On one chance, done her family's yearly postpone to the goods of the Noble at Shiloh, the place where the Ark of the Deal was to be found, Hannah complete a vow to God, rose-pink that if God would funding her a son, she would devote him to God to foster in the temple as a Nazarite.
Hannah's prayer was answered. She conceived and gave leave to a son whom she called Samuel. Two or three living afterward, at the back Samuel was weaned, Hannah accomplished her augur to God. Hannah took Samuel to Eli, the priest of God who ministered at Shiloh, unfilled a outflow and devoted Samuel to foster early the Noble in the temple.
The field of study is: what kind of outflow did Hannah tender in the temple? The versions vary on the power of bulls Hannah unfilled to God. Was it one bull or three bulls?
Offering is how the New Revised Mode Mimic (NRSV) translates 1 Samuel 1:24:
"What she had weaned him, she took him up with her, downward with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a fleece of wine."
According to the NRSV, Hannah unfilled one three-year-old bull. This interpretation is followed by the ESV, the NIV, the Holman Christian Mode Bible, the New Jerusalem Bible, and visit others.
Offering is how the Ruler James Mimic (KJV) translates 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 urn of wine."
According to the KJV, Hannah unfilled three bulls, not one. This interpretation is followed by the ASV, the JSP Bible (1907), the Tanak, the NET Bible, and abundant other one-time translations.
The mass amid these two translations of 1 Samuel 1:24 is based on the fact that greatest extent modern translations emend the Hebrew essay in order to read "a three-year-old bull," more or less than to look up to the essay as in print and read it "three bulls."
The justification that prompts modern interpretation to emend the essay is grammatical. The Hebrew essay reads: bprym sls, "three bulls." Most modern translations, flash the Septuagint, read bpr msls "a three-year-old bull."
According to the proponents of the emendation, expound are abundant reasons to emend the essay. In the beginning, 1 Samuel 1:25 says that Hannah sacrifices without help one bull. Fly, scholars have an effect that when the Hebrew words were cleft, the m was not speaking from one word and expand to novel word, then creating the textual evil. Third, the grammatical order of the words in Hebrew, the noun early the numeral, "bulls," and "three," is interested.
Scholars funding abundant reasons for sacrificing a "three-year-old bull." Robinson says that the think Hannah sacrificed a three-year-old bull was like Samuel was three living old (p. 18). Others say that a three-year-old bull was a precious animal (see Emerge 15:9). Speiser, in an verify published in BASOR rumored that the Nuzi drug gesture that at Nuzi, nature unfilled in religious sacrifices had to minute an fiscal standard. Speiser wrote:
"Consequently Hannah's choice of a three-year-old bull is in serenity with the regular take notes of her epoch, and the instructions to Abraham (Gen. 15:9) that he choose sacrificial nature of the especially age mull over a common tradition" (p. 17).
In his bomb of the "three bulls" interpretation, Ratner, citing Gesenius (GK) cautions adjoining have confidence in on grammatical build up as a think for emending the essay. He cites abundant examples in the Hebrew Bible where the noun precedes the numeral (1 Samuel 25:2; 2 Samuel 1:1; 24:24). Ratner concludes, "If the formation in 1 Sam 1,24, parim selosa [three bulls], was an salty decision for the writer to comprise selected, expound is no key think to emend the essay" (p. 100).
In get, Ratner quotes Emerge 15:10 to justification the view that Hannah sacrificed three bulls, not one. In Emerge 15:9, the Noble asked Abraham to outflow two birds: a turtledove and a countrified pigeon. In Emerge 15:10, it is rumored that Abraham did not cut the game birds in two. In the Hebrew essay of Emerge 15:10, the word translated "game birds" in English is various, not plural. This drain that the Hebrew word for bird, other than various, is second hand as a supportive to commit every one game birds. Ratner finds a analogy use in 2 Samuel 6:17-18.
Thus, Ratner believes that the word "bull" in 1 Samuel 1:25 is second hand as a supportive and it neediness be vocal as meaning the three bulls. Ratner (p. 101) translates 1 Samuel 1:24-25 as follows:
"And she brought him with her when she had weaned him, downward with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a fleece of wine.... Then they slaughtered the bulls and brought the boy to Eli."
If Ratner's brainchild is recompense, as a result expound is no think to emend the essay, and I help to fail with him.
Hannah's outflow was proof that she was privileged to comprise her degrade removed from her. As a demonstration of her recognition, Hannah unfilled her best to God, not a three-year-old bull and not even three bulls. Hannah unfilled to God her firstborn son. The background love a mother can parade is to devote her children to God (see John 15:13).
Bibliography:
Ratner, Robert, "Three Bulls or One?: A Reappraisal of 1 Samuel 1,24," Biblica 68 (1987): 98-102.
Robinson, Gnana. 1 and 2 Samuel: Let Us Be In the role of the Nations. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1993.
Speiser, E. A. "The Nuzi Drug End a Confuse in the Carry o Samuel," BASOR 72 (1938):15-17.
Claude Mariottini
Tutor of Old Headstone
Northern Baptist Seminary
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