would deign to give her children. So one day she went to Silo to pray in the Tabernacle of the Lord. There, before the door of the Tabernacle, she shed many tears and prayed, and made a vow saying: “O Lord of Hosts[1], if Thou wilt be mindful of me and give me a man-child, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.”
The Lord heard her prayer, and gave her a son, whom she called Samuel, which means “heard of God”, or also “asked of God”. Now when three years were passed, and the child was yet very young, Anna took three calves, three bushels of flour, and a bottle of wine, and carrying the boy with her she went to the House of the Lord. There she offered her son to Heli the High Priest, saying: “The Lord has granted my petition, therefore I also have lent my child to the Lord all the days of his life.” And the child ministered in the sight of the Lord before the face of Heli. Now the two sons of Heli, Ophni and Phinees, were wicked[2] and had no fear of God, for when the people came to offer sacrifices, Ophni and Phinees carried the flesh of the victims away by force. So their sin was very great, because they withdrew men from the sacrifice of the Lord.
Heli knew all this; he knew what wicked things his sons did in the Sanctuary, and he mildly rebuked them, saying: “It is no good report that I hear, that you make the people of the Lord to transgress.” But, being very old, he took no severe measures to punish them, or prevent their evil deeds.
It came to pass that one night, before the lamp of the Lord had gone out, Heli slept on a couch near the Tabernacle, and Samuel hard by[3]. The Lord called Samuel. He answered: “Here am I”, and went to Heli and asked: “Why hast thou
- ↑ Of Hosts, i e. of angels in heaven.
- ↑ Wicked Holy Scripture calls them children of Belial, or of the devil, because of their wickedness. Whilst the sacrifice (sin or peace offering) was seething in the caldron, they used to thrust in a flesh-hook and take the best of the flesh for themselves. They also took for themselves of the flesh of the wholeburnt offerings, in which the victims ought to have been entirely consumed by fire. This made the people very angry, and they were unwilling to offer sacrifices. If the sons of the High Priest violated the sacrificial laws so grossly, it was only natural that the people should lose their respect for the sacrifices.
- ↑ Hard by. Where cells, or little rooms, were built for those priests who had to attend to the service of the Tabernacle.
