Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 2:36
And it shall come to pass, [that] every one that is left in thine house shall come [and] crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
36. crouch ] Lit. bow himself down.
a piece of silver ] The Heb. word means such a coin as beggars would receive.
a morsel of bread ] Rather, a cake of bread. The same word is used in 1Sa 10:3 (E. V. loaves), and denotes a round flat cake or loaf.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A piece – The word is only found here; but is thought to be connected in etymology and in meaning with the Gerah, the smallest Hebrew coin, being the twentieth part of the shekel. The smallness of the sum asked for shows the poverty of the asker.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 36. Shall come and crouch to him] Shall prostrate himself before him in the most abject manner, begging to be employed even in the meanest offices about the tabernacle, in order to get even the most scanty means of support.
A piece of silver] agorath keseph, translated by the Septuagint, , an obolus of silver. The Targum translates it mea, which is the same as the Hebrew gerah, and weighed about sixteen grains of barley.
A morsel of bread] A mouthful; what might be sufficient to keep body and soul together. See the sin and its punishment. They formerly pampered themselves, and fed to the full on the Lord’s sacrifices; and now they are reduced to a morsel of bread. They fed themselves without fear; and now they have cleanness of teeth in all their dwellings. They wasted the Lord’s heritage, and now they beg their bread!
IN religious establishments, vile persons, who have no higher motive, may and do get into the priest’s office, that they may clothe themselves with the wool, and feed themselves with the fat, while they starve the flock. But where there is no law to back the claims of the worthless and the wicked, men of piety and solid merit only can find support; for they must live on the free-will offerings of the people. Where religion is established by law, the strictest ecclesiastical discipline should be kept up, and all hireling priests and ecclesiastical drones should be expelled from the Lord’s vineyard. An established religion, where the foundation is good, as is ours, I consider a great blessing; but it is liable to this continual abuse, which nothing but careful and rigid ecclesiastical discipline can either cure or prevent. If our high priests, our archbishops and bishops, do not their duty, the whole body of the clergy may become corrupt or inefficient. If they be faithful, the establishment will be an honour to the kingdom, and a praise in the earth.
The words pillars of the earth, metsukey erets, Mr. Parkhurst translates and defends thus: “The compressors of the earth; i.e., the columns of the celestial fluid which compress or keep its parts together.” This is all imaginary; we do not know this compressing celestial fluid; but there is one that answers the same end, which we do know, i.e., the AIR, the columns of which press upon the earth in all directions; above, below, around, with a weight of fifteen pounds to every square inch; so that a column of air of the height of the atmosphere, which on the surface of the globe measures one square inch, is known by the most accurate and indubitable experiments to weigh fifteen pounds. Now as a square foot contains one hundred and forty-four square inches, each foot must be compressed with a weight of incumbent atmospheric air equal to two thousand one hundred and sixty pounds. And as the earth is known to contain a surface of five thousand five hundred and seventy-five billions of square feet; hence, allowing two thousand one hundred and sixty pounds to each square foot, the whole surface of the globe must sustain a pressure of atmospheric air equal to twelve trillions and forty-one thousand billions of pounds; or six thousand and twenty-one billions of tons. This pressure, independently of what is called gravity, is sufficient to keep all the parts of the earth together, and perhaps to counteract all the influence of centrifugal force. But adding to this all the influence of gravity or attraction, by which every particle of matter tends to the centre, these compressors of the earth are sufficient to poise, balance, and preserve the whole terraqueous globe. These pillars or compressors are an astonishing provision made by the wisdom of God for the necessities of the globe. Without this, water could not rise in fountains, nor the sap in vegetables. Without this, there could be no respiration for man or beast, and no circulation of the blood in any animal. In short, both vegetable and animal life depend, under God, on these pillars or compressors of the earth; and were it not for this compressing power, the air contained in the vessels of all plants and animals would by its elasticity expand and instantly rupture all those vessels, and cause the destruction of all animal and vegetable life: but God in his wisdom has so balanced these two forces, that, while they appear to counteract and balance each other, they serve, by mutual dilations and compressions, to promote the circulation of the sap in vegetables, and the blood in animals.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Crouch to him, in way of humble supplication. See 1Ki 2:26;
A morsel of bread; whereas before they were so nice and delicate, that my liberal allowance could not satisfy them, but they must have their meat raw and fat, &c., above, 1Sa 2:13-16; so the punishment is suited to the nature of their sin.
Into one of the priests offices; into the meanest office belonging to it. See Eze 44:10,11, &c.
Quest. How could they be reduced to so great straits, seeing, though they lost the high priesthood, they still were inferior priests, and had a right to those plentiful provisions which belonged to that order?
