suo figliuolo sin che fu divezzato.And Elcana her husband sayd to her: Doe that which seemeth good to thee, and tarie til thou weane him: and I pray that our Lord fulfil his word. The woman therfore taried, and gaue her sonne sucke, til she remoued him from the milke.Et ait ei Elcana vir suus: Fac quod bonum tibi videtur, et mane donec ablactes eum: precorque ut impleat Dominus verbum suum. Mansit ergo mulier, et lactavit filium suum, donec amoveret eum a lacte. 24And after she had weaned him, she carried him with her, with three calves, and three bushels of flour, and a bottle of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord in Silo. Now the child was as yet very young:E divezzato che fu, lo menò seco, e prese tre vitelli, e tre misure di farina, e un vaso pieno di vino, e menollo alla casa del Signore a Silo. Ora il fanciullo era tuttor piccolino:And she brought him with her, after she had weaned him, with three calues, & three bushels of meale, and a flagon of wine, and she brought him to the house of our Lord in Silo. But the childe was yet a litle infant:Et adduxit eum secum, postquam ablactaverat, in vitulis tribus, et tribus modiis farinæ, et amphora vini, et adduxit eum ad domum Domini in Silo. Puer autem erat adhuc infantulus: 25And they immolated a calf, and offered the child to Heli.E immolarono un vitello, e presentarono il fanciullo ad Heli.and they immolated a calfe, and offered the childe to Heli.et immolaverunt vitulum, et obtulerunt puerum Heli. 26And Anna said: I beseech thee, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord: I am that woman, who stood before thee here praying to the Lord.E Anna disse: Signor mio, per l'anima tua bada a me, o signore: Io son quella donna che stava qui a te davanti, pregando il Signore.And Anna said: I besech thee my lord, thy soule liueth my lord: I am that woman, which stoode before thee here praying our Lord.Et ait Anna: Obsecro mi domine, vivit anima tua, domine: ego sum illa mulier, quæ steti coram te hic orans Dominum. 27For this child did I pray, and the Lord hath granted me my petition, which I asked of him.Per aver questo bambino io pregava, e il Signore mi ha conceduto la grazia che io gli domandava.For this childe did I pray, and our Lord hath geuen me my petition, which I asked him.Pro puero isto oravi, et dedit mihi Dominus petitionem meam quam postulavi eum.
28Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord all the days of his life, he shall be lent to the Lord. And they adored the Lord there. And Anna prayed, and said:Per questo io pure lo dono al Signore per tutti i giorni, pe' quali sarà egli donato al Signore. E adorarono ivi il Signore. E Anna orò, e disse:Therfore I also haue geuen him to our Lord al the daies, which he shal liue, that he may be applied to our Lord. And they adored our Lord there. And Anna prayed, and sayd:Idcirco et ego commodavi eum Domino cunctis diebus quibus fuerit commodatus Domino. Et adoraverunt ibi Dominum. Et oravit Anna, et ait:
1:1
Calmet
There. Hebrew, Septuagint, etc., "And there," etc. The books of Scripture are thus frequently connected. The authors present us with a series of events, without prefixing any title, or their own names, that our attention may be wholly fixed on what we read. The birth of Samuel being so miraculous, deserves to be recorded, as he was the last judge of Israel, and had so much to do under the first of their kings, whose election and misconduct brought a great change into the state of the commonwealth. (Calmet)
Calmet
Ramathaimsophim. Rama, or Ramatha, "a height," and the environs were occupied by the family of Suph, a descendant of Core; (1 Paralipomenon 6:29.) though the place did not properly belong to the Levites. It lay probably between Gabaa and Bethel, where Samuel spent much of his time, while he was judge, and obliged to be frequently absent from the tabernacle. (Calmet)
Ragusinus and Prince Radzivil think it was afterwards called Arimathea, the birth-place of Joseph, and now Ramula. (Tirinus) (Chap. 2:11.)
Challoner
Ephraimite. He was of the tribe of Levi, (1 Paraliponmenon 6:34.) but is called an Ephraimites from dwelling in Mount Ephraim. (Challoner)
Tirinus
So we read of Cretan Jews, Acts 2:11. (Tirinus)
1:2
Phenenna. She was only of inferior dignity. At that time polygamy was lawful, (Menochius) as Moses insinuates, if he do not expressly allow it.
1:3
Calmet
Days, the three great festivals. His family accompanied him, though the law only lays an express injunction upon the males to attend. We find, however, that females did not neglect to come. (Calmet)
Haydock
Hosts. Hebrew (Tsebaoth) of "armies," both of angels and of Israel. God is attended by myriads of angels, and decides the fate of armies. (Haydock)
Calmet
This title has not appeared in the former books. The pagans took occasion from it to form their Jupiter Sabazius. (Calmet)
Tirinus
Elcana might go up from the height of Ramatha to Silo, which was the highest mountain round Jerusalem of all in the holy land. (Adrichom.) (Tirinus)
1:4
Calmet
Sacrificed, by the hand of the priests, (Menochius) who had the breast and right shoulder; the rest was given back to the person who had presented the fattened victim, that he might feast with his friends. (Calmet)
1:5
Haydock
With sorrow. Hebrew apayim, "of faces, indignation, (Calmet) sorrow;" (Menochius) or that was presented before him. Chaldean and many others translate, "a chosen:" (Calmet) Protestants, "a worthy portion." (Haydock)
Chardin
The shew-bread is called, "the bread of the face," because it stood before the Lord. Joseph sent to each of his brethren, "a portion of his faces," as the Hebrew expresses it; (Genesis 43:33.) or of such meat as was placed upon his table. In the East, the master of a family has all set before him, and he sends to each his portion, to the place where he is sitting. (Chardin, Perse.)
Haydock
Thus Elcana sent some more excellent, or "double," part to his beloved Anna, (Calmet) grieving inwardly that she had no children, to whom he might also send. (Haydock)
Menochius
By this distinction, he wished to alleviate the sorrow of his wife. (Menochius)
Calmet
Womb. Sterility was deemed a curse, and a mark of God's displeasure, with which women were often reproached. Hence Anna prays so earnestly that God would be mindful of her, ver. 11-19. The power of the Almighty, in giving children to the barren, is frequently mentioned, Genesis 28:13., and Psalm 112:9. (Calmet)
Haydock
Luke 1:25., etc. (Haydock)
1:6
Calmet
Insomuch. Hebrew, "to make her fret, or rage; because the Lord," etc. (Calmet)
1:7
Haydock
Lord. Then they could hardly avoid being together on the road, and Anna was accustomed to pray earnestly (Menochius) to be delivered from her reproach. (Haydock)
1:9
Year of the World 2848, Year before Christ 1156.
Menochius
Silo; either in some private house, or in the porch before the tabernacle. She complied with the entreaty of her husband. (Menochius)
Stool. Hebrew, "Heli was sitting upon a throne, near the steps, leading to the palace of the Lord." It is also called the temple, or the house of God, though it was only a tent, Matthew 12:4., etc. Perhaps women were not allowed to go beyond the porch.
1:11
A vow; rightly trusting that her husband would give his consent, Numbers 30:7.
Calmet
Razor. Hebrew mora, "scissors." Septuagint, "iron." Some copies add, "he shall not drink wine, nor any intoxicating drink." In quality of Levite, Samuel was bound to serve the tabernacle from 25 or 30 years of age till he was 50, Numbers 4:2. Anna consecrates him to the Lord for life, and promises that he shall be a Nazarite, like Samson, and St. John the Baptist. The law prescribes no rules for these perpetual Nazarites, Numbers 6:3. Many of the ancients believe that Samuel always observed the prescriptions of Moses, and abstained from intoxicating liquors; though the Hebrew and Vulgate are silent on this head. We find that during his administration as Judge, he was not able to continue always near the tabernacle. (Calmet)
Worthington
When he came to years of discretion, he might depart if he thought proper, like other Levites. Had he been of another tribe, he must have been redeemed. (Worthington)
Salien
Esther, Elcana, or Samuel, might have annulled this vow. (Salien, the year of the world 2900.)
1:12
Prayers, out of fervour; not through vain superstition and ostentation, as the Pharisees and pagans did, Matthew 23:14. Christ does not condemn many, or long prayers, since he prayed whole nights for our instruction, Luke 21:43., and 6:12., and 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
Calmet
Mouth. He tried, but could not hear what she said. (Calmet)
1:14
St. Chrysostom
Much. Heli's "son or servant," (paidarion, according to the Septuagint) addressed these words to Anna. Her going to pray immediately after a feast, instead of taking recreation, increased the suspicion. (St. Chrysostom, hom. 1.)
