1 Samuel 1:1–2:25
There was once a priest and judge of Israel named Eli. He and his sons served God in the tabernacle at Shiloh. Every year a man named Elkanah and his family worshiped there. Like many men in those days, Elkanah had two wives. One had children. The other, named Hannah, did not. Hannah often cried because she couldn’t have children.
One year at Shiloh, Eli saw Hannah praying outside the tabernacle. “O Lord,” she said, “look how sad I am. Remember me and allow me to have a little boy. I will give him to you as a Nazarite priest.”
The Lord heard Hannah’s prayer and gave her a baby boy. She named him Samuel, which means “asked of God.” When Samuel was still a little child, she brought him to Eli. Hannah said to the priest, “I asked God for this boy. I promised him to the Lord for all his life. Let him stay here with you and grow up in God’s house.”
So little Samuel stayed in Shiloh, helping Eli, the old priest. Eli’s own sons were priests, but they were also scoundrels. So Samuel was a comfort to Eli.
Questions: Why did Hannah name her child Samuel? Why was Samuel a comfort to Eli?