The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 4 · Section 151
SECT. CLI.
Firſt Book of Samuel.WE are now come to the firſt Book of Samuel, which contains an Hiſtory of eighty years, forty in the time of Eli [in the four firſt Chapters] and forty in the times of Samuel and Saul in the reſt of the Book; ſo that the Hiſtory of theſe three perſons together with ſome part of the Hiſtory of David is the chief matter of this Book. The two Books of Samuel are thought to be written by Samuel, Nathan, and Gad, one after another, 1 Chron. 29.29. yet ſome paſſages in theſe Books may ſeem to intimate that they were written in latter times; as 1 Sam. 5.5. and Ch. 30.25. 2 Sam. 6.8. Theſe two Books of Samuel are ſtiled by the Septuagint, and ſeveral others, the firſt and ſecond Book of the Kings, the firſt containing all the Hiſtory of King Saul, and part of the Hiſtory of King David, both whom Samuel anointed by Gods appointment, and the ſecond the Hiſtory of King Iſhboſheth ſhortly, and of King David at large.
After Samſons death Eli the High-Prieſt [in whom the High-Prieſthood was tranſlated from the ſtock of Eleazar the Eldeſt, Eli 13 Judg.to the poſterity of Ithamar the younger Son of Aaron] executed the Office of a Judg in Civil cauſes, and judged Iſrael forty years. He was extraordinarily both High-Prieſt (a)How he came to be High-Prieſt we cannot ſay; that Eli was of the poſterity of Ithamar Aaron's ſecond Son, appears from hence: Abiathar who was depoſed from being High-Prieſt by Solomon, was of the poſterity of Eli, 1 King. 2.27. and of Abimelech (who was the Son of Abiathar) it is expreſly ſaid, 1 Chron. 24.3. that he was of the Sons of Ithamar. How the High-Priesthood came to be transferred from the poſterity of Eleazar to Eli, who was of the houſe of Ithamar cannot be cleared by any place of Scripture; we may conjecture that it ſo fell out becauſe the High-Prieſts of Eleazars family had ſome way or other highly provoked God by their evil courſes in the days of the former Judges. This was the Series of the High-Prieſts as appears 1 Chron. 6.4. Aaron, Eleazar, Phineas, Abiſhua, Bukki, Uzzi; from Uzzi the High-Prieſthood was tranſlated to Eli; to whom ſucceeded Achitob, to him Achias, to him Ahimelech, to him Abiathar, who was depoſed from the Prieſthood by Solomon, 1 King. 2.27. that he might perform the word of the Lord that he ſpake concerning the houſe of Eli in Shiloh, 1 Sam. 2.31.35.and Judg, a good and famous man, though faulty in being too indulgent to his Children, as we ſhall ſee afterwards. In his time, and under his Government Samuel was born, whoſe Hiſtory we come now to deſcribe.
His Father was Elkanah a Levite of the family of the Kohathites of the poſterity of of Korah, 1 Chron. 6.22, 23. who dwelt in Ramathaim-Zophim in Mount Ephraim. He had two wives, probably Hannah was his firſt wife, and ſhe being barren he afterwards took Peninnah who was fruitful. Though the Lord allowed not Polygamy, yet he was pleaſed to tolerate it for a time, and poſſibly the Jews did conceive that Gods promiſe to Abraham of multiplying his ſeed as the ſtars of the heaven did imply a diſpenſation for them to have more wives than one. The Tabernacle was now at Shiloh, and there had continued ſince the ſeventh year of Joſhua, Ch. 18.1. thither went Elkanah yearly, that is at thoſe three ſolemn Feaſts wherein all the males were bound to appear before the Lord, Deut. 16.16. He might poſſibly go at other times as a Levite to do ſervice in his courſe, but he failed not to go up at thoſe great Solemnities, and it ſeems ſeveral of his family uſed to go up with him, yea the women alſo (ſuch was their devotion) though not bound thereunto by the Law. At thoſe great Feaſts he gave to Peninnah and all her Sons and Daughters portions of the Peace-offerings which he offered to the Lord, according to the ancient manner of Feaſts, of which ſee Gen. 43.34. but unto Hannah who was his beſt beloved he gave a larger and better portion, and poſſibly of the choiceſt and beſt of the Sacrifices. Peninnah was angry at this, and thereupon quarrelled with and provoked Hannah, and