Answ. First, They might be degraded, not only from the office of the high priest, but also from that of the inferior priests, and consequently might forfeit and lose all the privileges belonging to their office. Secondly, This might be from the tyranny and violence of some of the succeeding priests of Eleazars line towards that other line, which had long stood in competition with them, and had for a season got away the priesthood from them; for this text only relates the matter of fact, but doth not express an approbation of it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And it shall come to pass, that everyone that is left in thine house,…. That is not cut off by death, the few remains of Eli’s posterity in succeeding times, after the high priesthood was removed out of his family into another; so that they were reduced at best to common priests, and these, as it should seem, degraded from that office for their maladministration of it, or scandalous lives:
shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread; which Grotius interprets of their coming to God, and bowing themselves before him, and praying to him for the smallest piece of money to cast into the treasury, and for a morsel of bread to be accepted as an offering, instead of a bullock, sheep, lamb, or even a bird, which they were not able to bring; but the meaning is, that such should be the low estate of Eli’s family, when another, even Zadok, was made high priest, that they should come and humble themselves before him, as the Targum expresses it, beseeching him to give them a piece of silver, even the smallest piece, that is, as the word signifies, a “gerah” or “meah”, about a penny or three halfpence of our money, the twentieth part of a shekel, Eze 45:12 and a piece of bread, not a whole loaf, but a slice of it, to such extremity would they be brought:
and shall say, put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread; or into one of the wards of the priests; their custodies or courses, as the Targum; with which the Jewish commentators generally agree, and of which there were twenty four; see 1Ch 24:4, and there are some traces of them in the New Testament, see Lu 1:5, but these were regular priests, who were in those courses, and had a sufficient maintenance for them, and had not barely a piece of bread to live on, or just enough to keep them from starving, as the phrase denotes; wherefore this must be understood, as before hinted, of priests degraded from their office, on some account or another, and reduced to poverty and want; and therefore, that they might be kept from starving, would solicit the high priest in those days, and beg that he would put them in some inferior post under the priests, to do the meanest offices for them, slay the sacrifices for them, wash their pots, open and shut up doors, and the like, that so they might have a living, though a poor one; and this may reasonably be thought to be the case of Eli’s posterity, in process of time, after Abiathar was deposed from the high priest’s office, and was ordered to go and live upon his fields and farm at Anathoth, 1Ki 2:26 with which compare Eze 44:10. This, as Ben Gersom observes, was a fit punishment, and a righteous retaliation on Eli’s posterity, that they should be brought to crouch to others, and be glad of a morsel of bread, who had behaved so imperiously towards the Lord’s people, and had taken away their flesh from them by force; and, not content with their allowance, took the best pieces of the sacrifices, to make themselves fat with them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
36. Every one that is left in thine house Eli’s posterity should not be utterly cut off; but even after the deposition of Abiathar they would linger as mendicants around the faithful priest, and beg of him a pittance of money and of bread, or petition for some work pertaining to the priesthood, that would yield them food. Even after the seventy years’ exile we find descendants of Ithamar among the priests who returned with Ezra from Babylon. Ezr 8:2. “See,” says Dr. A. Clarke, “the sin and its punishment. They formerly pampered themselves, and fed to the full on the Lord’s sacrifices; and now they are reduced to a morsel of bread. They led themselves without fear; and now they have cleanness of teeth in all their dwellings. They wasted the Lord’s heritage; and now they beg their bread!”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 2:36. Put me, I pray thee, &c. See 1Ki 2:27. From a review of this useful and instructive chapter, we may draw several reflections of importance. The song of Hannah the mother of Samuel, and her public and solemn thanksgiving to God, are a new proof of her piety, and teach us to express our gratitude, and bless the Lord when he grants us any signal favour. We learn particularly in this song, that Providence overrules all things; that God confounds the proud; that he takes care of the weak and afflicted who fear him; that he protects them, and hears their prayers. This is a doctrine full of comfort and consolation to good men, supporting them in their trials, and leading them to holiness, and trust in God. The account of the horrid impiety and sacrilege of the sons of Eli should convince us, that the loose and evil life of the ministers of religion is the greatest of all scandals; and that nothing corrupts the people more, nor more certainly exposes them to the judgments of God. The conduct of Eli demands our serious attention; instead of punishing his sons as they deserved, he only gently reproved them; and therefore God by his prophet declared, that for this very thing his children and his posterity should be destroyed. This very remarkable example should teach parents, that indulging their children is a very great sin; that God punishes such over-tender and indulgent parents by the children themselves; and that it often occasions the ruin and destruction of families. But this indulgence is particularly sinful in persons of a public character, and especially in church-governors and magistrates, when they do not suppress vice and irregularity by opposing it with becoming steadiness and resolution to the utmost of their power. God’s sharp reproof of Eli by the prophet, and the miseries which soon after befel his children and all the people, prove, that great misfortunes are owing to this indulgence; and that not only private persons, but the public likewise, are thereby exposed to the divine vengeance. See Ostervald.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
