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1 Samuel 1

Elkanah and His Family at Shiloh.

1There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.^a

2He had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3Each year this man went up from his city to worship and offer sacrifice to the LORD of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were ministering as priests of the LORD.^b

4When the day came for Elkanah to offer sacrifice, he used to give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters,

5but he would give a double portion to Hannah because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb.^c

6Her rival,^* to upset her, would torment her constantly, since the LORD had closed her womb.^d

7Year after year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, Peninnah would provoke her, and Hannah would weep and refuse to eat.^*

8Elkanah, her husband, would say to her: “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why are you not eating? Why are you so miserable? Am I not better for you than ten sons?”^e

Hannah’s Prayer.

9Hannah rose after one such meal at Shiloh, and presented herself before the LORD; at the time Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the doorpost of the LORD’s temple.

10In her bitterness she prayed to the LORD, weeping freely,

11and made this vow: “O LORD of hosts, if you look with pity on the hardship of your servant, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life. No razor shall ever touch his head.”^{* f}

12As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth,

13for Hannah was praying silently; though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli, thinking she was drunk,

14said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Sober up from your wine!”

15“No, my lord!” Hannah answered. “I am an unhappy woman. I have had neither wine nor liquor; I was only pouring out my heart to the LORD.

16Do not think your servant a worthless woman; my prayer has been prompted by my deep sorrow and misery.”

17Eli said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have requested.”

18She replied, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes,” and left. She went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and no longer appeared downhearted.

19Early the next morning they worshiped before the LORD, and then returned to their home in Ramah. When they returned Elkanah had intercourse with his wife Hannah, and the LORD remembered her.

Hannah Bears a Son.

20She conceived and, at the end of her pregnancy, bore a son whom she named Samuel.^* “Because I asked the LORD for him.”

21The next time her husband Elkanah was going up with the rest of his household to offer the customary sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vows,

22Hannah did not go, explaining to her husband, “Once the child is weaned, I will take him to appear before the LORD and leave him there forever.”^*

23Her husband Elkanah answered her: “Do what you think best; wait until you have weaned him. Only may the LORD fulfill his word!” And so she remained at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.^g

Hannah Presents Samuel to the Lord.

24Once he was weaned, she brought him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah^* of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the house of the LORD in Shiloh.

25After they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the child to Eli.

26Then Hannah spoke up: “Excuse me, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here near you, praying to the LORD.

27I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.

28Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.” Then they worshiped there before the LORD.

1 Samuel 2

And Hannah prayed:^*

“My heart exults in the LORD,

my horn is exalted by my God.

I have swallowed up my enemies;

I rejoice in your victory.^a

2There is no Holy One like the LORD;

there is no Rock like our God.^b

3Speak boastfully no longer,

Do not let arrogance issue from your mouths.^*

For an all-knowing God is the LORD,

a God who weighs actions.^c

4“The bows of the mighty are broken,

while the tottering gird on strength.^d

5The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,

while the hungry no longer have to toil.

The barren wife bears seven sons,

while the mother of many languishes.^e

6“The LORD puts to death and gives life,

casts down to Sheol and brings up again.^f

7The LORD makes poor and makes rich,

humbles, and also exalts.

8He raises the needy from the dust;

from the ash heap lifts up the poor,

To seat them with nobles

and make a glorious throne their heritage.

“For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s,

and he has set the world upon them.^g

9He guards the footsteps of his faithful ones,

but the wicked shall perish in the darkness;

for not by strength does one prevail.

10The LORD’s foes shall be shattered;

the Most High in heaven thunders;

the LORD judges the ends of the earth.

May he give strength to his king,

and exalt the horn of his anointed!”^h

11When Elkanah returned home to Ramah, the child remained in the service of the LORD under the priest Eli.

Wickedness of Eli’s Sons.

12Now the sons of Eli were wicked; they had respect neither for the LORD

13nor for the priests’ duties toward the people. When someone offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork, while the meat was still boiling,ⁱ

14and would thrust it into the basin, kettle, caldron, or pot. Whatever the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. They treated all the Israelites who came to the sanctuary at Shiloh in this way.

