Bible Strands
1 Samuel 1:26
“Please, my lord,” said Hannah, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Hannah addresses Eli the priest immediately after the bull sacrifice in 1 Samuel 1:25, clarifying her earlier silent, tearful petition that he had mistaken for drunkenness.
The words — The phrase חֵי נַפְשְׁךָ (chei nafshekha) translates literally to "by your life," functioning as a solemn oath formula to guarantee the truth of her identity.
The thread — This oath structure appears in Elijah’s interactions with Elisha in 2 Kings 2:2, 2:4, and 2:6, where a similar "as surely as you live" formula confirms a speaker’s presence or mission.
Why it lands — The text demands direct accountability after prayer, requiring the supplicant to verify her identity and purpose before the priest who witnessed her petition.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 2:2 and Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
- 2 Kings 2:4 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
- 2 Kings 2:6 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
- 2 Kings 4:30 And the mother of the boy said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.
- 1 Samuel 17:55 As Saul had watched David going out to confront the Philistine, he said to Abner the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” “As surely as you live, O king,” Abner replied, “I do not know.”
- 1 Samuel 20:3 But David again vowed, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or he will be grieved.’ As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”
- 2 Samuel 11:11 Uriah answered, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camped in the open field. How can I go to my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing!”
- Genesis 42:15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
- 2 Samuel 14:19 So the king asked, “Is the hand of Joab behind all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king says. Yes, your servant Joab is the one who gave me orders; he told your maidservant exactly what to say.