1 Samuel 1:24

And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(24, 25) With three bullocks . . . And they slew a bullock.—There at first sight seems a discrepancy here, and the LXX. translators seem to have felt it, for they read, instead of “three bullocks,” “a bullock of three years old.” The true explanation, however, is that the one bullock alluded to in 1Samuel 1:25 was the burnt offering by which the child was consecrated to the Lord. The other two were the yearly festival offering, the presentation of which being the usual gift, the chronicler did not think it here worth while to mention again.

Benson Commentary

1 Samuel 1:24. With three bullocks, &c. — As they were not to appear before the Lord empty, so upon this occasion they brought an ample offering to him, to testify their gratitude. And it is highly probable that one of these bullocks was wholly offered to God as a burnt-offering, and the other two were peace-offerings; or, as some rather think, one a sin-offering, and the other a peace-offering. One ephah of flour — For the meat or meal- offerings, which to each bullock were three tenth-deals, or three tenth parts of an ephah; and so nine parts of the ephah were spent, and the tenth part was given to the priest. Wine — For drink-offerings.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:19-28 Elkanah and his family had a journey before them, and a family of children to take with them, yet they would not move till they had worshipped God together. Prayer and provender do not hinder a journey. When men are in such haste to set out upon journeys, or to engage in business, that they have not time to worship God, they are likely to proceed without his presence and blessing. Hannah, though she felt a warm regard for the courts of God's house, begged to stay at home. God will have mercy, and not sacrifice. Those who are detained from public ordinances, by the nursing and tending of little children, may take comfort from this instance, and believe, that if they do that duty in a right spirit, God will graciously accept them therein. Hannah presented her child to the Lord with a grateful acknowledgment of his goodness in answer to prayer. Whatever we give to God, it is what we have first asked and received from him. All our gifts to him were first his gifts to us. The child Samuel early showed true piety. Little children should be taught to worship God when very young. Their parents should teach them in it, bring them to it, and put them on doing it as well as they can; God will graciously accept them, and will teach them to do better.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Until the child be weaned - Hebrew mothers, as elsewhere in the East, usually suckled their children until the age of two complete years, sometimes until the age of three.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

24. three bullocks—The Septuagint renders it "a bullock of three years old"; which is probably the true rendering.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Three bullocks; either, first, One to be offered at that time; the other two presented to the priest, whether for his own use, or to be offered afterwards, as he saw fit. Or, secondly, One for a burnt-offering the second for a sin-offering, the third for a peace-offering, of which they might all feast together; for all these sorts seem expedient for this work and time.

One ephah of flour, for the meat-offerings belonging to the principal sacrifices, which to each bullock were three tenth deals, or three tenth parts of an ephah, as appears from Numbers 15:9 28:12; and so nine homers, or nine parts of the ephah, were spent, and the tenth part was either a separate meat-offering, or given to the priest.

A bottle of wine, for drink-offerings, according to the manner.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And when she had weaned him,.... At the usual time of weaning children; See Gill on 1 Samuel 1:23 some refer this not only to the milk of the breast, from which he was weaned, but to such food as was common to children, and so supposes him grown up to nine or ten years of age:

she took him up with her; to the tabernacle at Shiloh, at a yearly festival: with three bullocks; for three sorts of offerings, burnt offering, sin offering, and peace offering; or since one only is spoken of as slain, that is, for sacrifice, the other two might be for food to entertain her family and friends with while there; or as a present to the high priest, to whose care she committed her son:

and one ephah of flour; if the bullocks were all sacrificed, three tenth deals, or three tenth parts of the ephah, went for a meat offering to each bullock, which made nine parts out of ten, and the tenth part she had to dispose of at pleasure; see Numbers 15:9, though that seems to be restrained to a burnt offering only:

and a bottle of wine; part of which might be for the drink offering which always attended a meat offering, and the rest for her own use, and that of her friends:

and brought him unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh: the tabernacle there, and delivered him up to the care of the high priest, to be trained up in the service of God:

and the child was young; a very child, very young in years, a little infant; not a sucking child, as the Targum, because weaned, otherwise of a very tender age; though some think this expresses that he was a well grown lad, and was sharp and acute, and could well distinguish between good and evil.

Geneva Study Bible

And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

24. three bullocks] We may conjecture that one was intended for a burnt-offering, one for the “sacrifice in performing a vow,” and one for a peace-offering. See Numbers 15:8.

one ephah of flour] According to Josephus, the ephah contained about 8½ gallons, according to Jewish authorities about 4½ gallons. The smaller estimate is probably correct. Three tenth parts of an ephah of flour were to be offered with each bullock (Numbers 15:9) as a “meat-offering” (minchah).

a bottle of wine] i.e. a skin-bottle, which would hold a considerable quantity. The prescribed drink-offering with each bullock was half an hin of wine (Numbers 15:10), or about three pints, the hin being a sixth part of the bath, which was of the same capacity as the ephah (Ezekiel 45:11).

the house of the Lord] See note on 1 Samuel 1:9.

the child was young] Lit. “the child was a child.” The term is quite vague, and gives no clue to Samuel’s age at the time. See however the note on 1 Samuel 1:22.

1 Samuel 1:24

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

As soon as the boy was weaned, Hannah brought him, although still a נער, i.e., a tender boy, to Shiloh, with a sacrifice of three oxen, an ephah of meal, and a pitcher of wine, and gave him up to Eli when the ox (bullock) had been slain, i.e., offered in sacrifice as a burnt-offering. The striking circumstance that, according to 1 Samuel 1:24, Samuel's parents brought three oxen with them to Shiloh, and yet in 1 Samuel 1:25 the ox (הפּר) alone is spoken of as being slain (or sacrificed), may be explained very simply on the supposition that in 1 Samuel 1:25 that particular sacrifice is referred to, which was associated with the presentation of the boy, that is to say, the burnt-offering by virtue of which the boy was consecrated to the Lord as a spiritual sacrifice for a lifelong service at His sanctuary, whereas the other two oxen served as the yearly festal offering, i.e., the burnt-offerings and thank-offerings which Elkanah presented year by year, and the presentation of which the writer did not think it needful to mention, simply because it followed partly from 1 Samuel 1:3 and partly from the Mosaic law.

(Note: The interpretation of שׁלשׁה בּפרים by ἐν μόσχῳ τριετίζοντι (lxx), upon which Thenius would found an alteration of the text, is proved to be both arbitrary and wrong by the fact that the translators themselves afterwards mention the θυσία, which Elkanah brought year by year, and the μόσχος, and consequently represent him as offering at least two animals, in direct opposition to the μόσχῳ τριετίζοντι. This discrepancy cannot be removed by the assertion that in 1 Samuel 1:24 the sacrificial animal intended for the dedication of the boy is the only one mentioned; and the presentation of the regular festal sacrifice is taken for granted, for an ephah of meal would not be the proper quantity to be offered in connection with a single ox, since, according to the law in Numbers 15:8-9, only three-tenths of an ephah of meal were required when an ox was presented as a burnt-offering or slain offering. The presentation of an ephah of meal presupposes the offering of three oxen, and therefore shows that in 1 Samuel 1:24 the materials are mentioned for all the sacrifices that Elkanah was about to offer.)