Haydock
Salien (the year before Christ 1153) observes the many instances of patience which Anna exhibits on this occasion. (Haydock)
Du Hamel
She teaches us not to answer the unjust reproaches of our superiors with haughtiness. (Du Hamel)
1:15
Haydock
My lord. She gives him this title, though he had called her a drunken woman. (Haydock)
Calmet
Unhappy. Hebrew, "of a hard (or afflicted) spirit." See Canticle of Canticles 8:6. (Calmet)
1:16
Haydock
Belial; "without restraint;" abandoned. (Haydock)
Septuagint, "pestiferous."
Haydock
Sorrow. Hebrew, "meditation;" (Calmet) what preys upon my spirits. (Haydock)
1:17
Menochius
Peace, with all blessings. (Menochius)
1:18
Eyes: that thou wouldst lay aside thy suspicions against my character, and pray (Calmet) that I may obtain so great a happiness.
Haydock
Changed. Hebrew, "no more," as it had been sad, and defaced with tears. (Haydock)
Menochius
She was now full of hope and joy. (Menochius)
Calmet
Septuagint, "her countenance fell not." She was not moved with anger or with jealousy, Genesis 4:6. (Calmet)
1:20
Year of the World 2849, Year before Christ 1155.
About, at the expiration of the year, which term the ancients frequently allowed between the conception and the nativity, Genesis 18:10.
Challoner
Samuel. This name imports, asked of God. (Challoner)
Tirinus
Some letters are omitted for the easier pronunciation, as the Hebrews would now write it, Saul-meel; (Calmet) or it may signify, "God placed him," sum-hal. (Tirinus)
Menochius
Shaal means, "to ask." But Vatable thinks that Anna retained only the first letter. (Menochius)
1:21
Calmet
Vow, in consequence of his son's nativity. The sacrifice might be of precept, such as the paschal lamb, or for his wife's purification and the redemption of his first-born, as they could not attend in person. (Calmet)
Menochius
Hebrew, "the victim of days and his vow," which he had probably made in conjunction with Anna. (Menochius)
1:22
Weaned. The mother of the Machabees weaned her children when they were three years old; (2 Machabees 7:27.) which Gallien asserts as the proper time, though Avicenna fixes upon two years. See Genesis 21:8. Iremellius translates, "till the child be grown up." But we must not allow any long term, since he was very young when he was presented to the Lord, ver. 24.
1:23
Haydock
Word, by preserving the life of the child, (Calmet) and enabling him to serve according to our engagement. (Haydock)
Menochius
Word is often put for "a thing," in Hebrew. May God perfect his own work. (Menochius)
1:24
Three calves. Septuagint, "a calf three years old," such as Abraham sacrificed, Genesis 15:9. We only find one offered up, ver. 25.
Haydock
Bushels. Hebrew epha, (Calmet) each of which contained three bushels or measures, Ruth 2:17. (Haydock)
Calmet
Bottle. Hebrew nebel, a large measure containing above 87 pints. (Calmet)
The sacrifices seem to have been for thanksgiving, accompanied with an ephi for each calf, and with wine, Numbers xv., and Ezechiel 46:7.
1:26
Menochius
Liveth: a strong attestation. (Menochius)
As sure as you live; or, may you enjoy a long and happy life. See 1 Kings 17:55., and 20:3., Daniel 3:9., and 2 Esdras 2:3.
1:28
Calmet
Lent. This is equivalent to giving entirely. Anna presents her son to the Lord, to serve in his tabernacle as long as God shall think proper. He dispensed with his personal attendance, when he appointed him judge, 1 Kings 7:15. (Calmet)
Menochius
As much as depended on Samuel's mother, he was consecrated for ever. But he was at liberty to ratify the vow if he pleased. (Menochius)
Calmet
The expression, lent, seems to reserve the dominion of the thing, which Anna had entirely given up, so that we might translate the Hebrew, "Therefore I have him simply as one lent....he is a thing lent, which belongs to the Lord." (Calmet)
Haydock
They. Hebrew, "he worshipped the Lord there." Grabe found not these words in the Alexandrian copy, which by comparison of this chapter with the the Vatican edition, appears to be more accurate. Both omit this sentence: but it is found in the Aldine edition of the Septuagint Proleg., 1 Kings 4:The Targum adds, "and she prayed in the spirit of prophecy, and said." (Haydock)
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An Ephraimite.... He was of the tribe of Levi, 1. Par. 6.34, but is called an Ephraimite from dwelling in mount Ephraim.
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Samuel.... This name imports, asked of God.
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The first part. Of the gouernments of Heli and Samuel: and of changing the state into a kingdome.
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This childe being of the tribe of Leui, though not of Aarons stock, was lawfully vowed to the seruice of the tabernacle, by his parentes during his childhood, but coming to yeares of discretion he was at his owne electiō to continew, or to depart. If he had bene of anie other tribe, he must haue bene redemed. Leuit. 27.
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Fasting 7
… but in the days of his son I will bring it upon (him)”—(his son), who was not to fast. Thus a God-ward fast is a work of reverential awe: and by its means also Hannah the wife of Elkanah making suit, barren as she had been beforetime, easily obtained from God the filling of her belly, empty of food, with a son, ay, and a prophet.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 3
However, let us see the proofs which they produce to us. “In the beginning,” it is said, “God made the Heaven and the earth, and the earth was invisible and unformed.” ( Gen. i. 2 .) And, “There ‘was’ a man of Ramathaim Zophim.” (
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St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.14
Joachim then took to wife that revered and praiseworthy woman, Anna. But just as the earlier Anna
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.13
… that of Joshua being built at Timnath-serah “on the north side of the hill of Gaash,” and that of Eleazar “in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son.” She was somewhat surprised to find that he who had had the distribution of the land in his own hands had selected for himself portions uneven and rocky. What shall I say about Shiloh where a ruined altar
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 24
… So that the delay is not the result of envy or of witchcraft, but of providential kindness. When therefore ye hear the Scripture saying, that “the Lord had shut up her womb” (
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St Ephrem the Syrian † AD 373 Ephraim Syrus: Nineteen Hymns on the Nativity of Christ in the Flesh 6
Hannah with bitter tears asked a child; Sarah and Rebecca with vows and words, Elizabeth also with her prayer, after having vexed themselves for a long time, yet so obtained comfort.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 24
… So that the delay is not the result of envy or of witchcraft, but of providential kindness. When therefore ye hear the Scripture saying, that “the Lord had shut up her womb” ( ver. 5, 6 .), and that, “her rival provoked her sore”; consider that it is His intention to prove the woman’s seriousness. For, mark, she had a husband devoted to her, for he said (
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 24
Wouldest thou understand what watchfulness in prayer is? Go to Hannah, hearken to her very words, “Adonai Eloi Sabaoth.” ( 1 Sam. i. 11 .) Nay, rather, hear what preceded those words; “they all rose up,” says the history, “from the table” (
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 40
… Have you an infant child? Do not let sin get any opportunity, but let him be sanctified from his childhood; from his very tenderest age let him be consecrated by the Spirit. Fearest thou the Seal on account of the weakness of nature? O what a small-souled mother, and of how little faith! Why, Anna even before Samuel was born
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 10
… call upon Him for the salvation of your own soul; then he will be present, then you will delight Him; whereas now you provoke Him to anger. Call upon Him as Stephen did; “Lord,” he said, “lay not this sin to their charge.” ( ch. vii. 59 .) Call upon Him as did the wife of Elkanah, with tears and sobs, and prayers. (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 24
… Let us be ashamed, us that are men, at the example of this woman; let us be ashamed, that are suing and gasping for a kingdom, at her, praying and weeping for a little child. “And she stood,” it says, “before the Lord” (
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Fasting 9
… “mingling, moreover, his drink with weeping”—of course, instead of wine. For abstinence from wine withal has honourable badges of its own: (an abstinence) which had dedicated Samuel, and consecrated Aaron, to God. For of Samuel his mother said: “And wine and that which is intoxicating shall he not drink:”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 24
Wouldest thou understand what watchfulness in prayer is? Go to Hannah, hearken to her very words, “Adonai Eloi Sabaoth.” (
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 On the Lord's Prayer 5
… She spoke not with her voice, but with her heart, because she knew that thus God hears; and she effectually obtained what she sought, because she asked it with belief. Divine Scripture asserts this, when it says, “She spake in her heart, and her lips moved, and her voice was not heard; and God did hear her.”
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril procatechesis-or-prologue-to-t.14
… And again let the party of young women sit together in like manner, either singing or reading quietly, so that their lips speak, but others’ ears catch not the sound: for I suffer not a woman to speak in the Church . And let the married woman also follow the same example, and pray; and let her lips move, but her voice be unheard, that a Samuel
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 6
… those which trickle down secretly and in closets, and in sight of no man, softly and noiselessly; those which arise from a certain depth of mind, those shed in anguish and in sorrow, those which are for God alone; such as were Hannah’s, for “her lips moved,” it is said, “but her voice was not heard;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 19
… yet surely it is the part of one exceedingly pained to pray and entreat even as I have said. Since Moses too was pained, and prayed in this way and was heard; for this cause also God said unto him, “Wherefore criest thou unto me.” And Hannah too again, her voice not being heard, accomplished all she wished, forasmuch as her heart cried out.
