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The birth of Samuel and his dedication to the Lord. 1 Samuel 1:1. There was a certain man from Ramathaim-Zophim, from Mount Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eli, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite; “Ramathaim-Zophim” - otherwise Rama Samuel (see 1 Samuel 1:19) - an area in the mountains of Ephraim, located northwest of Jerusalem. “Ephrathite” not in the sense of “Bethlehemite” (Gen. 35:1): Bethlehem is located south of Jerusalem, but in the sense of “Ephraimite”, according to the place of its origin. Ephratha, Ephrathite, Ephraim, Ephraim, Ephraimite come from the same Hebrew root פרה - to grow, to be fruitful, to produce fruit, to be fruitful. 1 Samuel 1:3. And this man went out of his city on the appointed days to worship and offer sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh; [Eli and] his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there as priests of the Lord. In Shiloh (north of Jerusalem, in the tribe of Ephraim) the House of the Lord was located at that time, i.e. Tabernacle. Eli was her high priest (and at the same time a judge of the people), and Hophni and Phinehas were priests. The “appointed days” on which Elkanah went to Shiloh to offer sacrifices to the Lord God were the holidays: Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles, when all male Jews were obliged (Exod. 34:23; Deut. 16:16) to appear at the Tabernacle and offer their sacrifices here. In relation to females, this law was not mandatory, both because men were considered here as representatives of their entire family, and because the comparative weakness and some features of the physical life of women prevented them from fulfilling the order with due care. But the absence of a direct instruction did not, of course, prevent pious women, if possible, from voluntarily accompanying men on their pilgrimage to the House of the Lord, as we see from further verses of the chapter. 1 Samuel 1:4. On the day that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters her portion; This refers to a peace offering. Its peculiarity, by the way, was that after the fat was burned on the altar and the breast and shoulder were separated for the benefit of the priests, everything else was returned to the one who brought the sacrifice and was usually served for a sacred meal near the Tabernacle, as a sign of communion with God. In addition to the family of the sacrificer, the Levites, as well as slaves and the poor, took part in the sacred meal of the pious Israelite (Lev.7:11,21,29-34; Deut.16:11). 1 Samuel 1:5. But he gave Hannah a special portion [since she had no children], for he loved Hannah [more than Penanna], although the Lord had shut up her womb. “The special part”, i.e. chosen with special attention and love. “Though the Lord shut up her womb.” Reasoning about the said words, blessed. Theodoret notes: “This teaches readers not to place their hope in marriage, but to call on the Creator for help. For just as it belongs to the farmer to plant the seeds in the ground, and to God to bring what is sown to perfection, so it is given to marriage to communicate, but to help nature and form a living being is God’s work” (Interpretation of 1 Samuel, issue 3). 1 Samuel 1:11. and made a vow, saying: Lord [Almighty God] of hosts! If You will consider the sorrow of Your servant and remember me, and will not forget Your servant and give Your servant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord [as a gift] all the days of his life, [and he will not drink wine or strong drink,] and no razor will touch his head. This refers to the Nazirite vow. See note. to the book Numbers 6. Based on the assumption that Elkanah belonged to the tribe of Levi (1 Chronicles 6:27–28,33–34), they say that Samuel, as a Levite, was supposed to serve the Lord at the Tabernacle. Of course, as a Levite, Samuel would have to serve the Lord at the Tabernacle, but not all his life, but only from the age of 25 or 30 to 50 (Num. 4:3,30; Num. 8:24), and, moreover, without the obligation to perform those ascetic deeds that are associated with the Nazirite vow. 1 Samuel 1:20. After some time, Anna conceived and gave birth to a son and gave him a name: Samuel, for [she said], from the Lord [God of hosts] I asked him. The word "Samuel" in Hebrew means "requested of God." 1 Samuel 1:21. And her husband Elkanah and all his family went [to Shiloh] to offer the yearly sacrifice to the Lord and their vows [and all the tithes of their land]. The Levites were not exempt from paying tithes for the benefit of the priests (Num.18:26; Neh.10:38). 1 Samuel 1:23. And Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do as you please; stay until you breastfeed him; Only may the Lord establish the word [that has come out of your mouth]. And his wife remained and nursed her son until she was full. “Only let him establish”, i.e. will make the “word” of the promise “that came out of your mouth” firm and immutable. 1 Samuel 1:25. [And they brought him before the Lord; and his father offered the sacrifice which he had offered to the Lord on the appointed days. And they brought the boy] and killed the calf; and she brought the boy [Anna's mother] to Eli “And his father offered the sacrifice which he had offered to the Lord on the appointed days.” See note. to 1 Samuel 1:8. The expression “in appointed days”, when compared with the expression 1 Samuel 1:3 “in appointed days”, gives reason to assume that the arrival of Elkanah, Anna and Samuel at the tabernacle coincided with one of those three annual holidays (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles), when Elkanah and his family appeared at the tabernacle and offered their sacrifices there. 1 Samuel 1:28. and I commit him to the Lord all the days of his life to serve the Lord. And she worshiped the Lord there. Subsequent events showed that Samuel's lifelong service to the Lord was not limited to performing simple duties with the priests in the tabernacle. Called by God as a prophet and judge of the Jewish people, Samuel zealously served the Lord among the entire Jewish people. 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