:
1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. 2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 4 The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. 5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. 6 The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. 7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. 8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them. 9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. 10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. 11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest. 12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. 13 And the priests' custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand; 14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither. 15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. 16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. 17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD. 18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod. 19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The LORD give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the LORD. And they went unto their own home. 21 And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel grew before the LORD. 22 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 23 And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. 24 Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD's people to transgress. 25 If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them. 26 And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men. 27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? 28 And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? 29 Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? 30 Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. 33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. 35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. 36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
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[AD 407] John Chrysostom on 1 Samuel 2:1
What is the meaning of “my horn”? Scripture frequently employs this phrase, remember, as when it says, “His horn was exalted” and “The horn of his anointed was exalted.” So what on earth does “horn” mean? Force, glory, prominence, using a metaphor from the brute beasts: God implanted in them only the horn by way of glory and weaponry, and if they lose it, they lose most of their force; and like a soldier without weapons a bull without horns is also easily disposed of. So by this the woman means nothing other than this, my glory is exalted. How is it exalted? “In my God,” she says. Hence the exaltation is also secure, having a firm and permanent root: while glory from human beings corresponds to the baseness of those glorifying, and so is very liable to disappear, God’s glory is not like that, remaining forever permanent.

Source: HOMILIES ON HANNAH 4
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on 1 Samuel 2:1-10
Are these words going to be regarded as simply the words of one mere woman giving thanks for the birth of her son? Are people’s minds so turned away from the light of truth that they do not feel that the words poured out by this woman transcend the limit of her own thoughts? Surely, anyone who is appropriately moved by the events whose fulfillment has already begun, even in this earthly pilgrimage, must listen to these words and observe and recognize that through this woman (whose very name, Hannah, means “God’s grace”), there speaks, by the spirit of prophecy, the Christian religion itself, the City of God itself, whose king and founder is Christ. There speaks, in fact, the grace of God itself, from which the proud are estranged so that they fall, with which the humble are filled so that they rise up, which was in fact the chief theme that rang out in her hymn of praise. Now it may be that someone will be ready to say that the woman didn’t utter a prophecy but merely praised God in an outburst of exultation for the son who was granted in answer to her prayer. If so, what is the meaning of this passage, “He has made weak the bow of the mighty ones, and the weak have girded themselves with strength. Those who were full of bread have been reduced to want, and the hungry have passed over the earth. Because the barren woman has given birth to seven, while she who has many children has become weak.” Had Hannah herself really borne seven children, although she was barren? She had only one son when she spoke these words; and even afterwards she did not give birth to seven, or to six, which would have made Samuel the seventh. She had in fact three male and two female children. And then observe her concluding words, spoken among that people at a time when no one had yet been king over them: “He gives strength to our kings and will exalt the horn of his anointed.” How is it that she said this, if she was not uttering a prophecy? Therefore, let the church of Christ speak, the “city of the great king,” the church that is “full of grace,” fruitful in children. Let it speak the words that it recognizes as spoken prophetically about itself, so long ago, by the lips of this devout mother, “My heart is strengthened in the Lord; my horn is exalted in my God.” Her heart is truly strengthened and her horn truly exalted, because it is “in the Lord her God,” not in herself, that she finds strength and exaltation.

Source: City of God 17.4
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:1
My heart exulted in the Lord, etc. Truly a heart exulting, truly has the horn of spiritual kingship been exalted, which does not boast in itself, nor in perishable and fragile things, but glories in the Lord its God; according to him who says: Rejoice, O righteous, in the Lord, and I shall break all the horns of sinners, and the horns of the righteous will be exalted (Psalm 75). He does not say, He shall break, He has exalted; but, I shall break, and thus they shall be exalted.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:1
My mouth is enlarged over my enemies, etc. While my heart is enlarged to rejoice in Jesus, that is, in your salvation, my mouth is also enlarged over all enemies of faith and truth, to confess and proclaim His name; because even in the tightness of afflictions your word is not bound, nor is it bound in preachers.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on 1 Samuel 2:1
My horn: The horn in the scriptures signifies strength, power, the horn is said to be exalted, when a person receives an increase of strength or glory.
[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on 1 Samuel 2:2
“Be holy, for I also am holy.” But however much one might advance in sanctity, however much purity and sincerity one might acquire, a human being cannot be holy like the Lord, because he is the bestower of sanctity, the human being its receiver, he is the fountain of sanctity, the human being the drinker from the fountain, he is the light of sanctity, the human being the contemplator of the holy light. Thus “there is none holy like the Lord, there is none besides thee.” What it means to say “There is none besides thee,” I do not understand. If it had said, “There is no God but you” or “There is no creator but you” or had added something like this, there would be no problem. But if it now says “There is none besides thee,” this is what it seems to me to mean here: none of those things which are possess their existence by nature. You alone, O Lord, are the one to whom your existence has not been given by anyone. Because all of us, that is the whole creation, did not exist before we were created; thus, that we are, is [due to] the will of the Creator. And because there was a time when we were not, it is not wholly right if it is said of us, without qualification, that we exist.… For the shadow is nothing in comparison with the body; and in comparison with the fire, smoke too is nothing.