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 24
But observe even after this her deep reverence. “Only her lips moved, but her voice,” it saith, “was not heard.” (
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 15
… “But I cannot,” says one, “seeing I am man.” Well then, let us give you men for instances. And do not suppose I speak of Paul or of Peter: no, but of some of inferior sort, yea, very much lower down. Eli’s menial insulted Hannah, saying, “Put away thy wine from thee.” (
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Tertullian † AD 220 On Fasting 9
… For abstinence from wine withal has honourable badges of its own: (an abstinence) which had dedicated Samuel, and consecrated Aaron, to God. For of Samuel his mother said: “And wine and that which is intoxicating shall he not drink:” for such was her condition withal when praying to God.
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 2.10
… And Sodom and Gomorrha might have appeased it, had they been willing to repent, and through the aid of fasting gain for themselves tears of repentance. Ahab, the most impious of kings, by fasting and wearing sackcloth, succeeded in escaping the sentence of God, and in deferring the overthrow of his house to the days of his posterity.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 24
But let us look, again, at the deep wisdom of this woman. “And Eli,” it says, “thought she had been drunken.” ( Ver. 13 .) Yet observe what she says to him also, “Nay, count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial, for out of the abundance of my complaint and my provocation have I spoken hitherto.” (
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St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 43.73
73. Further, to run over the Judges, or the most illustrious of the Judges, there is “Samuel among those that call upon His Name,” who was given to God before his birth,
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Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 12.31
… food which is different, I think, from that which is meat, indeed, but is not solid food, and from what are figuratively called herbs, which are food to one who has been weaned and is not yet strong but weak, according to the saying, “He that is weak eateth herbs.” In like manner also he who has been weaned, like Samuel, and dedicated by his mother to God,
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 21
… Alas, that so constantly as I repeat this, I am looked upon as trifling! Still, I shall not cease to do my duty. Why, tell me, do ye not imitate them of old? Ye women, especially, emulate those admirable women. Has a child been born to any one? Imitate Hannah’s example (
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 2.3
10. “And when ye pray,” says He, “ye shall not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 125.7
… What greater proof, indeed, can there be of affection than to guard for a holy mother a holy son? She too desired your eternal welfare and is content to forego seeing you for a time that she may see you for ever with Christ. She is like Hannah who brought forth Samuel not for her own solace but for the service of the tabernacle.
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1. There was a certain man (singular, distinguished, excellent, as it were one among many) of Ramathaim-Sophim. — This country was called the native land of Elcana and Samuel, Rama, that is, the high place, because it was situated on a mountain, and Ramatha, and Ramathaim, that is, two Ramas: for it is a dual name, because this city was divided into two parts and had two hills, being situated on a bicephalous or two-peaked mountain. Thus Serarius, although Sanchez thinks Ramathaim is called this city in the dual because it was near another Rama, which was in the tribe of Benjamin, as if these two cities on account of their proximity seemed to have coalesced into one body. The same city, with the letter A added, was called Arimathia, from which Joseph the noble Decurion originated, who buried Christ, Matt. cap. xxvii, as St. Jerome asserts in Locis Hebr., Beda, Angelomus, Rabanus, Hugo, Dionysius and others. Furthermore, Ramatha or Ramathaim was surnamed Sophim, that is, of watchers, because in it, as it was situated on a high mountain, there were watchtowers of the city and the whole region, and in them the watches of watchers. Thus Vatablus, Cajetan, Sanchez and others. St. Jerome (or whoever is the author) in Quaest., Lyra and R. Solomon think Rama was a town of watchers, that is, of contemplatives, because in it as it were an Academy of Prophets and learned men devoted to the study of Holy Scripture dwelt. Whence the Chaldean renders it: There was a certain man Ramathaean from the disciples of the prophets. For Elias, Elisaeus and their disciples dwelt on Carmel and other mountains, both to flee the crowds, and to be free for God alone in solitude, and to better gaze upon heaven from the mountains and to long for it. Of the mount of Ephraim. — For the tribe of Ephraim dwelt in a high and mountainous place. He adds this because there was another Rama in the tribe of Benjamin, another in the tribe of Aser, another in the tribe of Nephtali; but this one was situated in the tribe of Ephraim; indeed Saligniacus, Adrichomius and others count five cities or villages, whose name was Rama. For the first was near Thecua, on the way to Hebron. The second, in Nephtali, near the fortress of Sephet. The third, near Sephorim. The fourth, in Silo. The fifth, near Gabaa, which are all called Rama, that is, the high place, because they were situated on mountains. Hence St. Gregory thinks Samuel, born in Rama, was descended from the tribe of Ephraim; but it is certain that he was descended from the tribe of Levi, and therefore from Levi through Caath and Isaar, not through Amram and Aaron, and therefore he was a Levite, not a Priest, as is evident from I Paralip. cap. vi, vers. 33. You will say: If Samuel was from the tribe of Levi, how was he born in Rama, which was of the tribe of Ephraim? I answer, the reason is that the tribe of Levi in the division of Chanaan did not receive its own portion, as the other tribes did, but was scattered throughout them, and therefore had its cities in them, among which was Rama. Lyra gives four reasons for this dispersion in cap. xxi of Josue: "The first, lest the worship of God should seem to pertain to one tribe only; the second, lest one or two tribes be too heavily burdened with the sustenance of the Levites; the third, because among all nations those who attend to divine worship are sustained by the whole people; the fourth, because the Levites were bound to teach the people concerning those things which pertain to divine worship, and they would teach more easily dispersed throughout all tribes than gathered into one." Abulensi opposes these reasons of Lyra in that place, Quaest. VIII., but in vain. Hence it is clear that Samuel as well as Elcana was a Levite, not a Priest, because he descended from Caath through Core, not through Aaron the priest; whence it is said Psalm. xcviii, vers. 6: "Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name." Samuel, however, by God's dispensation performed the office of a priest, and as a priest offered sacrifice to God, as we shall hear in what follows: thus Abulensis and others. Hence also Heman and Asaph the singers were sons of Joal, son of Samuel, son of Elcana, as it is said I Paralip. cap. vi, vers. 33. But the singers were Levites, not Priests. From the cited place of Paralip. it is likewise evident that the pious Samuel was descended from the impious Core, whom the earth swallowing up alive engulfed as he rebelled against Moses, Numer. cap. xvi. Thus God brought forth a rose from a thorn. And his name was Elcana. — Elcana in Hebrew is the same as the strong possession of God. Such is a faithful and just man, who by faith, hope and charity resting in God alone becomes Elcana, that is, the possession of God, so that he ought to fear neither men, nor demons, nor threats, nor torments, nor any death whatsoever. Son of Jeroham, — thus it should be read with the Romans, Hebrews, Chaldeans, Septuagint. Therefore it is wrongly read in the Royal Bibles as Jeroboam instead of Jeroham. Ephrathaeus. — Why is Elcana called Ephrathaeus? Cajetan first responds, because Ephrathaeus in Hebrew is the same as august, wealthy, magnificent; and such was Elcana. But this reason is symbolic, not literal: for literally Ephrati, that is Ephrathaeus, is a patronymic name, denoting the father or homeland of Elcana. Second, St. Jerome in Questions on the Hebrew, Angelomus, Rupertus, Hugo, the Gloss, and Dionysius say that Elcana is called Ephrathaeus because he was descended from Ephrata, the wife of Caleb, I Paralipomenon chapter ii, verse 19, so that Elcana and Samuel descend from Levi through the father, but from Caleb and Juda through the mother, just as conversely Christ their antitype and the Blessed Virgin his mother descend from Juda through the father, from Levi through the mother, so that they might have the dignity of both royal and priestly lineage. But it is objected that Scripture is accustomed to assign to men their lineage and name from the father, not from the mother, and to cognominate them from this. Third therefore, genuinely St. Gregory, Bede, Lyran, Abulensis, Vatable and others hold that Elcana is called Ephrathaeus because he was from Rama which was of the tribe of Ephraim, not because he was descended from the tribe of Ephraim (for he himself was from the tribe of Levi, as I said), but because he dwelt in it. Ephrathaeus therefore is the same as Ephraimite, as is clear from Judges chapter xii, verse 5. Thus the Jews, Acts chapter ii, are called Medes, Persians, Arabs, etc., because they were born not of Median, Persian, and Arabian parents, but of Jewish parents in Media, Persia, and Arabia. Symbolically, Ephrathaeus in Hebrew is the same as fruitful. Such was Elcana, because he produced the most noble fruit, namely Samuel the most celebrated prophet. And he had two wives, the name of one Anna, and the name of the second Phenenna. — This was the custom of that age, when polygamy by God's permission was lawful and customary, to multiply more quickly and abundantly the seed of Israel the faithful people. Moreover the primary wife of Elcana was Anna, the secondary Phenenna: hence this one seems to have been taken by him not from lust, but because Anna was barren and childless, so that he might raise offspring from her: just as Abraham took Agar the handmaid of Sara his primary wife, with her assent, indeed at her request, so that since she herself was barren, at least from Agar the handmaid he might have sons. Phenenna in Hebrew is the same as pearl, Anna the same as grace. Fittingly: for Phenenna was adorned with pearls and children, Anna truly with the grace of God. Thus even today some women are called Grace: thus recently that Japanese virago, who with all her children steadfastly endured death for the faith of Christ, was called Grace. Allegorically, Phenenna fertile signifies the Synagogue of the Jews, which once abounded in faithful children. Anna barren signifies the Church of the Gentiles, which once was barren, but through Christ bore all the Gentiles to God. Thus St. Gregory, Rupertus, Hugo, Bede, Lyran and Dionysius. Symbolically, Anna signifies the contemplative life pleasing to God; Phenenna, the active life useful to one's neighbor. Thus St. Gregory, Hugo and Dionysius: for Elcana, that is one eminent in possessing God, ought to embrace both.