15In fact, even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the one offering the sacrifice, “Give me some meat to roast for the priest. He will not accept boiled meat from you, only raw meat.”

16And if this one protested, “Let the fat be burned first, then take whatever you wish,” he would reply, “No, give it to me now, or else I will take it by force.”^j

17Thus the young men sinned grievously in the presence of the LORD, treating the offerings to the LORD with disdain.

The Lord Rewards Hannah.

18Meanwhile the boy Samuel, wearing a linen ephod,^* was serving in the presence of the LORD.

19His mother used to make a little garment for him, which she would bring him each time she went up with her husband to offer the customary sacrifice.

20And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, as they were leaving for home. He would say, “May the LORD repay you with children from this woman for the gift she has made to the LORD!”

21The LORD favored Hannah so that she conceived and gave birth to three more sons and two daughters, while young Samuel grew up in the service of the LORD.^k

Eli’s Futile Rebuke.

22When Eli was very old, he kept hearing how his sons were treating all Israel, and that they were behaving promiscuously^* with the women serving at the entry of the meeting tent.

23So he said to them: “Why are you doing such things? I hear from everyone that your behavior is depraved.

24Stop this, my sons! The report that I hear the LORD’s people spreading is not good.

25If someone sins against another, anyone can intercede for the sinner with the LORD; but if anyone sins against the LORD, who can intercede^* for the sinner?” But they disregarded their father’s warning, since the LORD wanted them dead.

26Meanwhile, young Samuel was growing in stature and in worth in the estimation of the LORD and the people.^l

The Fate of Eli’s House.^*

27A man of God came to Eli and said to him: “Thus says the LORD: I went so far as to reveal myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt as slaves to the house of Pharaoh.

28I chose them out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priests, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod^* in my presence; and I assigned all the fire offerings of the Israelites to your father’s house.^m

29Why do you stare greedily at my sacrifices and at the offerings that I have prescribed? Why do you honor your sons more than you honor me, fattening yourselves with the choicest part of every offering of my people Israel?

30ⁿ This, therefore, is the oracle of the LORD, the God of Israel: I said in the past that your family and your father’s house should minister in my presence forever. But now—oracle of the LORD: Far be it from me! I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me shall be cursed.

31Yes, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that no one in your family lives to old age.

32You shall witness, like a disappointed rival, all the benefits enjoyed by Israel, but no member of your household shall ever grow old.

33I will leave you one man at my altar to wear out his eyes and waste his strength, but the rest of your family shall die by the sword.

34This is a sign for you—what happens to your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. Both of them will die on the same day.^o

35I will choose a faithful priest who shall do what I have in heart and mind. I will establish a lasting house for him and he shall serve in the presence of my anointed forever.

36Then whoever is left of your family will grovel before him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread, saying: Please assign me a priestly function, that I may have a crust of bread to eat.”^p

1 Corinthians 9:1-18

Paul’s Rights as an Apostle.

1Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?^a

2Although I may not be an apostle for others, certainly I am for you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

3My defense against those who would pass judgment on me^* is this.

4^* Do we not have the right to eat and drink?

5Do we not have the right to take along a Christian wife, as do the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

6Or is it only myself and Barnabas who do not have the right not to work?^b

7Who ever serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating its produce? Or who shepherds a flock without using some of the milk from the flock?^c

8Am I saying this on human authority, or does not the law also speak of these things?

9It is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”^d Is God concerned about oxen,

10or is he not really speaking for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope, and the thresher in hope of receiving a share.^e

11If we have sown spiritual seed for you, is it a great thing that we reap a material harvest from you?^f

12If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more?^g

Reason for Not Using His Rights.^* Yet we have not used this right. On the contrary, we endure everything so as not to place an obstacle to the gospel of Christ.