Source: HOMILIES ON 1 KINGS 1.11
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:2
There is none holy like the Lord, etc. Indeed, we read of holy and strong people and angels; but no matter how much one advances in holiness, however much perfection is acquired, a creature cannot be as holy and strong as the Creator; because He is the bestower of strength and holiness, the other is the recipient. As for what he said, Neither is there any other beside you, and he did not add, Creator, or Lord, or anything specific; it singularly designates His eternal existence, which the Psalmist distinguishes from the frailty of creatures: You will change them, and they will be changed; but you are the same, and your years will have no end (Psalm 102).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 379] Basil of Caesarea on 1 Samuel 2:3
No sensible person, then, will be proud of his wisdom … but will follow the excellent advice of blessed Hannah and of the prophet Jeremiah, “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom and let not the strong man glory in his strength and let not the rich man glory in his riches.” But what is true glory and what makes one great? “In this,” says the prophet, “let him that glories, glory, that he understands and knows that I am the Lord.” This constitutes the pinnacle of human dignity, this is his glory and greatness: truly to know what is great and to cleave to it, and to seek after glory from the Lord of glory.

Source: ON HUMILITY
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:3
Do not multiply lofty words, glorying, etc. It is said to the Jews and the Gentiles: Let it suffice to have so far gloried in your almost unique glory, now with the letter of the law transcended by grace, the truth of the Gospel trampling down the errors of the Gentiles, both receive the New Testament of Christ with faith, and the commandment of love. But we are also commanded to speak lofty things, but not to multiply lofty words glorying; that is, to seek and to desire the things above, not those on earth; yet not to think more highly than we ought to think, but to think soberly (Coloss. III; Rom. XII). The Gentiles are instructed to speak lofty things, by proclaiming the mysteries of the one true God, and not to multiply lofty words, by erring through many deceiving names.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:3
For the Lord is the God of knowledge, etc. Therefore, it is necessary for you to not seek higher things for yourselves, nor to search into things stronger than yourselves (Eccles. III); for the source and treasure of wisdom and knowledge, who teaches man knowledge: the Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain (Psa. XCIII).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:4
The bow of the mighty has been broken, etc. The proud intention of the Jews, by which they always presumed to be saved by the works of the law, has failed; the exercise of dialectical skill, and the loquacity of secular philosophy, as if bent to ridicule the simplicity of faith, has been weakened; finally, all the fiery darts of malignant spirits have been blunted by the weapons of invincible truth; because God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty (I Cor. II).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:5
Those who were filled have hired themselves out for bread, etc. The Jews, having previously been refreshed by the living bread of Scriptures, now, dissembling within themselves, lack amidst the spiritual feasts of the church at the feast of the good father, who gratefully received the returning younger son, and those who were once guests of the covenants, now taste and see that the Lord is good.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:5
The barren has borne many, etc. Isaiah explains that the children of the desolate are many more than of her who has a husband (Isaiah LIV). The translators of the Septuagint wrote, "For the barren has borne seven." Saba, a Hebrew word, indeed designates both seven and many. But even the sense of that version becomes clear to those recognizing the number seven, which signifies the complete perfection of the church. This is why the apostle John writes to the seven churches (Revelation I), showing himself thus writing to the fullness of one; and in the Proverbs of Solomon, prefiguring this before: Wisdom has built a house for herself, she has hewn seven pillars (Proverbs IX).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 220] Tertullian on 1 Samuel 2:6
Certainly his making alive is to take place after he has killed. As, therefore, it is by death that he kills, it is by the resurrection that he will make alive. Now it is the flesh which is killed by death; the flesh, therefore, will be revived by the resurrection. Surely if killing means taking away life from the flesh, and its opposite, reviving, amounts to restoring life to the flesh, it must needs be that the flesh rise again, to which the life, which has been taken away by killing, has to be restored by vivification.