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3. And that man went up from his city (Ramatha) on the appointed days (of Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, Exodus chapter xxiii, Deuteronomy chapter xvi], to adore in Silo, — where were the ark, the altar and the tabernacle. For Joshua placed these in Silo, because Silo was of the tribe of Ephraim, from which Joshua was: hence the ark remained in Silo throughout the time of Joshua and the Judges, for more than three hundred years, until it was captured by the Philistines, I Kings chapter v. Moreover Elcana is said to have gone up to Silo, because although Ramatha in which he dwelt was situated on a mountain, yet Silo was higher than it, indeed the highest of all Judaea, says Adrichomius. Add: in Scripture to go up or to go down is the same as to come. And there were there two sons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees. — Heli was the first High Priest from the line of Ithamar. For Aaron had two sons, the elder Eleazar, the younger Ithamar: wherefore Eleazar succeeded Aaron, as the elder, in the High Priesthood: Eleazar was succeeded by his son Phinees, and thus consequently until Heli. For then the descendants of Phinees administered the High Priesthood negligently, and therefore he was transferred from the family of Eleazar to the family of Ithamar, namely to Heli, and remained in it for 120 years, namely throughout the time of Heli, Samuel, Saul and David until Solomon, who deprived Abiathar, the great-grandson of Heli, of the High Priesthood, because he had conspired with Adonias the rival of his kingdom, and transferred it to Sadoc, who was from the family of Eleazar. Again Heli was succeeded by Samson, and after him he was Judge of Israel: wherefore he held both magistracies or principalities, namely the Ecclesiastical and the secular. His deeds were common, and contained nothing singular; hence by Scripture they are equally omitted as the deeds of Abesan, Ahialon and Abdon, Judges chapter xii. Moreover Heli in Hebrew is the same as over me, or my ascension, or my leaf. Fittingly, because he was too mild and slow and permitted his sons to dominate him, and to live impiously with impunity, and therefore he himself with his sons like a leaf snatched by the wind, was quickly deprived of the High Priesthood and life. Hence Ophni in Hebrew is the same as flying, or flying away, or my darkness; Phinees is the same as the mouth of the sparing one or the confident one.
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4. And he gave to Phenenna his wife and to all his sons and daughters portions. — Understand not of garments, as the Hebrews wish according to Angelomus, but of the flesh sacrificed to God. Thus Origen, Angelomus, Lyra, Abulensis, Vatablus and others: for although in a holocaust the whole flesh of the victim was burned to God, nevertheless in a peace offering only the fat with the kidneys was burned to God by fire, the rest of the flesh fell to the offerer, who from it before the tabernacle with his own feasted, and from it as from a sacred banquet gave to each his own portion, as is evident from Leviticus chapter iii, Deuteronomy chapter xii, verse 27. Note here and imitate the religion and piety of Elcana, who three times in the year with his wives and all his sons went from Ramatha to Shiloh (from which it was distant seven miles) and there sacrificed victims to God, and from there religiously feasted with his own. Abulensis adds, Question X, that he came more frequently, but without his wives, and for another reason, namely that like a Levite in his turn he might perform the ministry of the Levites in the tabernacle.
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5. But to Anna he gave one portion with sadness. — For sadness in Hebrew it is אפים appaim, that is face or angers. Whence the Septuagint translates, according to the face; the Chaldean, a choice portion; R. David, honorable, which namely was beautiful, and had a fair face, that is appearance. R. Joseph translates, a portion of angers and sadness; Pagninus, a portion with anger or fury, because, since he loved Anna, he was indignant that he could not give her more portions: which our translator followed in rendering sadness. For in Hebrew appaim signifies both face and anger and sadness; for each of these passions is shown and shines forth especially in the face, and one is joined and akin to the other: for the sad person is angered at the evil which saddens him: and conversely the angry person is saddened by the evil at which he is angry. Thus II Kings chapter vi, verse 8, for that which our translator renders, David was grieved, in Hebrew it is, David was angry. And here verse 18, face is taken for sadness in the Hebrew. Pagninus adds: Elcana gave a portion to Anna prostrate upon his face, praying for his barren wife, that God would make her fruitful and grant her offspring, as Isaac did for Rebecca, Genesis chapter xxv, verse 21.
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7. Moreover she wept and took no food. — It is said that Anna ate, but so little that she seemed not to have eaten, says Lyra; or rather at first from grief she ate nothing, afterwards however at her husband's urging she tasted something. Thus St. Gregory, book I, chapter ii: "She who was afflicted, he says, was unwilling to eat, but being exhorted by her husband she ate." Philo adds, book On Drunkenness, that Anna abstained from wine and strong drink throughout her whole life, as if a Nazarite. By this continence and patience she merited to become the mother of Samuel, an eminent Prophet. For to Phenenna her rival calumniating and mocking her she answered nothing, but wept. Hence St. Chrysostom, homily 62 to the People: "Tribulation, he says, is the mother of philosophy (moral, namely of virtue and patience), Anna having her rival did not pursue her with contumely." Excellently St. Ambrose in Psalm xxxiii, verse 13, citing that passage from Lamentations chapter iii, verse 29, concerning Christ suffering: "He shall put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope," and reading for it: "He shall give his mouth to the grave: He shows, he says, a certain patience beyond measure in silence, so that as it were he buries his own mouth, lest he speak; and as it were by some rampart he obstructs virtue, lest he utter a voice of pain: asserting such great weight of patience, which hope may cherish; so that he buries the very voice as it were in some tomb and sepulcher, and encloses it, which no injury can wrest forth, no injury can stir up." The same Ambrose, book II On Duties, chapter vii: "How many, he says, insults inflicted by the people did Moses absorb? with what mild speech did he address them after injuries? how did he console them in labors, define them by oracles, cherish them by works? he was deservedly esteemed above men, and so that they could not look upon his face." St. Chrysostom gives an apt similitude to this matter and place, homily 11 in I Thessalonians: "Do you not see, he says, in houses when two doors have stood opposite and directly, and there is a violent wind; if you close one, the wind can do nothing, but a great part of its force is cut off. Thus now also there are two doors, your mouth, and that of him who afflicts you with insults and revilings. If you close yours, you extinguish the whole spirit; but if you open it, it cannot be restrained." Tertullian gives another apt similitude in the book On Patience, chapter viii: "Every, he says, injury whether by tongue or by hand inflicted when it encounters patience, will be blunted by the same outcome as some missile hurled against a rock of the most constant hardness. For the works will fall there useless and unfruitful, and sometimes the rebound will rage upon him who sent it with a reciprocal blow, namely because he wounds you so that you may grieve: for the fruit of the wounder is in the grief of the wounded; therefore when you overturn his fruit by not grieving, he himself must grieve by the loss of his fruit."
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8. Am I not better to thee than ten (that is, many) sons. — For I am a man of noble birth, wealthy, peaceful, loving thee, so that in me thou mayest have all consolation and every good thing which thou canst hope for from many sons. The Hebrews relate that Phenenna bore ten sons, who surrounded and adorned the table of Elcana, according to that: "Thy sons shall be as young olive plants round about thy table," Psalm cxxvii, verse 3. And that Elcana alludes to them here, so as to console Anna, who was barren, from the sight of so many sons of Phenenna, lamenting and mourning her own barrenness. But this is uncertain: for ten is here taken for many.
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9. And Anna rose up after she had eaten, etc.
