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1 Samuel 1:24–1:28, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
1 Samuel 1:24–1:28
Hannah brings Samuel to Shiloh and fulfills her vow
After weaning, Hannah keeps the vow in public
When the child is weaned, she takes him up with her, with three bullocks, an ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, to the house of the LORD in Shiloh. The child is young. Sacrificial numbers and the sense of 'lent' vary across witnesses; the movement does not. She is not sneaking a private arrangement past the priest who once called her drunk.
She identifies herself and gives the asked-for child
Hannah says to Eli, 'I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition.' Then the wordplay: she has lent him to the LORD as long as he lives. 'Lent' in the KJV is asked-for and given-over speech, not a reduction of Samuel to property.
They worship the LORD there. The text stresses her fulfilled vow without narrating the child's consent. Dedication in this story is not a warrant for parents, leaders, or institutions to coerce children, romanticize separation, or let a promise override a child's safety and personhood.
How this should shape us
Keep costly promises without treating a child as a religious object. Name what was asked and what was given, and refuse any vow that erases a young person's care, voice, or safety.
Teach it back
Explain 1 Samuel 1:24–1:28 in your own words, including its movement, one source-controlled detail, one uncertainty, one affected person, and one misuse the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful readers disagree?
Best judgment: Sacrificial numbers, the sense of ‘lent,’ and the relation to Nazirite traditions vary across witnesses and interpretations; the text stresses Hannah's fulfilled vow without narrating Samuel's consent.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV words, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete unit coverage.
1 Samuel 1:24–1:28, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology, with the two KJV-Hebrew versification shifts stated rather than silently offset.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Sam.xml, OSIS 1:24–1:28; KJV 20:42 spans Hebrew 20:42–21:1, KJV 21:1–15 maps to Hebrew 21:2–16, KJV 23:29 maps to Hebrew 24:1, and KJV 24:1–22 maps to Hebrew 24:2–23
Supports: Only the translator notes actually printed for these verses, used for lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and older-English controls.
NET Bible First Edition Notes, 1 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 504–543, exact tc/tn/sn entries attached to 1:24–1:28
Supports: Abstract-supported importance of the Septuagint for 1 Samuel and methodological caution about textual plurality; no unchecked verse reconstruction.
Aejmelaeus, Oxford Handbook of Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible (2025), pp. 191–212, official abstract and §10.4 publisher metadata on 1 Samuel
Supports: Abstract-supported textual and interpretive alternatives around Hannah's vow and Elkanah's words; no settled solution is claimed.
Fidler, 'A Wife's Vow—The Husband's Woe?,' ZAW 118.3 (2006), pp. 374–388, official abstract and the discussion of 1 Samuel 1:21, 23
Supports: One literary, ethical, and political account of divine and human violence; publisher-visible scope does not establish consensus.
Gilmour, Divine Violence in the Book of Samuel (2021/2022), official abstract and TOC: relevant discussion for 1 Samuel 1:24–1:28, including 1 Samuel 12 pp. 71–81, Saul's rejection pp. 90–139, Eli's house pp. 140–150, or ark violence pp. 154–185 as applicable
Supports: One relatively early integrated/two-edition account of composition, structure, and historiographic value, retained as a contested model.
Garsiel, JHS 10.5 (2010), pp. 1–42, named structural or composition discussion covering the movement that includes 1 Samuel 1:24–1:28
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV words, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete unit coverage.
Exact location: 1 Samuel 1:24–1:28, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Samuel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology, with the two KJV-Hebrew versification shifts stated rather than silently offset.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Sam.xml, OSIS 1:24–1:28; KJV 20:42 spans Hebrew 20:42–21:1, KJV 21:1–15 maps to Hebrew 21:2–16, KJV 23:29 maps to Hebrew 24:1, and KJV 24:1–22 maps to Hebrew 24:2–23
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: 1 Samuel
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Only the translator notes actually printed for these verses, used for lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, and older-English controls.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Notes, 1 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 504–543, exact tc/tn/sn entries attached to 1:24–1:28
Open source ↗scholarly handbook chapter abstract and metadata
The Significance of the Septuagint in the Textual Study of the Hebrew Bible
Anneli Aejmelaeus
The Oxford Handbook of Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, 2025
Supports: Abstract-supported importance of the Septuagint for 1 Samuel and methodological caution about textual plurality; no unchecked verse reconstruction.
Exact location: Aejmelaeus, Oxford Handbook of Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible (2025), pp. 191–212, official abstract and §10.4 publisher metadata on 1 Samuel
Open source ↗peer reviewed scholarly article abstract
A Wife's Vow—The Husband's Woe?
Ruth Fidler
Zeitschrift fur die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 118.3, 2006
Supports: Abstract-supported textual and interpretive alternatives around Hannah's vow and Elkanah's words; no settled solution is claimed.
Exact location: Fidler, 'A Wife's Vow—The Husband's Woe?,' ZAW 118.3 (2006), pp. 374–388, official abstract and the discussion of 1 Samuel 1:21, 23
Open source ↗scholarly monograph abstract and contents
Divine Violence in the Book of Samuel
Rachelle Gilmour
Oxford University Press, 2021 online; 2022 print
Supports: One literary, ethical, and political account of divine and human violence; publisher-visible scope does not establish consensus.
Exact location: Gilmour, Divine Violence in the Book of Samuel (2021/2022), official abstract and TOC: relevant discussion for 1 Samuel 1:24–1:28, including 1 Samuel 12 pp. 71–81, Saul's rejection pp. 90–139, Eli's house pp. 140–150, or ark violence pp. 154–185 as applicable
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
The Book of Samuel: Its Composition, Structure and Significance as a Historiographical Source
Moshe Garsiel
The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 10.5, 2010
Supports: One relatively early integrated/two-edition account of composition, structure, and historiographic value, retained as a contested model.
Exact location: Garsiel, JHS 10.5 (2010), pp. 1–42, named structural or composition discussion covering the movement that includes 1 Samuel 1:24–1:28
Open source ↗