Source: ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH 28
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:6-7
The Lord kills and gives life, etc. He kills the Synagogue and gives life to the Church; or He gives life to those whom He kills; so that we might consider that we are indeed dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus (Eph. II). Or certainly, we should understand according to what the Apostle said: For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh (II Cor. IV). But better, and without any controversy, we confess this fulfillment in the Lord, who died and came to life again, descending to the dead and resurrecting.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:7
The Lord makes poor and makes rich, etc. Those whom He makes poor and humble in spirit for their own sake in the present, He makes rich in Himself in the future and exalts.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:8
He raises the needy from the dust, etc. He raises Christ from the dead, so that His flesh may not see corruption; and He lifts Him to the heavens, that He may not be overcome by the persecutors, the Jews, whose traditions the Apostle considers as dung (Colossians III). For He Himself became needy, He Himself became poor for our sakes, that by His poverty we might be made rich (II Cor. VIII).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:8
To sit with princes, etc. He himself explains this verse, when questioned by those whom he made poor so that he might enrich them; he humbled them on earth so that he might exalt them in heaven; when asked what reward they would have in the future; he responded: When the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his majesty, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. XIX). And Solomon, in praise of a strong woman, that is, the Church, or any chosen soul: Noble, he says, is her husband in the gates, when he sits with the elders of the land (Proverbs XXXI).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:8
For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's, etc. He has not only set up high promontories and cliffs as defenses against the heat of marine tempests for the earthly world but much more so, to maintain the state of his Church, so that no wave of turbulent persecution might throw it down, he has placed the steadfast and strong hearts of his faithful. He therefore calls these foundations of the earth, the supports of the world, upon which the princes sit on thrones. And rightly so; because the more humbly they now bear, and defend more fervently, the more exalted they will be in judgment then. Blessed Job also remembers who the lords of these foundations are, and that they are not fortified by their own strength, saying of the Lord: Under whom bend those who bear the world. So that they may firmly support the burdens of the weak, they continually submit humble necks to invincible strength (Job IX).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:9
He has kept the feet of His saints, etc. He has defended the actions and minds of the pious, by which they advance towards perfection as though by steps, from the snares of the impious; and these same impious people, in the dark devices which they set for the good, will perish. Therefore, one of the saints, giving thanks to the Savior for the safety of his feet, sings: I will exult in your salvation; the nations are sunk down in the pit that they made, etc. (Psalm IX.)

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:9
For a man will not be strengthened by his own strength. He looks up. Therefore, the impious who, trusting in their own strength, despise seeking divine help, should finally be silent in darkness, that is, condemned at last to cease from blind impiety; because whoever rightly desires to be called a true man will be strengthened not in his own strength but in the grace of his Creator.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 339] Eusebius of Caesarea on 1 Samuel 2:10
These words refer to the return of Christ or to the return of God to heaven. His teaching [will be] heard like thunder by all, and holy Scripture foretells his future judgment of all afterwards. And after this it is said that the Lord will give strength to our kings. And these would be the apostles of Christ, of whom it is written in Psalm 67: “The Lord will give a word to the preachers of the gospel with much power.” Here, also, he mentions Christ by name, humanly known as our Savior, whose horn he says shall be exalted, meaning his invisible power and kingdom. For it is usual for Scripture to call a kingdom a “horn.” It is found also in Psalm 88: “And in my name shall his horn be exalted.”

Source: PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 1.4.16
[AD 665] Fructuosus of Braga on 1 Samuel 2:10
For it is written: “He himself shall judge the ends of the earth.” The Lord justifies or condemns each person at the end and considers the outcome of all things, so that not even the sinner, if he or she truly repents, need despair of forgiveness, nor should the just person have confidence in his own sanctity.

Source: GENERAL RULE FOR MONASTERIES 19
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:10
His adversaries will fear the Lord, etc. He openly predicts the terrible day of the strict and final judgment; on that day, since His adversaries will fear the Lord, it is necessary now for us who do not yet see Him to humbly fear Him, so that then we may rejoice at His sight in majesty. But even today, the Lord thunders from the lofty and luminous pages of Holy Scripture, which His Spirit enriched, to chide the stubbornness of the wicked.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:10
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. It is certain that the Lord will judge not only the ends of the earth but also the inland regions. Thus it is said: He will judge the ends of the earth; as if it were said, He will also judge the ends of the earth; because no one can hide from His heat (Psalm XVIII). But it is better understood to say the ends of the earth signify the end times or the final moments of every person or the whole world; because as someone departs from the body, so will he be presented to the examination of the strict judge.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:10
And He will give power to His king, etc. After the trial of the final examination, the kingdom of Christ, which unbelievers now despise, will be elevated and shown gloriously with the revelation of His divine majesty. But the horn of Christ is fittingly understood not only of the only-begotten Son of God but also of each of His chosen ones. Hence at the very beginning of this hymn, in which throughout she marvelously commends the grace of God, she says: My horn is exalted in my God. For we rightly call all His anointed ones christs, that nevertheless with their head they are one body, one Christ; now in part as strangers on earth, but then to be wholly exalted in the heavenly homeland. Recall the hymn of blessed Mary (Luke I), and see how the prophetess, mother, and Lord, both woman and virgin, felt similarly about God's judgments and grace.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:11
Thus Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house, etc. The Church of the Gentiles, recently called to faith, which we said signified the birth of the blessed Samuel, God's possession, which is His co-eternal wisdom, Christ, went to enlighten, as always, the lofty hearts of His saints, faithful and angels and humans, which are His house, strongly built upon the rock of faith against the gates of hell. But the people called to faith, even seen by and wondered at by the Jewish priesthood, humbly served Christ's commands as if they were always observing themselves.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 430] Augustine of Hippo on 1 Samuel 2:12-17
Samuel bore with the wicked sons of Eli, his debased sons whom the people would not bear and who were thereupon accused by divine truth or disciplined by divine wrath; finally he bore with the people themselves in their pride and rejection of God.… Let them read who wish, and who can, the heavenly language. They will find that all the saints have had to tolerate among their own people those who were recognized as servants and friends of God.