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Verse 10. When Anna was in bitterness of soul, she prayed to the Lord weeping abundantly, and made a vow. — It was midday, says St. Chrysostom, hom. De Anna, that is to say after dinner, which all make a time of recreation, but she made it a time of prayer: which the Franciscans and other Religious imitate, who immediately after dinner pray and sing psalms. Hence also St. Jerome, epist. 7 to Laeta: "Thus," he says, "let her eat, that immediately after food she may be able to read, pray, and sing psalms." And St. Chrysostom, hom. 24 in epist. to the Ephesians: "Do you wish," he says, "to learn the vigilance of the soul? Go to Anna." And hom. 79 to the People: "Anna," he says, "could not have prayed, unless she had been like those fasting at table, etc. It is necessary therefore that we also, approaching the table and leaving it, give thanks to God. For he who is prepared for this will never fall into drunkenness or insolence, will never be burst asunder by gluttony, but having imposed the expectation of prayer as a bridle upon his senses, will take from all that is set before him with due moderation, and will fill his soul with much good, and his body with much blessing. For a table taking its beginning from prayer, and ending in prayer, will never fail, but will bring forth to us all good things more abundantly from its source." Again, Anna prayed weeping, arming her prayers with the compunction of an inmost heart and with tears poured forth, as St. Gregory and Origen observe. Thirdly, "she made a vow:" let our prayer be such, thus will it overcome God, and will obtain from Him whatsoever it asks, as Anna obtained. Moreover, this vow of Anna was that she would make her son, if one were given to her, a Nazarite, that is a Religious of that age, who namely would not cut his hair, and would not drink wine or strong drink, and this throughout his whole life, as was said of Samson, Judges xiii, 3, and who would minister to God in the tabernacle all the days of his life, whereas other Levites ministered only by turns, which slowly on account of their multitude went round and returned. For the Levites were distributed into their turns, that is classes, equally as the Priests. Moreover, Anna, in vowing to make Samuel a Nazarite, vowed that he would not go to the funerals of his father and mother, and would observe the other ceremonies of Nazarites, says Abulensis, although Cajetan denies this, who thinks that she vowed the Nazarite status of Samuel, as to uncut hair and abstinence from wine and strong drink only. I have said the same concerning Samson, Judges cap. xiii, vers. 5.
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13. Now Anna spoke in her heart, and only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard at all. — Namely, she was praying with a fervent heart, so that words from the heart resulted in the mouth, but so silently and humbly that the voice was not heard. Whence St. Chrysostom, homily 79, exaggerates the fervor of Anna's prayer, in that it was not resonant outwardly, but attentive, in that it proceeded from a temperate mind and almost fasting, in that it was before the doors of the temple, in that she bore insult patiently, etc. Hear Cassian, Collation IX, chapter xxvi: "Sometimes indeed with such silence the mind is hidden within the secret of deep silence, that the stupor of sudden illumination encloses all sound of voice entirely, and the astonished spirit either contains all the senses within itself, or sends them forth, and pours out its desires to God in inexpressible groanings. Sometimes indeed such an abundance of compunction and sorrow fills it, that it cannot otherwise digest it except by the evaporation of tears." Hence St. Jerome to St. Eustochium: "Be," he says, "a cicada of the nights," for cicadas sing by night not with the mouth which they lack, but with the heart and breast, and in the same way they take food. For as Pliny says, book xi, chapter xxvi: "This one thing, of those which live, is without a mouth. In place of it something pointed like a tongue, and this in the breast, by which they lick the dew. The breast itself is hollow, this they sing." Hear again Chrysostom, homily 2 On Anna: "That," he says, "is the most powerful supplication when voices are borne upward from the innermost parts, this is especially the exercise of a trained mind, not by the intention of the voice, but by the fervor of the soul to complete the prayer. Thus Moses also prayed; although nothing resonated with his voice, God nevertheless said to him, Why criest thou to me: Some men hear only this external voice, but God hears also those crying out within before this. And so it can happen that even those who do not cry out are heard, so that walking through the forum one prays most carefully, so that in the company of other friends doing something else one invokes God with vehement clamor." Hear finally St. Cyprian, in the book On the Lord's Prayer: "Anna bearing the type of the Church did not beseech the Lord with clamorous petition, but silently and modestly within the very hiding places of her breast she prayed. She spoke not with voice, but with heart; because thus she knew God to hear," etc. Therefore Heli esteemed her drunk, — namely intoxicated. Thus Scripture, because Anna from great sorrow of affliction, equally as from the fervor of prayer, moved her lips so that like one drunk she seemed to distort her mouth excessively and to deprave it greatly, says St. Chrysostom, homily 79 to the People. For the mind seething with sorrow and affliction bursts forth into uncouth and unseemly gestures, such as those of the drunk. But Heli knew not of Anna's affliction, but after dinner seeing her make such gestures, he suspected that she had drunk more freely at dinner. To this Anna was weeping: but many while drunk are accustomed to weep, either from joy, or from the remembrance of their troubles: for wine easily brings forth tears, and itself is resolved into vapors and tears.
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14. And he said to her: How long wilt thou be drunk? — This was a grave rebuke, especially because it proceeded from the High Priest, to mitigate which the Septuagint translates, The boy Heli said to her. Whence St. Chrysostom, homily 2 On Anna, and Philo, book On Drunkenness, judge that Heli did not by himself, but through a servant, make these objections to Anna, both lest he shame her too much, then because he thought it unworthy of the dignity of the High Priest to converse with a drunken woman.
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15. Anna answering: Not at all, said she, my Lord, — I am not drunk or intoxicated, as thou thinkest, and dost too boldly object to me. St. Chrysostom notes the reverence, humility and modesty of Anna, who patiently bore the reproach of drunkenness, which in a woman is grave and shameful, cast at her by Heli, and refuted it by a simple denial, and called Heli Lord, and to him as a priest laid bare her affliction, and therefore merited to be blessed by him and to obtain her vow and a son. Hear St. Gregory: "Calling the Lord a priest, she denies that she is drunk, so that by humility she might submit herself to the higher order, and might oppose truth to the false accusation." But I have poured out my soul in the sight of the Lord, — my soul, that is, the anguishes of my soul, sorrows, afflictions, and likewise desires, vows and hopes of conceiving offspring; for all these things, and consequently as it were her whole heart and her whole soul, Anna represented to God in prayer, and poured them out like water sincerely and purely, reserving nothing to herself, holding nothing hidden or secret, but laying all bare and pouring all into the bosom of God. Whence St. Chrysostom, in the homily On the Faith of Anna: "Not at all," said he, "would he have erred who called this woman at once mother and father of the boy; for although her husband had also contributed seed, yet her supplication gave force and efficacy to the seed, and brought it about that Samuel was born with auspicious beginnings." Some according to Abulensis thus expound it: I have poured out my soul, that is the bile and anger of my soul in the sight of the Lord, representing to him the movements of anger which I had conceived against Phenenna mocking me, and seeking from him the remedy and consolation of these, so that having poured out before God all the anger of my heart, I might free this heart from gall, lest anything remain in it which I might pour out upon Phenenna my rival through bitter words and speech. And that this is the present remedy for anger and indignation, namely that one pour it all out before God through prayer, Abulensis and others teach.
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16. Do not count thy handmaid as one of the daughters of Belial, — namely as drunk, wicked and impious. See what I have said concerning Belial in II Corinthians vi. Note, says St. Jerome in Questions, that all who follow drunkenness are called sons of Belial. Thus St. Jerome and from him Angelomus.
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17. Then Heli said to her: Go in peace, and may the God of Israel give thee thy petition. — Behold, the fruit of reverence and humility is the blessing of the Pontiff and his favourable prayer, which made Anna obtain her vow and become fruitful: "The woman," says St. Chrysostom, "made an accuser into a patron, and obtained as an intercessor him who had been her reprover." Theodoretus notes that married couples ought to seek the blessing of the priest, that they may receive worthy and holy offspring, as happened here to Anna; for Samuel ought to be considered not so much as the son of Anna, as the son of God, given to Anna through the blessing of Heli.
