1 Samuel 1:28

I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Hannah speaks to Eli the priest at the tabernacle in Shiloh immediately after weaning Samuel, following her answered prayer in 1 Samuel 1:27. She formally transfers the child's care to the LORD and concludes the encounter with corporate worship.

The words — The Hebrew verb הִשְׁאִיל (hishqil, H7592) literally means "to lend" or "entrust," describing the child as a loan returned to its owner. The phrase כָּל־הַיָּמִים (kol-hayyamim, "all the days") specifies that this entrusted status remains permanent rather than temporary.

The thread — The narrative links Hannah's vow in 1 Samuel 1:11 to its fulfillment and parallels the worship responses in Genesis 24:26 and Genesis 24:52, where bowed reverence follows the receipt of a promised provision. The pattern shows vowed gifts moving from personal petition to public dedication.

Why it lands — The text first records the factual transfer of the boy and the subsequent worship before drawing any theological conclusion. It requires the reader to acknowledge that answered prayer creates an immediate obligation to surrender the gift back to God rather than retain it for personal use.

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

וְגַ֣םve./Gamand/ also אָנֹכִ֗י'a.no.KhiI הִשְׁאִלְתִּ֙הוּ֙hish.'il.Ti./huI entrust/ him לַֽיהוָ֔הla./Yah.wehto/ Yahweh כָּל־kol-all הַיָּמִים֙hai./ya.Mimthe/ days אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwhich הָיָ֔הha.Yahhe has been ה֥וּאhu'he שָׁא֖וּלsha.'Ul[is] asked לַֽיהוָ֑הla./Yah.wehby/ Yahweh וַיִּשְׁתַּ֥חוּva/i.yish.Ta.chuand/ he bowed down שָׁ֖םshamthere לַיהוָֽה׃ פla./Yah.wehto/ Yahweh

King James Version

Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.

Cross-references

Genesis 24:26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,
Genesis 24:52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD.
1 Samuel 1:11 And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”
2 Timothy 3:15 From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Genesis 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.
1 Samuel 1:22 but Hannah did not go. “After the boy is weaned,” she said to her husband, “I will take him to appear before the LORD and to stay there permanently.”