upbraided her for her barrenneſs, as an effect of the Lords diſpleaſure againſt her; and as Elkanah did thus continually expreſs his great love to Hannah when he went yearly with his family to the Houſe of God, ſo Peninnah perſiſted from time to time to vex her with her provocations, and poſſibly upbraided her with her fruitleſs ſeeking to God ſo earneſtly at thoſe times for a child; this greatly troubled Hannah, in ſo much that ſhe mourned and wept, and did not care to eat as others did, eſpecially not with any joy and chearfulneſs as they were bound to do at thoſe ſolemn Feaſts. Elkanah perceiving it, asked her why ſhe ſo grieved and wept, and ſo mourned in a time when ſhe ought to have rejoiced? 'Tis true (ſays he) the Lord hath not afforded thee Children, but am not I (who love thee ſo dearly) better to thee than ten Sons (b)In concorde matrimonio plus boni eſt quam in ipſa faecunditate. Gr.. But when Elkanah and his family had eaten and drunk together (with whom Hannah ſate) ſhe being in bitterneſs of ſoul went out and prayed unto the Lord, and wept ſore, and ſhe ſaid, O Lord of Hoſts, if thou wilt pleaſe to look on the affliction of thy hand-maid, and wilt give unto me a man-child, I will give him unto thee all the days of his life (c)As to the power of her Vow we muſt underſtand that ſhe only vowed to do what in her lay that it might be thus if the Child had no defect either in body or mind, and was willing when he came to the years of diſcretion to take upon him the Vow, and provided that her Husband conſented thereunto, without which the Womans Vow was of no force, Numb. 30.8. Indeed it is evident in the ſequel of Samuels ſtory that he did not always continue in the Tabernacle, ſee Ch. 7.16. but went from year to year in Circuit and judged Iſrael. And hence it ſeems probable that after he became Judg in Iſrael, he was by ſpecial diſpenſation from God freed from this Vow of his Mother.. That is, he ſhall not ſtay till the uſual years of other Levites (which was 25 or 30 years of age) but ſhall be brought to the Tabernacle and trained up there, even from his Childhood, and all that while ſhall continue under the ſtrict vow of a Nazarite, which ordinarily the Levites were not bound unto. It ſeems at this very time when Hannah poured forth her prayer to the Lord, and made this Vow, that Eli the High-Prieſt ſate upon a ſeat by a poſt of the Temple of the Lord, that is the Tabernacle, which poſſibly at this time had ſome houſe built for it to preſerve it from weather; for Ch. 3.15. we read that Samuel opened the doors of the houſe of the Lord, whereas the Tabernacle had no Gates but only a Vail that was hung up at the entring of it, Exod. 26.36. Eli ſitting upon his ſeat, and ſeeing Hannah ſtand a great while near him mumbling with her lips after an unuſual manner, and poſſibly expreſſing ſome incompoſedneſs in her geſture through the vehemency of her affection, he thought ſhe had been drunk, wherefore he ſaid unto her, How long wilt thou continue here in thy drunkenneſs, and profane this holy place thou art come into; go home and ſleep out thy diſtemper, and then come with a penitent heart, and make thy peace with God. Hannah replys, No, my Lord, I am a woman of a ſorrowful ſpirit, and therefore very unlikely to be guilty of ſuch an exceſs; I have neither drunk wine nor ſtrong drink this day, but have been pouring *Pſal. 62.8. Lam. 2.19.forth my ſoul before the Lord; count me not therefore I pray thee ſuch a daughter of Belial, nor imagine me guilty of ſo great a crime as drunkenneſs is. I have only been opening my griefs and ſorrows to the Lord, and have been earneſtly imploring help from him. Eli hearing this, ſaid, Go in peace, and the God of Iſrael grant thee thy petition which thou haſt asked of him. Hannah deſires him that he would always retain that good opinion of her, and would ſtill pray to the Lord in her behalf; ſo being encouraged by the Spirit of God upon the prayer ſhe had poured forth, and the gracious encouragement ſhe had received from the High-Prieſt, ſhe departed with inward joy, and did eat bread, and her countenance was no more ſad.