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18. And she said: Would that thy handmaid may find grace in thy sight! — First, St. Chrysostom thus expounds it: Would that from the outcome of the matter thou mayest learn that I have prayed not from drunkenness, but from affliction and devotion! Second and better, as if she were to say: I shall find with thee this grace that thou wilt pray for me, that God may free me from this affliction, console me, and make me a mother. Thus the Hebrews, Vatablus, Cajetan and others; for to find grace among the Hebrews is the same as to please, to be pleasing. And her countenance was no more changed. — In Hebrew, and her countenance was no more to her, namely various and different, so that now she appeared sad, now joyful, but she appeared always with the same countenance, grave, modest, serene and joyful. Some translate it, and her countenance was no more to her sad; or countenance, that is sadness of countenance; because namely by resigning herself wholly to God through prayer, she was granted by him serenity of mind and confidence, so that she might rest in God, and in God's providence and will. For God then imparted to her a certain assurance that her prayer would be heard by him, and that she would conceive a son. Whence full of hope, says R. Joseph and from him Serarius, she went first to her lodging in Shiloh; then on the next day to Ramah, and now took food joyfully, and was no more with sad and dejected countenance, but with equal and constant countenance. "Dost thou see," says Chrysostom, "the faith of the woman? Before she received what she had asked for, she was confident just as if she had already received it; the reason was that the woman prayed with fervor," etc. Moreover a serene and constant countenance is an index of a serene and constant mind, for it proceeds from it; for as Ambrose says, in book I of the De Officiis, chapter xviii: "The state of the mind is discerned in the state of the body; the motion of the body is a kind of voice of the mind." And in the book De Helia, chapter x: "The countenance," he says, "is a certain arbiter of thought, and a silent interpreter of the heart. The face is often an index of conscience and a silent utterance of the mind." Both moreover are the fruit of prayer. Hear St. Chrysostom in Psalm cxxix, speaking of prayer: "He who," he says, "prays thus, even before he obtains what he asks for, perceives great goods from prayer, restraining all perturbations of mind, calming anger, expelling envy, extinguishing cupidity, diminishing and drying up the love of things pertaining to life, bringing the mind into great tranquility, and then ascending into heaven itself." Symbolically Rupert and St. Gregory, book XXXIII of the Morals, xxi. Anna did not change her countenance, because the eyes of her mind once fixed upon God through prayer she did not thereafter turn away from him, but held them constantly in him, and persisted in prayer, so that she might always have God in her mind.
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Vers. 19. And they rose up in the morning, and adored before God, — that is before the ark, they adored God dwelling upon the ark in the mercy seat. Tropologically learn here to invoke God in the morning, before thou dost set thyself to a journey or work, so that God may prosper and further it: "Going out from the lodging," says St. Jerome, epistle 22, "let prayer arm thee, returning from the street let prayer meet thee before thou sittest down." Anna therefore was heard, and a son was born to her by a great miracle. Tertullian, book De Jejunio, vii: "Anna easily obtains from God to fill an empty belly with food, and indeed a prophet." See what I have said about praying in the morning, Deut. vi, 7.
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Verse 20. And she called his name Samuel, because she had asked him of the Lord. — Hence it is clear that Samuel in Hebrew is the same as Saul meel, that is, asked of God. Thus Josephus, Eusebius, Serarius and others: asked, I say, and obtained by the petition of the mother: for the Hebrews in the composition of names do not preserve the order of Grammar, but transpose or omit certain letters; he was called therefore Samuel for this purpose, that whenever the boy heard this his name, he might remember that he had been given to his mother by God through a miracle in answer to her vow, and therefore that he owed himself entirely, whatever he was and lived, to God as it were a peculiar Son of God, and consequently that he should wholly give himself to Him, indeed render himself to Him, and willingly undertake the burdens of the Nazarite, which his mother had vowed; for he was reminded of this vow, when he was called by his mother Samuel, Samuel. Secondly, some according to Abulensis think Samuel is the same as Ishmael, so that Samuel is said as it were Scama el, that is, God heard the prayer of Anne the mother. Thirdly, St. Gregory and Angelomus: "Samuel," they say, "is the same as scemo el, that is, his name is God, so that 'Samuel' is almost the same as 'Emmanuel,' that is, 'God with us.' To this the name 'Samuel' alludes, although this is not the reason and etymology of the name. Just as Moses was constituted by God to be God to Pharaoh, Exodus vii, 1; so also Samuel was to Saul and Israel. Fourthly, Francis George, vol. I, Problem 442: Samuel, he says, is the same as scamo el, that is, God placed him. Philo agrees, who in the book That God, etc., and in the book On Drunkenness: Samuel, he says, is the same as τεταγμένος Θεῷ, that is, placed or ordained to God, because namely God created him so that he should be dedicated and consecrated to Him. Another etymology of Samuel the mother added later, of which in the last verse. The first reason is most proper and genuine, therefore Josephus, Theodoret, Procopius and others follow it everywhere. Thus Theodore, and conversely Dorotheus, in Greek is the same as Θεοῦ δῶρον, that is, the gift of God: whence Theodoret writes in the Philotheum, cap. xiii, that this name was imposed upon him because his mother had obtained him from God by the prayers of the Macedonian Anchorite. Theodore therefore in Greek is the same as in Latin: Given by God, by which name St. Augustine called his son, or Given to God, by which name Philip II, king of France, was called, because his father Louis, now advanced in age, having almost despaired of offspring, had obtained him from God by prayers. Thus Demaratus was called the son of Ariston, king of Sparta, because all the people had supplicated that a son similar to Ariston the best king should be born, as Herodotus testifies, lib. VI. For Demaratus is said as it were δήμου ἀρά, that is, the people's prayer, devotion, vow.
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21. And her husband Elcana went up, and all his house (family), to offer to the Lord a solemn victim (which he was accustomed to offer in the three yearly solemnities, namely the Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles; whence in Hebrew it is, a victim of days, that is, annual) and his vow. — Hence it is clear that when Anne the wife made a vow, her husband Elcana also made his own vow to God for Anne's fruitfulness and for Samuel to be born, which now that it has been obtained and he is born, he wishes to pay. For the mother, with the father opposing, cannot vow her son to God, because the son depends more on the father than on the mother, and the husband is the head of the wife and of the whole family. Thus teach Abulensis here, Quaest. XXII, and Sylvester, word Relig. 1, Quaest. XIII. Thus St. Gregory of Nazianzus in his poem On His Life, asserts that he was born through a vow, and given by God to his mother, and therefore the appearance and name of the son to be born was shown to her when pregnant, and therefore he himself, immediately upon being born, was offered by his mother to God. Thus St. Nicholas of Tolentino was born through a vow of his parents, made to St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, and from him received the name Nicholas. Thus St. Francis of Assisi, his parents making a vow, obtained the son St. Francis of Paula, founder of the Order of Minims, and many others similar.
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22. I will not go until the child be weaned. — You will say: Anne here seems not to have observed the law of purification of a woman in childbed, to be fulfilled on the fortieth day after childbirth, Levit. xii, when parents offered the firstborn to God and redeemed him for five shekels, Exodus xiii. Abelensis answers, Quaest. XXXVII and following, that the Levites (such as Anne and Elcana were) were not bound by this law, because they themselves were already dedicated and consecrated to God, and because those sacrifices of purification would redound to their own benefit; whence they did not redeem their firstborn sons for five shekels, nor offer the other sacrifices prescribed to others.
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23. And I beseech thee that the Lord would fulfill his word. — Hence it appears that some revelation concerning Samuel preceded this, which is not expressed here, as I said concerning the vow of Elcana. For Scripture is wont to pass over many things in silence, which it afterwards suggests and supplies. Thus Cajetan. R. Nehemias asserts that a voice was heard in Silo: "A boy shall be born named Samuel, who shall deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines;" wherefore all mothers then called their sons Samuels; but when Anna also named her son Samuel, Elcana said: "Let the Lord fulfill his vow," namely that through my Samuel he might deliver Israel from the Philistines. But these things smack of Rabbinic fable, as Abulensis shows at length here. For Anna did not call her son Samuel from an oracle of a voice, but because she had asked for and obtained him from God through a vow and tears. And she gave her son suck. — St. Chrysostom, homily On Samuel: "From that time," he says, "she regarded the boy not merely as a mother, but as a thing consecrated to God, and she revered him. For if those who are about to dedicate golden vessels and cups to God, after they have been made and received them and placed them at home, do not in any way defile them as profane vessels, but as sacred to God, nor dare to touch them rashly and without cause as they do other things; much more this woman," etc. Especially because Samuel was a type of Christ, indeed by some of the Fathers he is called "A New Moses of Israel." Furthermore, that mothers ought to nourish their sons not with nurses, but with their own milk, the examples of Sara and Anna teach us: St. Ambrose, book I On Abraham, chapter vii; St. Chrysostom, homily 1 on Psalm xx; Clement of Alexandria, book III Paedagogus, chapter iv; for thus children become stronger, more like their mothers, and imbibe their gifts and virtues by sucking.