Source: LETTER 43
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:12
Furthermore, the sons of Eli, sons of Belial, etc. The sons of the Jewish priesthood, sons of blind light, or without a yoke (for both Belial and Beliar mean this), were those who did not know the doctrine of Christ; not following the commands of the divine law but adhering to their own statutes and traditions.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:15
But whoever had sacrificed a victim, the priest's boy would come, etc. Whoever at that time had decided to consecrate his life to the Lord, the disciples of the scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests would come, as his carnal customs began to be boiled away by the fire of heavenly devotion, and they had the rapacious desire of the world in their works; whose three-pronged bite the Apostle John describes, saying: For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2). And they would send examples or even teachings of earthly desires into whatever heart of the listener, whether it be teachable, or of slower and narrower intellect, whether weak and fragile, or patient of adversity, whether effective in speaking, or rustic and less eloquent, which is distinguished by the variety of larger and smaller iron, bronze, or earthen vessels; and they would pollute the small flame of divine love that someone had recently conceived by their worst touch, not expecting the reward of preaching as the law decreed, but rather compelling what was due to God to be made an offering to themselves in obedience; by which most crooked staff they also now defile sacred offerings in the church, whoever, having received the mystery of faith or even the ministry of the word, seek their own benefit, not that of Jesus Christ.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:15
Even before they burned the fat, etc. The wickedness of Pharisaic deception progressed so far that even before they taught that the rich offering of love, most pleasing to God, should be made, which should be offered singularly on the altar of the heart before other sacrifices of virtues, they would put their own service before divine worship; telling their wretched listeners that each should not consume the enticements of carnal lust with a flame of heavenly charity worthy of God, but should spend these less chastised in the injury to the Creator according to the whim of carnal commands. However, these wicked ones said this to their listeners not with words, but with the deeds themselves. We wish we did not know that very similar things are being done today by teachers and priests of the Church.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:17
The sin of the boys was therefore exceedingly great, etc. The sin of the scribes and Pharisees was exceedingly great before the Lord, although before men they justified themselves through hypocrisy (Luke 11); because they, being men, annulled the commandment of God through their traditions; or certainly taking away the key of knowledge, they themselves did not enter, and they prohibited those who wished to enter. If, however, the boys committed exceedingly great sin before the Lord, who unworthily handled the flesh of sacrificial victims, what do you think those deserve of punishment who, with childish foolishness, have trampled underfoot the Son of God and considered the blood of the eternal covenant polluted (Hebr. 10)? Who receiving, do not discern the body of the Lord (1 Cor. 11), that is, from the perception of common and mean foods, they by no means discern the mystery of heavenly life.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:18
Now Samuel was ministering before the face of God, etc. Ephod in Hebrew, in Latin it is called a superhumeral or overgarment; the garment of this name, woven from gold, blue, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and twisted fine linen, is mentioned in the Scripture of Exodus (Exod. XXV) as allowed only for the high priests. However, the same linen ephod is typified as usable by priests, Levites, and others, as the examples of Samuel, who was a Levite, the priests who Saul slew, and David dancing before the ark of the Lord demonstrate. For it could not have been eighty-five high priests of the same age, but priests of a lesser order. Typologically, the Ephod of various colors shows the manifold grace of virtues in a holy man. Linen, on the other hand, since it is produced from the earth, and through long practice reaches its own beauty, signifies the pure mortification of chaste flesh. Therefore, Samuel ministered before the face of the Lord, a boy girded with a linen ephod; Christ ministered to our infirmity humbly in a man, always carrying a body and soul most clean from every filth of sins. For He did not sin, nor did He do evil before the Lord: He who was conceived without iniquities, and His mother bore Him without sins. The Christian people serve Christ, crucifying their flesh with its vices and desires, chastening their body, and bringing it into subjection.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:19
And his mother made for him a little tunic. The Lord assumed not only a chaste and free from all sin, but also an entirely humble flesh, which the Church makes for Him, or whoever believes Him rightly and most wholesomely such, or because the virgin, a not ignoble member of the Church, from whom He Himself was born, shines brightly.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:19
Which he offered on the appointed days, etc. And the Church, never deserted by Christ, whom it has with it in secret all the days until the end of the age, ascending on the solemn days of the Mass to sacrifice, carries with it the mysteries of his flesh and blood in wine and bread. Indeed, to the people whom the Church bears for Christ, it instills the habit of humility, which it brings with it through the increase of each one's virtues, progressing to higher things with the grace of Christ, that it may render the vows of thanksgiving to the Father of lights. This is the wedding garment, according to the parable of the Gospel (Matthew 22), that everyone who enters the solemnities of the heavenly kingdom needs. And this was first donned by the Son of the great King himself, the author and sanctifier of spiritual weddings; who, proceeding as a bridegroom from his chamber, humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death (Ezekiel 40; Philippians 2). This tunic de facto small in appearance but great in power, he did not allow to be torn even at the time of his death by those who inflicted death upon him; for he preserved even in death the example of humility which led him to death.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:20
And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, etc. The priests of the Jews, having converted to faith, blessed Christ and the Church, of whom it is written: "A great number of the priests were obedient to the faith." The old priesthood often signifies in its types the Church to be blessed in Christ, and to be multiplied by the seed of the word among the nations of the Gentiles, and it speaks metaphorically to Christ: "May God the Father grant you believers from the Gentiles"; for they are the seed whom the Lord has blessed. For the return you lent to the Lord, that is, for that uniquely holy man, whom you chose to have taken from a virgin, sharing with you the person of Christ, that is, the name of God. For if a holy loan had not been received by the Lord, no one would have thought it hopeful to expect a seed from a barren woman. This means, if a man seized by God had not been glorified and seated at the right hand of the Father, the miserable gentility, and aware of its transgression, could not have reached the multiplication of the seed of Abraham at all. But while Christ, the firstfruits of the human race, was loaned to God the Father, hope is given to the faithful by His example to be saved through Him, to live in Him, to die for Him, to be resurrected by Him, and to reign eternally with Him. It can also be said that the Church, for the loan it lent to the Lord, earned seed from Him, when, by offering to the Lord a faithful and devoted people, it received greater gifts of faith and devotion, through preachers sent throughout the world; which in whatever nations, neglecting to obey the word of God when heard, failed to receive the multiplication of the holy seed for the unpaid loan of the word to the Lord by rejecting the teachers from itself.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 420] Jerome on 1 Samuel 2:21
When Hannah had once offered in the tabernacle the son whom she had vowed to God, she never took him back: for she thought it unbecoming that one who was to be a prophet should grow up in the same house with her who still desired to have other sons. Accordingly after she had conceived him and given him birth, she did not venture to come to the temple alone or to appear before the Lord empty but first paid to him what she owed, and then, when she had offered up that great sacrifice, she returned home; and because she had borne her firstborn for God, she was given five children for herself. Do you marvel at the happiness of that holy woman? Imitate her faith.