The next morning Elkanah and his family before they ſet forth on their journey homewards, preſented themſelves before God in the Tabernacle, to worſhip him, and to pray for a proſperous journey and ſucceſs in all their other lawful affairs, leaving therein to poſterity a good precedent for their imitation. When they were come home, Hannah conceived by Elkanah, the Lord remembring her, and hearing her prayer; and when the time was come about for her delivery, ſhe bare a Son and called his name Samuel †We read not that Samuel ever was High-Prieſt, but an extraordinary Prophet, and Judg in Iſrael. A Sacrificer, though only a Levite, a rare and worthy perſon., that is, asked of God; rejoicing moſt in this, that this Son was given her in anſwer to her prayer. Elkanah with ſeveral of his family went up to the Tabernacle to offer unto the Lord the yearly Sacrifice and his vow, that is, beſides the yearly and ordinary Sacrifice ſome other oblation that he had vowed, namely a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving for the birth of his Son. But Hannah deſired of her Husband that ſhe might not go up till the child was weaned (d)V. 22. Educatus, i. e. eo uſ que provectus ut miniſtrare poſſit. Nam foreign non tantum eſt a mamma disjungere ſed educare, 1 Reg. 11.20. donec matureſcat ſive maturus ſiat puer miniſterio & Nazaraeatui. Donec efformetur puer, ie. ut ſatis membris & robore efformetur ad miniſtrandum in Tabernaculo. Maſ. 'Tis like ſhe would not wean him, and ſo put him from her till he was of ſome age to ſhift for himſelf among ſtrangers, being alſo before that time unable to do ſervice in the Tabernacle. A like example we have in Sarah who would not wean her beloved Iſaac till he was of ſome more than ordinary years for a weanling. See Gen. 21.8, 9., and educated, and fitted in ſome meaſure to do ſome kind of ſervice in the Tabernacle, and then ſhe would carry him thither, and leave him there, that he might continue in the ſervice of the Lord for ever; that is, all the days of his life. But 'tis plain that Samuel ſometime dwelt in Ramah, and there judged Iſrael, which hapned either after the age of fifty, (which was the time prefixed for the Levites ſervice, Numb. 8.25.) or by Gods eſpecial diſpenſation, who diſpenſed with his Vow to make him a Magiſtrate. Elkanah conſents to what his wife deſired, viz. that ſhe ſhould ſtay till the Child was weaned and educated; Only (ſays he) let the Lord eſtabliſh his word; whereby he ſeems to mean that eſpecial promiſe which God had made either to him or his wife, before or after the conception and birth of the child, though it be not expreſſed particularly what it was. When Hannah had weaned and educated her Son, ſhe took him with her to Shiloh, there to preſent him to the Lord according to her Vow; and ſhe took with her three Bullocks, one Ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine; One of theſe Bullocks was offered when they preſented the child, and delivered him up to the ſervice of the Lord; the other ('tis like) were offered in other Oblations; or the one might be offered as a Burnt-offering, the other two for a Peace-offering. The Ephah of flour contained ten Omers, or tenth-deals; now the Law preſcribing three tenth-deals to be offered with a Bullock, [Numb. 15.9.] nine tenth-deals of this Ephah were for the three Bullocks, and the other tenth-deal (which was overplus) might be intended for a voluntary meat-offering. The bottle of wine was to be uſed in their meat and drink, and Peace-offerings. Then Hannah preſenting her Son to Eli, ſhe ſaid, O my Lord, as ſure as thou art alive, I am the woman that ſtood by thee here praying for this child, and the Lord having granted my petition, I have lent him to the Lord as long as he liveth: that is, I have dedicated him to his ſervice, having asked him of the Lord for that very end, that I might return him to him again. As he was freely given, ſo he ſhall be freely devoted to Gods ſervice. And Elkanah Worſhipped the Lord there, and thankfully praiſed him for giving him this Son, and alſo prayed unto him for his bleſſing upon him, and that he would ſanctifie him by his Spirit, and inable him in an holy manner to perform that Religious ſervice, unto which he and his wife had devoted him.
1 Sam. Ch. 1. whole Chapter.