13^* Do you not know that those who perform the temple services eat [what] belongs to the temple, and those who minister at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings?^h

14In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel.ⁱ

15^* I have not used any of these rights, however, nor do I write this that it be done so in my case. I would rather die. Certainly no one is going to nullify my boast.^j

16If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!^k

17If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.^l

18What then is my recompense? That, when I preach, I offer the gospel free of charge so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.^m

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Introduction to the

THE BOOKS OF 1 Samuel

These books describe the rise and development of kingship in Israel. Samuel is a pivotal figure. He bridges the gap between the period of the Judges and the monarchy, and guides Israel’s transition to kingship. A Deuteronomistic editor presents both positive and negative traditions about the monarchy, portraying it both as evidence of Israel’s rejection of the Lord as their sovereign (1 Sm 8:6–22; 12:1–25) and as part of God’s plan to deliver the people (1 Sm 9:16; 10:17–27; 2 Sm 7:8–17). Samuel’s misgivings about abuse of royal power foreshadow the failures and misdeeds of Saul and David and the failures of subsequent Israelite kings.

Although the events described in 1 and 2 Samuel move from the last of the judges to the decline of David’s reign and the beginning of a legendary “Golden Age” under Solomon’s rule, this material does not present either a continuous history or a systematic account of this period. The author/editor developed a narrative timeline around freely composed speeches, delivered by prophets like Samuel (e.g., 1 Sm 15:10–31; 28:15–19) and Nathan (2 Sm 12:1–12), who endorse Deuteronomistic perspectives regarding the establishment of the monarchy, the relationship between worship and obedience, and the divine covenant established with the house of David.

These books include independent blocks (e.g., the Ark Narrative [1 Sm 4:1–7:1], Saul’s rise to power [1 Sm 9:1–11:15], David’s ascendancy over Saul [1 Sm 16–31], the Succession Narrative [2 Sm 9–20; 1 Kgs 1–2]), which the editor shaped into three narrative cycles, the last two marked by transitional passages in 1 Sm 13:1 and 2 Sm 1:1. Each section focuses on a major figure in the development of the monarchy: Samuel, the reluctant king maker (1 Sm 1–12); Saul, the king whom the Lord rejects (1 Sm 13–31); David, the king after the Lord’s own heart (2 Sm 1–24). A common theme unites these narratives: Israel’s God acts justly, prospering those who remain faithful and destroying those who reject his ways (1 Sm 2:9). Along with the rest of the Deuteronomistic History, the Books of Samuel become an object lesson for biblical Israel as it tries to re-establish its religious identity after the destruction of Jerusalem and the loss of its homeland (587/586 B.C.).

The contents of the Books of Samuel may be divided as follows:

1. The Last Judges, Eli and Samuel (1 Sm 1:1–7:17)
2. Establishment of the Monarchy (1 Sm 8:1–12:25)
3. Saul and David (1 Sm 13:1–2 Sm 2:7)
4. The Reign of David (2 Sm 2:8–20:26)
5. Appendixes (2 Sm 21:1–24:25)

THE FIRST BOOK OF 1 SAMUEL

The book of 1 Corinthians

THE FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

Paul’s first letter to the church of Corinth provides us with a fuller insight into the life of an early Christian community of the first generation than any other book of the New Testament. Through it we can glimpse both the strengths and the weaknesses of this small group in a great city of the ancient world, men and women who had accepted the good news of Christ and were now trying to realize in their lives the implications of their baptism. Paul, who had founded the community and continued to look after it as a father, responds both to questions addressed to him and to situations of which he had been informed. In doing so, he reveals much about himself, his teaching, and the way in which he conducted his work of apostleship. Some things are puzzling because we have the correspondence only in one direction. For the person studying this letter, it seems to raise as many questions as it answers, but without it our knowledge of church life in the middle of the first century would be much poorer.

Paul established a Christian community in Corinth about the year 51, on his second missionary journey. The city, a commercial crossroads, was a melting pot full of devotees of various pagan cults and marked by a measure of moral depravity not unusual in a great seaport. The Acts of the Apostles suggests that moderate success attended Paul’s efforts among the Jews in Corinth at first, but that they soon turned against him (Acts 18:1–8). More fruitful was his year and a half spent among the Gentiles (Acts 18:11), which won to the faith many of the city’s poor and underprivileged (1 Cor 1:26). After his departure the eloquent Apollos, an Alexandrian Jewish Christian, rendered great service to the community, expounding “from the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus” (Acts 18:24–28).