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24. And he brought him, — now recently weaned from milk, which among the Hebrews took place in the third year of age, as is gathered from II Maccabees xxvii, 27. Thus St. Gregory, Chrysostom, Procopius, Theodoret, Abulensis, Cajetan, Hugo, Dionysius. Moreover, that the period of three years is suitable for nursing children is taught by Galen, and from him by Francis Valesius, Sacred Philosophy, cap. lxxxiii. Then therefore Samuel, the little child, as he is called in verse 24, was offered to God in the temple. Therefore Lyra wrongly thinks Samuel was offered to God in the tenth year of age, others in the seventh, others in the twelfth. Thus the Blessed Virgin, three years old, was presented to God in the temple, as the Fathers teach, whom our Canisius cites, lib. I Mariale, cap. xii, and Christopher of Castro in History of the Mother of God, cap. iii. Hear St. Chrysostom, homily On Samuel: "Separated from his mother," he says. And below: "From the very beginning of childhood he comes from his mother's breast to a spiritual breast." And St. Jerome to Ruth: "What is so pious as a holy mother guarding a holy son for herself? Anna bore Samuel not for herself, but for the tabernacle." St. Augustine in Psalm xcviii: "Samuel was born with his mother at the time of nursing; as soon as she weaned him, she gave him to the temple, that he might grow there, be strengthened there in the Spirit, serve God there." Hence St. Gregory of Nazianzus, oration 40, teaches mothers by the example of Anna to consecrate their sons to God from infancy. Hear St. Jerome, epistle 7 to Laeta On the Education of a Daughter: "Samuel is nourished in the temple, John is prepared in solitude, he is venerable with sacred hair, he drinks neither wine nor strong drink; still a small child he converses with the Lord. This one flees cities; he is girded with a leather belt, fed on locusts and wild honey, and is clothed in the skins of a most tortuous animal in the type of penance to be preached. Thus the soul which is to be the temple of God must be educated. Let it learn to hear nothing, speak nothing, except what pertains to the fear of God. Let it not understand foul words, let it be ignorant of worldly songs, let its still tender tongue be imbued with sweet psalms." And after several interjections: "Let it be nourished in a monastery, let it be among the choirs of Virgins: let it not learn to swear, let it think lying a sacrilege; let it know not the world, let it live angelically, let it be in the flesh without flesh; let it think all mankind like itself." Thus St. Maurus, St. Placidus, and other sons of Senators and Princes were entrusted by their parents to St. Benedict, that he might educate them in piety and the fear of God. In the monastery of St. Pachomius (as his Life has it) children were nourished so simple that they did not even know their own right or left hand. St. Thomas Aquinas was educated by monks on Mount Cassino, and thus many other sons of princes. Finally St. Paulinus, epistle 10, compares Melania to Anna. Dorotheus more aptly compares to her St. Anna, mother of the Blessed Virgin, who bore not Samuel, but Christ himself. And he brought him, etc., in three heifers. — Thus the Hebrew, Chaldean and others. It is therefore remarkable that the Septuagint translated it in the singular, in a three-year-old heifer. Now in, that is with three heifers, which namely he would offer with his Samuel to God. And three measures of flour. — In Hebrew, in an ephah of flour, that is three measures of flour. For an ephah was the tenth part of a gomer or cor, which contained thirty measures. Therefore an ephah was a large measure, containing three smaller measures. This response is given to the author of Questions in the Book of Kings among St. Jerome and Angelomus, who think this passage is corrupt, and read, and one measure; the cause of this oblation is given by Blessed Peter Damian, lib. VI, epistle 37, which in the order of all is 105: "Samuel," he says, "a little boy like a tender lamb with three measures of flour and an amphora of wine is placed, so to speak, at the table of the Lord, while he is dedicated to the priest Heli and to the temple of God by his parents." And the boy was still a little child. — In Hebrew, and the boy was still a boy, that is, he was a very small child, namely three years old.
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25. And they offered the child to Heli, — so that according to their vow, renouncing him as it were from their own house, they might dedicate him to God, that he might serve Him continually in the tabernacle. Hear St. Chrysostom, homily 1 On Anna, doubting whether he ought to marvel more at the virtue of Anna or of Samuel: "Since boys are accustomed, he says, to be indignant whenever they are weaned from the breast; nor did the boy himself take it ill when separated from his mother, but he looked to the Lord, who had created his mother; nor did the mother herself grieve at being separated from the boy, because natural affection was overcome by intervening grace, and each thought himself to be living with the other." He then illustrates the same thing with an appended similitude: "Just as, he says, a vine fixed in the same place extends its tendrils far and wide, and the grape hanging at a great distance maintains commerce with the root. So too it happened in this woman, who, remaining in the city, extended her tendril all the way to the temple, and there suspended her ripe grape; nor did that distance bring any impediment; since charity which is according to God joined the boy to his mother." Chrysostom adds, chapter iii, that Anna herself also offered herself together with Samuel to God: for where Samuel was, there was Anna also; for Samuel drew his mother's affections with him: "While he speaks thus, he says, she also dedicated herself together with the boy, as if binding herself to the temple with a certain solid natural affection. For if where the treasure of a man is, there his heart is also; much more where the boy of a woman is, there her mind will be also." Finally, St. Chrysostom presses this example of Anna, in book III Against the Detractors of the Monastic Life, and teaches that parents ought to permit their sons to serve in the heavenly ministry, not introducing them into the temple, as Anna did Samuel; but dedicating them to heaven itself with the angels in divine ministry, for religious serve God together with the angels; from which it also follows that they contribute much more to the glory and happiness of their parents than if they had remained in the world.
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Verse 26. As thy soul liveth, — that is, I swear by thy soul and thy life: or as true is what I speak as true is thy living, or I wish thy life.
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28. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord all the days that he shall be lent to the Lord. — I have lent him, that is, I have delivered him, as the Chaldean translator renders it, I have given him, as God gave him to me, as if to say: God gave him to me; therefore I return him to God and dedicate him, so that he may serve Him perpetually in the tabernacle; for in Hebrew scaal, in the Hiphil hischil, signifies not only to ask and request, but also to grant what is asked and requested, to give, to donate by catachresis; for the words of the Hebrews signify action now begun, now completed, especially in the Hiphil. Therefore scaal signifies both to request, and to hear the request, or to give and donate the thing requested. Whence Samuel here in Hebrew is called as it were Saul leel, that is, given or lent and delivered to God. Saul also was called the first king of Israel, as it were given by God, or requested by the people and called by God. Whence from Saul, who was of the tribe of Benjamin, was named Saulus Paul the Apostle, coming from the same tribe of Benjamin; hence he himself, at the beginning of his epistle, gives himself this title "Paul called an Apostle," etc. In Hebrew there is a beautiful paronomasia. For Anna says: I scaalti, that is, I requested Samuel from God and obtained him; therefore I in turn hischilti, that is, I lent and delivered him to God, so that he might be Saul, that is lent, given and dedicated to God throughout his whole life. For she alludes to the name Samuel, and gives it another etymology, as if to say: My Samuel at first was called as it were Saul meel, that is requested from God; now indeed he is called Samuel, as it were Saul leel, that is given and offered, nay rather returned to the Lord. "All the days that he shall be lent (supply, will be) to the Lord," as if as long as he shall live, he will be lent, given, and dedicated to God, so that the Lord Himself may use him at His pleasure. Whence the Septuagint translates χρῆσιν κυρίου, that is the use of the Lord, as if to say: He delivered him to the Lord to be used for any use of His. Vatablus: I also have enslaved him to the Lord all the days in which he himself was enslaved to the Lord, as if to say: I gave him to the Lord, so that throughout his whole life he might be enslaved and devoted to the Lord. Hear St. Chrysostom, homily 2 On Anna: "See how modest she is; do not think, he says, that I am doing a great or admirable thing in dedicating an infant; I am not the author of this benefit, but I am paying a debt; I received a deposit, and I return it to Him who gave it." The same, homily 21 in the epistle to the Ephesians: "Because, he says, she offered the firstfruits (of her children, namely Samuel), her womb became fruitful, and she also acquired other brothers for him." Let parents imitate this, so that they do not turn away sons aspiring to Religion, but rather encourage them; for thus they will be enriched by God with both children and wealth. Hear also St. Ambrose, Exhortation to Virgins, praising Juliana, a most noble