So in the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the LORD.”
Parallel translations
- WEB When the time had come, Hannah conceived, and bore a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of Yahweh.”
- KJV Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.
- ESV And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the LORD.”
- NKJV So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”
- NASB It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him of the Lord.”
- NLT and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.”
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hannah conceived and bore a son, naming him Samuel because she had asked him of the Lord. The name memorializes answered prayer.
Overview
Samuel's name carries the sense that he was sought from and granted by God. By naming him for her petition, Hannah testifies publicly that this child is the Lord's gift. The birth of Samuel begins the transition in Israel from the chaos of the judges toward the prophetic and royal order God will establish.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 41:51–52Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”
- Exod 2:10When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”
- Matt 1:21She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
- Exod 2:22And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
- Gen 29:32–35And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- Gen 16:11The angel of the LORD proceeded: “Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.
- Gen 30:6–21Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.
- Gen 5:29And he named him Noah, saying, “May this one comfort us in the labor and toil of our hands caused by the ground that the LORD has cursed.”
- Gen 4:25And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 1:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.