Source: LETTER 107.13
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:21
The Lord therefore enriched Anna, etc. The Lord gave to the Church the Spirit of His grace, by which it, being fruitful, bore for Him spiritual offspring, partly to search out or preach the mysteries of the Holy Trinity powerfully, partly with perfect love of God and neighbor despised in its simplicity; because the humility of the incarnation assumed by Christ for a time was held in great esteem by the Father; by whom everyone who humbles himself, will be exalted (Luke XIV). Whence also their sound went out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world (Psalm XVIII).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 379] Basil of Caesarea on 1 Samuel 2:22-25
Because their father [Eli] did not chastise them with enough severity … he moved the forbearance of God to wrath so great that foreign peoples rose up against them and killed those sons of his in war in one day. His entire nation, furthermore, was vanquished, and a considerable number of his people fell. Now, this happened even with the ark of the holy covenant of God nearby—an unheard of thing—so that the ark, which it was not lawful at any time for the Israelites or even for all their priests themselves to touch and which was kept in a special place, was carried hither and yon by impious hands and was put in the shrines of idols instead of the holy temples. Under such circumstances one can readily conjecture the amount of laughter and mockery that was inflicted upon the very name of God by these foreigners. Add to this, also, that Eli himself is recorded to have met a most pitiable end after hearing the threat that his seed would be removed from the priestly dignity; and so it happened.Such, then, were the disasters which befell that nation. Such griefs did the father suffer because of the iniquity of his sons, even though no accusation was ever made against Eli’s personal life. Moreover, he did not bear with those sons of his silence, but he earnestly exhorted them not to persist longer in those same wicked deeds, saying, “Do not act this way, my sons; for I hear no good report concerning you.” And to stress the enormity of their sin, he confronted them with an alarming view of their perilous state. “If one man shall sin against another,” he said, “they will pray for him to the Lord; but if a man shall sin against God, who shall pray for him?” Yet, as I said, because he did not exercise a suitable rigor of zeal in their regard, the disaster recounted above took place. And so I find throughout the Old Testament a great many instances of this kind illustrating the condemnation of all disobedience.

Source: PREFACE ON THE JUDGMENT OF GOD
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:22
And he heard everything that his sons were doing, etc. The transgression of the sons of Eli was not small nor uniform, which did not fear to tarnish both divine religion and love of neighbor. For it is read above that they presumed from the holy meats, not what was prescribed in the law, but what was pleasing to them; that before the sacred fat was burned for God, they presumed a portion for themselves from the sacrifice that was eaten; that they took raw meat from those offering it, to prepare it more carefully for themselves; that they made the people of the Lord transgress: and, which is exceedingly horrible, they did all this in contempt of the Creator. But now it is added that what would harm the brethren, because they polluted the women of the people who were coming together to pray; and below, it is added, which is the sum of all evils, that they did not repent even when corrected by their Father. We have spoken these things more precisely, so that, reader, you may remember what to beware of in each instance. Truly, what remains to be fulfilled in the typical part is for the priests and teachers, both to watch in the Lord and to awaken others to watch, saying: Awake to righteousness, and do not sin (I Cor. XV). But even bad teachers sleep, and this with the women who keep watch at the door of the tabernacle, when seducing unstable souls, neither do they themselves enter, nor do they allow those who want to enter the door of life. Such was once the crime of the perishing Pharisaic faction; such is also now in the false professors of the Christian religion.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:23
And he said to them: Why do you do such things? etc. He rebuked the guilty sons of Eli, but they did not listen. And the very institution of the old priesthood orders its ministers to be perfect; but the scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests, being wicked, in their ruin despised the paternal voice of their law and priesthood. However, we must not overlook the literal aspect, that he rebuked the sons of Eli; but because they despised the rebuke and he neglected to cast them out as he should have, he perished along with them. What then do we wretched, what do our similars deserve, who delight in sins, who do not dare to amend, who fear their own conscience; and what the entire people shouts, they pretend not to know?