matron of Rome, because she had dedicated her only son following the example of our Anna: "You, my son, are my requested one and my votive offering, acknowledge from whom you were given to me; He formed your mouth; He distinguished your members, He received my prayers, to whose temple, to whose service I consecrated you before you came forth from your mother's womb. You were not born to parents, not to yourself, but to God, whose you became before you came out of your mother's womb. And we are all indeed His; but you especially are promised to the Lord, you are returned, I as it were Anna promised that all the days and nights of your life you would not depart from the sight of the Lord. You fulfill this." St. Ambrose concludes: "Excellent, he says, seeds, which left nothing for herself, offered all that she had to God; whose life, instruction and discipline is, and a certain formula of chastity, with good purpose and better teaching." Hear also St. Bernard, epistle 110, addressing parents: "If God makes your son His own, what do you lose? or does he lose anything? He becomes richer from being rich, more noble from being noble, more illustrious from being illustrious; and what is greater than all these things, holy from being a sinner; but you do not lose him; nay rather you acquire many sons for yourselves through him; as many as we are in Cloisters, we receive him as a brother, you as parents." All his days. — Lyra thinks that Samuel ministered to God in the temple only until the fiftieth year of his age; for at that time the Levites were as it were discharged and freed from service, and were no longer bound to serve in the tabernacle, as appears from Numbers, chapter viii, verse 25. But this is contrary to this passage; hence others generally think that he served God in the temple throughout his whole life. Thus Philo, in the book On Dreams, at the end, St. Augustine in Psalm xcviii, St. Jerome, in chapter xxiv of Ezekiel, Blessed Peter Damian, book V, epistle 9, Chrysostom, homily 4 on Acts, whom hear: "Consider Samuel, who after forty years, when he had administered the affairs of the people, was still being nourished in the temple." Hence the Fathers teach that the greatest care must be taken by parents in the education of children, and that children themselves ought from tender years to dedicate themselves to virtue and to God. Hear among others St. Chrysostom in the Pentateuch, homily xiv, asking why he and others are inscribed for this purpose, and answering: "Because," he says, "it teaches about justice and the other virtues; but he who teaches about these things ought not to persuade them at the end of life, but from the beginning and from the very cradle." And a little later: "If," he says, "none of you wishes to possess an old servant, how much more does God wish youth, and as it were an untouched virgin does he join it to himself; that he may desire the firstfruits of its life, and when it has not exhausted youth in sin, he may reserve a languid and weakened old age for virtue, and temper the dregs of life with wisdom." And Clement of Alexandria, book I of the Pedagogue, chapter v: "Just as," he says, "fathers and mothers more readily see the foals of horses, the calves of cattle, the cubs of lions, the fawns of deer, the child of man; so also the universal Father receives them, loves and defends them." Our Mendoza gathers more things on this matter here. Finally, what Plato said, that those who wish to become eminent in some art or science ought to practice it from boyhood, is more truly the case in the study of virtue and holiness. Hence eminent Saints dedicated themselves to holiness from boyhood, as Samuel, St. John the Baptist, St. Nicholas and others. Moreover, this vow of the mother did not bind Samuel so that when he grew older he could not freely depart from the temple and choose another place and state of life, as Lessius teaches, tract. On Vows, doubt 10. Yet Samuel wished to keep his mother's vow and to ratify it throughout his whole life. And she prayed, — giving thanks to God, and singing the following canticle, chapter II; for the first part of prayer ought to be the praise of God and thanksgiving, as Paul teaches. Hence praise is sometimes taken for prayer, as in Lamentations, chapter ii, verse 19: "Arise, praise in the night." And in Jeremiah, chapter vii: "Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither take unto thee praise for them."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
1:1
… (Mt. 27:57; Mk. 15:43; Lk. 23:51; Jn. 19:38). On the basis of the data of Eusebius and St. Jerome (Onomasticon, 144, 28; ed. Klostermann, p. 32) it is today identified with Rentijah (Rentis), 12 km northeast of Lydda, which is the Ramah (v.) of Samuel (1 Sam. 1:1, 19; 2:11; 25:1) or Râmôth and Râmâthajim. …
Eliab (Heb. "Il My God Is Father")
4. Levite of the lineage of Korah, ancestor of Samuel (1 Chron. 6:27): his true name must be Elihu (1 Sam. 1:1).
Eliel (Heb. 'Elī'el "My God Is 'El")
1. One of the chiefs of the tribe of Manasseh (I Chron. 5:24). 2. A Levite of the stock of Kohath, ancestor of Samuel (I Chron. 6:19, Vulg. 34 = Eliab, ibid., v. 12, Vulg. 27 = Eliu, I Sam. 1:1).
… Others think that the names go back to a more remote era, "Ephrathite" being found as a synonym of "Ephraimite": cf. Judg. 12:3; I Sam. 1:1; I Chron. 11:26. Vincenzo M. Jacono
Rama (Heb. Hā-Rāmāh = "The Height")
4. R. homeland, residence and burial place of the prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 1:1; Rāmāthajim; in the other passages, 1:19; 2:11; 7:17; 8:4; 15:34; 16:13; 19:18; 22:23; 25:1 always Rāmāh and with the accusative of motion Rāmāthāh). …
… And the attempt of E. Reuss to explain Ephrathites by Ephraimites (Judg. 2, 5; I Sam. 1, 1), attributing to R. the vindication of the rights of Judah over Ephraim! …
… His father, Elkanah (v.), a Levite, was from Ramathaim (present-day Rentis = Arimathea) in the mountainous territory of Ephraim (1 Sam. 1:1). His mother was Hannah (v.), who, being barren, obtained him from the Lord (ibid. 1:9-20) and, having raised him, handed him over to the high priest Eli (v.) at Shiloh, so that he …
1:3
Ark (of the Covenant), Ark of the Testimony
The Ark, built by Bezalel (v.) shortly after the departure from Egypt (Ex. 37:1-9), first rested in the Mosaic Tabernacle (v.), followed the Israelites in the desert, then was at Shiloh until the time of Samuel (Josh. 18:1, 8-10; Judg. 20:18, 27; 21:2, 19; I Sam. 1:3, 21, 24; 2:14); from Shiloh it was carried as a pledge of divine protection into battle (Judg. 20:18 (Heb.), 28; II Sam. 4:3; I Sam. 11:11). Captured by the Philistines, because of …
of this period may be compared to that of the Greek amphictyonies; the various groups found their common center in the sacred place, where the Ark was. The first resting place of the Ark was Shiloh (Judg. 20, 26; I Sam. 1, 3); when this city was destroyed by the Philistines, the Ark was transferred to Nob. Perhaps not all the tribes were under the same leader, so that sometimes the simultaneity of two …
1:4
… the altar and the sanctuary) fell to the priest; the remainder of the flesh belonged to the offerer, who ate it within the sacred precinct and invited his relatives and other persons, especially the poor, to the banquet (cf. Deut. 12:12, 18; 16:11 ff.; I Sam. 1:4 ff.; Ps. 21:26 ff.): legal purity was necessary for participation in the sacrificial banquet. …
Shiloh (Heb. Šilô or Šilôh; Gr. Sēlō, Sēlōn)
Conquered by the Hebrews, it became the center of Joshua's activity and of the assemblies of Israel (Josh. 18:8-10; 19:51; 21:2; 22:9-12). The presence of the Ark and the Tabernacle made S. a goal of pilgrimages (1 Sam. 1:4); on the occasion of an annual feast the Benjaminites carried off the dancing girls (Judg. 21:13-23). After the Ark fell into the hands of the Philistines and the Sanctuary was destroyed, …
1:9
… His father, Elkanah (v.), a Levite, was from Ramathaim (present-day Rentis = Arimathea) in the mountainous territory of Ephraim (1 Sam. 1:1). His mother was Hannah (v.), who, being barren, obtained him from the Lord (ibid. 1:9-20) and, having raised him, handed him over to the high priest Eli (v.) at Shiloh, so that he might serve the Lord in perpetuity.
1:11
unto thy handmaid a male" (I Sam. 1, 11), with perpetual Naziriteship (v.). …
The vow could be perpetual, as seems to be the case with Samson (Judg. 13:5, 7), Samuel (1 Sam. 1:11; cf. Eccl. 46:13) and in New Testament times John the Baptist (Lk. 1:15) and James, the first bishop of Jerusalem (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., II, 23, 4 ff.), or temporary (in late times …
1:12
consoled (1 Sam. 1:12-18). Under his tutelage grew up in the
1:16
… expressions in which it is a genitive of qualification or destination: "son of b." (cf. "son of iniquity": II Sam. 3, 34; 7, 10; Ps. 88, 23; "son of death": I Sam. 20, 31; 26, 16; II Sam. 12, 5); Deut. 13, 13 (Heb. 14); Iudc. 19, 22; 20, 13; I Sam. 1, 16; 2, 12; 10, 27; 25, 17; I Reg. 21, 10, 13; II Par. 13, 7, and "man of b." ('īl b. or hab-b. with the article [only 3 times]; cf. "man of death":
1:17
Jonathan (Heb. Jēhōnāthān and Jōnāthān; Vulgate I. and Ionathas)
2. Son of Saul; faithful and dear friend of David (v.), who wept for his untimely death on the field of Gilboa (II Sam. 14; 18:1; 19:1-8; 20-21:1; 23:15-18; 31:2; I Sam. 1:17-27).
1:18
… Some rare fragments (Gen. 4:23-24; Num. 21:27-28; I Sam. 1:18-27) testify that poetry on profane subjects was not unknown to the Hebrews.
1:28
… established among Christian parents, at least from the 4th century onward, of offering their own children to God in order to destine them perpetually to his service, besides being supported by the example of the typical offering of the young Samuel (1 Sam. 1:28), was in conformity with the rights that the Roman "patria potestas" and, later, the Germanic "mundio" recognized for parents over their own children. …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.