While Paul was in Ephesus on his third journey (1 Cor 16:8; Acts 19:1–20), he received disquieting news about Corinth. The community there was displaying open factionalism, as certain members were identifying themselves exclusively with individual Christian leaders and interpreting Christian teaching as a superior wisdom for the initiated few (1 Cor 1:10–4:21). The community lacked the decisiveness to take appropriate action against one of its members who was living publicly in an incestuous union (1 Cor 5:1–13). Other members engaged in legal conflicts in pagan courts of law (1 Cor 6:1–11); still others may have participated in religious prostitution (1 Cor 6:12–20) or temple sacrifices (1 Cor 10:14–22).

The community’s ills were reflected in its liturgy. In the celebration of the Eucharist certain members discriminated against others, drank too freely at the agape, or fellowship meal, and denied Christian social courtesies to the poor among the membership (1 Cor 11:17–22). Charisms such as ecstatic prayer, attributed freely to the impulse of the holy Spirit, were more highly prized than works of charity (1 Cor 13:1–2, 8), and were used at times in a disorderly way (1 Cor 14:1–40). Women appeared at the assembly without the customary head-covering (1 Cor 11:3–16), and perhaps were quarreling over their right to address the assembly (1 Cor 14:34–35).

Still other problems with which Paul had to deal concerned matters of conscience discussed among the faithful members of the community: the eating of meat that had been sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 8:1–13), the use of sex in marriage (1 Cor 7:1–7), and the attitude to be taken by the unmarried toward marriage in view of the possible proximity of Christ’s second coming (1 Cor 7:25–40). There was also a doctrinal matter that called for Paul’s attention, for some members of the community, despite their belief in the resurrection of Christ, were denying the possibility of general bodily resurrection.

To treat this wide spectrum of questions, Paul wrote this letter from Ephesus about the year 56. The majority of the Corinthian Christians may well have been quite faithful. Paul writes on their behalf to guard against the threats posed to the community by the views and conduct of various minorities. He writes with confidence in the authority of his apostolic mission, and he presumes that the Corinthians, despite their deficiencies, will recognize and accept it. On the other hand, he does not hesitate to exercise his authority as his judgment dictates in each situation, even going so far as to promise a direct confrontation with recalcitrants, should the abuses he scores remain uncorrected (1 Cor 4:18–21).

The letter illustrates well the mind and character of Paul. Although he is impelled to insist on his office as founder of the community, he recognizes that he is only one servant of God among many and generously acknowledges the labors of Apollos (1 Cor 3:5–8). He provides us in this letter with many valuable examples of his method of theological reflection and exposition. He always treats the questions at issue on the level of the purity of Christian teaching and conduct. Certain passages of the letter are of the greatest importance for the understanding of early Christian teaching on the Eucharist (1 Cor 10:14–22; 11:17–34) and on the resurrection of the body (1 Cor 15:1–58).

Paul’s authorship of 1 Corinthians, apart from a few verses that some regard as later interpolations, has never been seriously questioned. Some scholars have proposed, however, that the letter as we have it contains portions of more than one original Pauline letter. We know that Paul wrote at least two other letters to Corinth (see 1 Cor 5:9; 2 Cor 2:3–4) in addition to the two that we now have; this theory holds that the additional letters are actually contained within the two canonical ones. Most commentators, however, find 1 Corinthians quite understandable as a single coherent work.

The principal divisions of the First Letter to the Corinthians are the following:

1. Address (1:1–9)
2. Disorders in the Corinthian Community (1:10–6:20)
   1. Divisions in the Church (1:10–4:21)
   2. Moral Disorders (5:1–6:20)
3. Answers to the Corinthians’ Questions (7:1–11:1)
   1. Marriage and Virginity (7:1–40)
   2. Offerings to Idols (8:1–11:1)
4. Problems in Liturgical Assemblies (11:2–14:40)
   1. Women’s Headdresses (11:3–16)
   2. The Lord’s Supper (11:17–34)
   3. Spiritual Gifts (12:1–14:40)
5. The Resurrection (15:1–58)
   1. The Resurrection of Christ (15:1–11)
   2. The Resurrection of the Dead (15:12–34)
   3. The Manner of the Resurrection (15:35–58)
6. Conclusion (16:1–24)