REFLECTIONS
READER! Stand still, and fully contemplate the character of Hannah, and observe, how the harp which was before hung on the willow, is now strung and sounded to the praise of Jehovah. See, how her note is changed. And the countenance which was before sad, is now lighted up in praise, and thanksgiving. And in remarking the blessed effects of grace, in this woman’s experience; do not overlook the principal feature of it, in that her song of joy is not merely directed to praise God for his gift, but to praise the great Giver. She doth not dwell upon the loveliness of her Samuel, and celebrate, as a fond parent might be supposed to do, the features of his body, or the promising features of his mind. But her whole soul seems to be swallowed up in adoring the God and giver of her Samuel. Oh! how delightfully doth she hold forth the holiness, the faithfulness, the goodness and wisdom of a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering God: and how sweetly she triumphs in the assurance of having this God for her Rock, and as the horn of her salvation. Reader! do not overlook that this precious covenant God is the believer’s God in Jesus, in all generations. He is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. And why should not you and I find the same confidence? Oh! for grace to adopt the same assurance of faith, and in the contemplation of all his rich mercies in Jesus, to cry out, with one of old, For this God is our God, forever, and ever; he will be our guide even unto death.
While the sad contrast to Hannah’s song, in the awful example of Eli’s family, should fill our minds with suitable reflections, and call forth prayer to be kept from all presumptuous transgressions; let us, from lamenting the wretched and corrupt state of all Levitical and Priestly ministrations, direct our thoughts, and call forth our warmest affections to Jesus, that faithful priest of God our Father, the Mediator of a better covenant, founded upon better promises. Yes! thou clear Redeemer, thou art indeed the faithful priest our God promised to raise up. Thou hast done all, according to what was in thine and our Father’s heart, and in his mind. And God our Father hath built thee a sure house forever. Oh! grant, thou great Melchisedeck, that we, whom thou past made kings and priests to God and thy Father, may walk before thee, the Lord’s anointed, forever. And give us to rejoice that we have such an High Priest, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. And while, as in the instance of Eli, we perceive that none among the sons of Aaron, whose race is mortal, and whose stock corrupt, can be exempt from sin: though the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated forevermore.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 2:36 And it shall come to pass, [that] every one that is left in thine house shall come [and] crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
Ver. 36. Shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver. ] As Abiathar did, that officiperda, when banished to Anathoth, where he had not a maintenance. 1Ki 2:26 Let those that would shun poverty, and prevent it in posterity, take heed of snatching from others, and of pampering their paunches.
That I may eat.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
to him: i.e. to the Anointed [king] of 1Sa 2:10, already pointing to the High Priest as being no longer the judge, but subordinate to the king.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
is left: 1Ki 2:27, Eze 44:10-12
Put: Heb. Join
one of the priests’ offices: Heb. somewhat about the priesthood
eat: 1Sa 2:29, 1Sa 2:30, Mal 1:13
Reciprocal: Jdg 17:10 – I will give 1Sa 22:18 – fourscore 2Ki 23:9 – but they did Job 18:12 – hungerbitten Psa 10:10 – croucheth Pro 6:26 – a piece Pro 18:23 – poor Ecc 5:14 – and he Eze 43:19 – the priests Amo 7:12 – eat Rev 3:9 – I will make them to
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 2:36. Every one that is left in thy house That remains of thy family, not being cut off; shall crouch to him for a piece of silver, &c. Shall humble himself to Zadok, or the high-priests of his line, begging a small relief in the great poverty to which he shall be reduced. Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests offices, &c. Or, Put me into somewhat belonging to the priesthood, as it is in the Hebrew; that is, Give me the meanest pension that is allowed to those priests who are prohibited from officiating, or some part, of what belongs to the priests. See 2Ki 23:9; Eze 44:13. This was fulfilled in the days of Abiathar, who, for treason, was not only put out of his office, but sent to live upon his own farm in the country; and not suffered to enjoy the portion given to the priests at the temple, 1Ki 2:26-27. Through this, his posterity fell into extreme want, in which the just judgment of God may be observed, in that the children of those who were so wanton, that they would not be content unless they had the choicest parts of the sacrifices for their portion, should fall into so low a condition as to beg their bread!
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:36 And it shall come to pass, [that] every one that is left in thine house shall come [and] {a} crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.
(a) That is, will be inferior to him.