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 253] Origen of Alexandria on 1 Samuel 2:25
The law prohibits priests in the case of certain sins from offering a sacrifice to gain people forgiveness for the transgressions for which sacrifices are made. For though the priest has authority to make an offering for certain inadvertent sins or transgressions, nevertheless he does not offer a burnt offering and a sin offering for adultery, deliberate murder, or any other graver fault. Therefore, it is in the same way that the apostles and those like the apostles, since they are priests according to the great High Priest, have received knowledge of God’s healing and know, since they are taught by the Spirit, for what sins sacrifice must be offered and when and how; and they know for what sins it is wrong to do this. Thus, Eli the priest, when he knew that his sons Hophni and Phinehas were sinning, realizing he could in no way contribute to the forgiveness of their sins, acknowledged it as a hopeless case and said, “If a man sins against a man, they will pray for him; but if he sins against he Lord, who will pray for him?”

Source: ON PRAYER 28.9
[AD 391] Pacian of Barcelona on 1 Samuel 2:25
“Eli the priest speaks, stating, ‘If a man sins against another man, they shall offer entreaties on his behalf; but if he sins against God, who shall offer entreaties on his behalf?’ ” In the same way John writes, “If anyone knows that his brother commits a sin which does not lead to death, he shall implore [God] on his behalf, and God shall give him life. Indeed, there is a sin that leads to death; I do not say that you should pray about that.” You see that all of this refers to sins still remaining, not to those persons who have at any time sinned and have begun to repent before anyone asks on their behalf. It is too long a task for us to go over such instances. Observe every one of the sins for which the Lord makes threats; you will at once see that they are current ones.

Source: LETTER 3.16.2
[AD 414] Nicetas of Remesiana on 1 Samuel 2:25
The sin of one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit is unpardonable. Compare with this judgment what is said in the book of Kings [Samuel]: “If one man shall sin against the Lord, who shall pray for him?” Thus, it is one and the same sin whether we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit or against God, and it is inexpiable. Hence, the nature of the Holy Spirit begins to dawn in our minds.

Source: THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 17
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:25
If a man sins against a man, etc. Both refer to the sons of Eli. For he sinned against a man when the priest violated the wife of another man under the pretext of religion; but this could be dismissed with appropriate penance by God. Not only this was done, but he sinned even worse against the Lord, when the same priest, contaminated by fornication, approached the holy mysteries of the altar not only unworthily, but completely unworthy. Indeed, the terrible sentence of Eli against such presumptuous persons resounds, but much more terrible is the word of the judge himself, who says: Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the age to come (Matt. XII; Luke XII).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on 1 Samuel 2:25
[25] Because the Lord would slay them: In consequence of their manifold sacrileges, he would not soften their hearts with his efficacious grace, but was determined to destroy them.
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on 1 Samuel 2:25
Who shall pray for him: By this word Heli would have his sons understand, that by their wicked abuse of sacred things, and of the very sacrifices which were appointed to appease the Lord, they deprived themselves of the ordinary means of reconciliation with God; which was by sacrifices. The more, because they were the chief priests whose business it was to intercede for all others, they had no other to offer sacrifices and to make atonement for them. Ibid.
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:26
But the boy Samuel advanced and grew, etc. While Eli was growing old and weak, the boy Samuel advanced and grew; because indeed, the rejection of the preceding commandment takes place due to its weakness and uselessness; for the law brought nothing to perfection, but the introduction of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on 1 Samuel 2:27-28
For with respect to the future, they [rulers] will not be benefited by the honor done them but receive the greater condemnation; neither will they be injured as to the future by ill treatment but will have the more excuse. But all this I desire to be done for your own sakes. For when rulers are honored by their people, this too is reckoned against them; as in the case of Eli it is said, “Did I not choose him out of his father’s house?” But when they are insulted, as in the instance of Samuel, God said, “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me.” Therefore insult is their gain, honor their burden. What I say, therefore, is for your sakes, not for theirs. He that honors the priest will honor God also; and he who has learned to despise the priest will sooner or later insult God.

