Understanding the Scriptures
|Gave … portions (v. 4)||The law of Moses allowed the priest to keep some of the meat of a sacrifice offering for food. Some of the rest was returned to the family after the meat was cooked on the altar. Each family member received “portions,” or parts, of what was returned to the family.|
|Worthy portion (v. 5)||Greater part|
|Adversary (v. 6)||Enemy, meaning the other wife, who was her rival|
|Provoked her sore (v. 6)||Continually tried to upset her|
|Fret (v. 6)||Unhappy and worried|
|Grieved (v. 8)||Sad|
|Bitterness (v. 10)||Sadness|
|Sore (v. 10)||Much|
|Vow (vv. 11, 21)||Promise|
|Affliction (v. 11)||Trouble or misery|
|No razor come upon his head (v. 11)||Not cut his hair (see Bible Dictionary, “Nazarite,” p. 737)|
|Abundance of my complaint and grief (v. 16)||Great pain and sadness|
|Petition (vv. 17, 27)||Request|
|Countenance (v. 18)||Face, expression|
|Knew his wife (v. 19)||Conceived a child with his wife|
|Weaned (vv. 22–24)||No longer fed by a mother’s milk. Among the Israelites at this time, mothers usually breast-fed their children for three years.|
|Establish (v. 23)||Fulfill|
|Abode (v. 23)||Stayed home|
|Suck (v. 23)||Milk from the breast|
|Lent (v. 28)||Given|
Studying the Scriptures
Do two of the following activities (A–C) as you study 1 Samuel 1.
How to Meet Challenges
From the events you read about in 1 Samuel 1, what can you learn from Hannah to apply to your own life’s experiences?
What Do You Think It Would Be Like?
Describe what you think it would be like to be Hannah’s child. Include in your answer some qualities you read about in 1 Samuel that show what kind of mother Hannah was.
How Do You Dedicate Yourself to God?
Because Hannah dedicated Samuel to the Lord’s service, Samuel would grow up with the priests and work with the tabernacle all his life. Obviously, we do not dedicate our children to the Lord in the same way today; however, what do you think you could do as a parent to give your children the feeling Samuel had growing up, the feeling that he belonged to the Lord and was specially dedicated to the Lord’s service all his life?