Source: HOMILIES ON 2 TIMOTHY 2
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:27
Was I not openly revealed? etc. He does not speak here of the recent father of Eli, who could not have been in that Egyptian servitude; but of Aaron himself, to whose house He was revealed in Egypt, and whom He, having been instructed from there, preferred to all the tribes of Israel by the right of the priesthood.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:28
And I gave to the house of your father all things, etc. All things from the sacrifices of the people, whatever the priests ought to receive, to the sons of Aaron your father, because I chose them into the priesthood, I provided.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 604] Gregory the Dialogist on 1 Samuel 2:29
Sometimes, though, greater evil ensues when in the case of wicked persons a policy of equality is adhered to rather than of discipline. Eli, for example, overcome by misguided affection and unwilling to chastise his delinquent sons, struck both himself and his sons before the strict judge with a cruel sentence, for the divine utterance was, “You have honored your sons rather than me.”

Source: PASTORAL CARE 2.6
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:29
And you honored your sons above me, etc. Not content with the portion that I granted you, you also tried to take the firstfruits which were due to me; which can be understood both of the time and of the portion of the sacrifices; because before the fat was burned, they presumed to take for themselves the best parts to be eaten from the victims, as was read above.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 397] Ambrose of Milan on 1 Samuel 2:30
If we regard the sentence passed on him [the serpent] to be in the nature of a condemnation, God did not condemn the serpent in order to cause injury to humans. He pointed out what was to happen in the future. … What we are to expect can in some measure be gathered from our knowledge of what has been written: “Whoever shall glorify me, him will I glorify, and he that despises me shall be despised.” God brings to pass what is good, not what is evil, as his words can teach you that he confers glory and disregards punishment. “Whoever shall glorify me,” he says, “him will I glorify,” thus declaring that the glory of the good is the purpose of his work. And concerning “him that despises me,” he did not say I shall deprive of glory, but that he shall be deprived of glory. He did not avow that injury to them [Adam and Eve] would be the result of his action but pointed out what was to come.

Source: ON PARADISE 15.74
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on 1 Samuel 2:30
If he [the Lord] says, “Those who honor me I will honor, and those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed,” then we should reflect on what he requires of us also. True, it is to the praise of his glory that he saves those who are his enemies, yet those who have become his friends should continue to act as his friends. For if they were to return to their former state of enmity all [that had been borne of their friendship] would be rendered futile and purposeless. There is not another baptism or a second reconciliation but “a certain fearful expectation of judgment which shall devour the adversaries.” If we intend—at the same time—to be at enmity with him and yet claim his forgiveness, we shall never be rid of enmity, wantonness and depravity, and [we will] be blind to the sun of righteousness which has risen.… But once you have tasted the goodness and the honey, if you abandon them and return to your own vomit, what else are you doing but bringing forward evidence of excessive hatred and contempt?

Source: HOMILIES ON EPHESIANS 2
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on 1 Samuel 2:30
In honoring him, therefore, we do honor to ourselves. He who opens his eyes to gaze on the light of the sun receives delight himself, as he admires the beauty of the star but does no favor to that luminary nor increases its splendor, for it continues [to be] what it was; much more is this true with respect to God. He who admires and honors God does so to his own salvation, and highest benefit; and how? Because he follows after virtue and is honored by him. For “them that honor me,” he says, “I will honor.”

Source: HOMILIES ON 1 TIMOTHY 4
[AD 420] Jerome on 1 Samuel 2:30
A pearl will shine in the midst of squalor, and a gem … will sparkle in the mire. This is what the Lord promised when he said, “Those who honor me I will honor.” Others may understand this of the future when sorrow shall be turned into joy and when, although the world shall pass away, the saints shall receive a crown which shall never pass. But I for my part see that the promises made to the saints are fulfilled even in this present life.

Source: LETTER 66.7
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:30
Therefore, says the Lord God of Israel: He spoke, I said, etc. The question arises by what reason what was promised to last forever could be changed; but recall that the priesthood of Aaron was the shadow of the eternal priesthood, and the promise of eternity; understand that truth pertains not to the shadow but to that shadowed. For lest you would think the shadow and figure to be everlasting, even its change had to be prophesied. Just as with the kingdom of Saul, it is to be understood, as it was said: “But now your kingdom shall not continue; the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever” (1 Samuel 13). Which will be more fittingly dealt with in its own place.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:30
Now the Lord says: Far be it from me, etc. Changing times, not changing plans, the Lord seeks elected ones from the nations for Himself in a spiritual priesthood, and deprives entirely the contemptuous sons of Aaron of any order of priestly office.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on 1 Samuel 2:31
Hence I beg you to offer a hand to our children lest we ourselves become liable for what is committed by them. Are you not aware of what happened to old Eli for not properly correcting his sons’ shortcomings? I mean, when a disease requires surgery, it rapidly becomes incurable if the physician is bent on treating it with skin ointments and does not apply the appropriate remedy. In just the same way it behooved that old man to take appropriate action regarding his sons’ failing, but by being guilty of excessive tolerance he too shared in their punishment.

Source: HOMILIES ON GENESIS 59.20
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:31
Behold, the days are coming, and I will cut off your arm, etc. These days are present, no priest is now chosen from the stock of Aaron; but the boast of the legal priesthood has been cut off, not only in Eli alone, but in the entire succession of the Levitical lineage; so much so that not even a priest of the lesser order, who are called presbyters in Greek, that is, elders, is considered to be sought there. Whence the Septuagint interpreters have more clearly translated: And there shall not be an elder in my house for you, because indeed many from that tribe age in body, but in the house of the Lord they are not endowed with the rank of presbyters.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:32
And you will see your rival in the temple, etc. Your descendants will see the people of the nations, beloved in the faith, spiritually using the Scriptures and promises of Israel from the temple.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 1781] Richard Challoner on 1 Samuel 2:32
Thy rival: A priest of another race. This was partly fulfilled, when Abiathar, of the race of Heli, was removed from the priesthood, and Sadoc, who was of another line, was substituted in his place. But it was more fully accomplished in the New Testament, when the priesthood of Aaron gave place to that of Christ.
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:33
Nevertheless, I will not utterly cut off every man from you, etc. A place of repentance is not entirely denied to the sons of Aaron, even though they sinned greatly and grievously in the killing of the Lord; but if any of them wish, let them come to the church repentant, partake of the altar of Christ, while the rest remain in the blindness of their perfidy and envy, by the example of whose pious dispensation, even when Eli and his sons perished, not every man was utterly taken away from the altar of the Lord. For even in the days of Saul, Abijah, the grandson of his son Phinehas, is recorded as serving in the priesthood (1 Kings 13).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:33
And a great part of your house will die, etc. A great part of the house of Eli, reaching adulthood, died when, by the betrayal of Doeg the Edomite, eighty-five priests were slaughtered together in the fury of Saul (1 Samuel 22). But even today a great portion of his house, when they come to the years of understanding, lose the rewards of life by the blade of their own perfidy.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:34
This will be the sign for you, etc. These words pertain to Eli and Samuel, because the death of Eli's sons and Samuel's election as priest not from the lineage of Aaron signifies the death not of men, but of the old priesthood, and the substitution of the new, in which Christ is the priest in the church forever according to the order of Melchizedek. But when the Lord says, "Who acts according to my heart and my soul;" do not think that God has a soul, since he is the creator of the soul; but this is said of God figuratively, not literally, as are hands and feet and other parts of the body. And lest it be believed that man is made in the image of God in the likeness of his flesh, other things are added which man does not have, and he might say to God: "Protect me under the shadow of your wings" (Psalm 16); so that men understand these things about that ineffable nature not to be said with proper but with metaphorical terms.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:35
And I will build a faithful house for him, etc. The faithful house, which is built for the faithful priest on the rock foundation by the wise man, is the Church; which walked before Christ all the days of this present life, and never will the gates of hell prevail against its perfect progress. And it is beautifully said, "She will walk all the days;" because when the course of fleeting days has passed and the better day comes in His courts, which is better than thousands, and He grants the blessing, who gave the law, this house has nothing more to improve, walking from strength to strength; because she will see the God of gods in Zion and will praise Him blessed in His house, indeed even the house itself forever. For a faithful house cannot easily be understood as built for Samuel, whose sons are reported to have turned aside to greed and not walked in his ways, unless perhaps his house is to be considered the people he was leading, about which it is written: "And all the house of Israel longed for the Lord" (1 Samuel 7). And to have walked before Christ the Lord, either the Lord Himself before Samuel, or Samuel himself, whether Saul or David can be understood.

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:36
It will happen, however, that whoever remains in your house, etc. And some daily not only from the priestly, but also from every tribe of Israel, and all at the end of the world the remnants of that nation, so that they may be reconciled to God, come to the church; and, rejecting the flesh of the sacrifices, they offer the word consummating and shortening of the life-giving confession, and the bread of spiritual sacrifice. For indeed silver signifies the word of the confession of faith, and the coin expresses the brevity of the same confession, which is contained in the Creed. And this man of God, who is shown to be a prophet by his office, said: Whoever remains in your house, which is what Isaiah said: The remnant shall be saved. (Rom. XII). And the apostle, recalling the words of Elijah: So therefore, he says, also at this time there is a remnant according to the election of grace that has been saved (Isa. XI).

Source: Commentary on Samuel
[AD 735] Bede on 1 Samuel 2:36
And let him say, Let me go, I pray, to one of the priestly parts. It signifies to the very people, illustrious to Christ the priest; to whom Peter says: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood (I Pet. II). And as he adds: That I may eat a morsel of bread, he also elegantly expressed the very kind of that sacrifice, concerning which the priest himself says: The bread which I will give is my flesh for the life of the world (John VI). For since he had said above, giving food to the house of Aaron from the sacrifices of the Old Testament, which were the sacrifices of the Jews, therefore he said here: One must ask to eat a morsel of bread, which is the sacrifice of Christians in the New Testament.

Source: Commentary on Samuel