1 Samuel 1:17

1Sa 1:17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant [thee] thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

Ver. 17. Go in peace.] Take no further anxious care about this business; but cast thy burden, or thy request, upon the Lord, who will surely grant it. And thou shalt be sure of my prayers to that purpose. This was a good amends for his former uncharitableness.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa_1:17

Thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

Specific objects in prayer

To make prayer of any value there should be definite objects for which to plead. We often ramble in our prayers, we chatter about many subjects, but the soul does not concentrate itself upon any object. Imagine an archer shooting with his bow and not knowing where the mark is! Would he be likely to have success? Conceive a ship, on a voyage of discovery, putting to sea without the captain having any idea of what he was looking for! Would you expect that he would come back laden either with the discoveries of science or with treasures of gold? In everything else you have a plan. You do not go to work without knowing that there is something that you designed to make. How is it that you go to God without knowing what blessing you designed to have? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 1:17-18. Eli said, Go in peace, &c. — Her modest and respectful answer fully satisfied him, and he prayed that God would grant her petition, or, as the Chaldee interprets his words, assured her, that the God of Israel would grant it her. Let thy handmaid find grace in thy sight —

That favourable opinion and gracious prayer which thou hast expressed on my behalf, be pleased to continue toward me. Her countenance was no more sad — Her heart being cheered by the priest’s comfortable words, and especially by the Spirit of God applying them to her mind, and inspiring her with confidence, that both his and her prayers would be heard, she departed from the tabernacle with such satisfaction and assurance, that there no longer remained any token of sorrow or grief in her countenance.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:17-18 A blessing was more than mere wishful thinking. It was often God’s means of conferring a real benefit (see, e.g., Gen 27:1-40; 28:1-4; 32:22-32; 48:1–49:28). Because this blessing from God’s high priest provided assurance that Hannah’s prayer would be answered, she was no longer sad.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 17. Grant thee thy petition] He was satisfied he had formed a wrong judgment, and by it had added to the distress of one already sufficiently distressed.

The fact that Eli supposed her to be drunken, and the other of the conduct of Eli's sons already mentioned, prove that religion was at this time at a very low ebb in Shiloh; for it seems drunken women did come to the place, and lewd women were to be found there.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(17) The God of Israel grant thee thy petition.—The character of Eli is a deeply interesting one. Weak and over-indulgent to his headstrong, wicked sons, probably too self-indulgent, and a lover of ease, yet in the brief record we possess we catch eight of not a few noble thoughts and wishes: flashes of true nobility, real generosity and self-forgetfulness, of intense, devoted patriotism, light up a life which closed in failure and disaster. Here the old man is quick to see that he had been insulting a blameless woman, so at once he retracts his cruel accusation, and silently accuses himself of precipitancy and injustice in his graceful, courteous words of farewell; adding too his fatherly wish, he almost promises that what she wished so ardently should be hers.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then Eli answered and said, go in peace,.... He found he was mistaken in her, and that her discourse was not only sober and rational, but religious and spiritual; and therefore dismisses her in peace, and bids her not distress herself with what he had said to her, nor with anything she had met with from others, or from the Lord; but expect peace and prosperity, and particularly success in what she had been engaged, and had been solicitous for:

and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him; which may be considered either as a prayer for her, he joining with her in a request to the Lord, that what she had asked might be granted; or as a prophecy that so it would be, it being revealed to him by the Holy Ghost, as the high priest of the Lord; or impressed by an impulse upon his spirit that the favour asked would be given; and therefore she might go home in peace, and with satisfaction of mind.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Peace, with all blessings. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Go in peace; I recall my censure, and give thee my blessing, and wish thee peace, i.e. a quiet and composed mind, free from whatsoever it is that grieves and oppresses thee; and withal, good success and prosperity in what thou desirest; for peace is a very comprehensive word among the Hebrews.

Grant, or will grant; for it may be either a prayer or a prediction, which he might deliver, either from the consideration of God’s known goodness and readiness to hear prayers; or he might be directed to say so by a special instinct of God’s Spirit, which sometimes was given to the high priests, even when they were wicked, as Joh 11:51, and much more when they were holy men, as Eli was. And some add, that he was a prophet.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17. The God of Israel grant thee thy petition — He knows not what that petition is, (compare 1Sa_1:27,) but he is fully convinced of her earnestness and depth of grief, and he gives her his priestly benediction.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Eli then replied: "Go in peace, and the God of Israel give (grant) thy request (שׁלתך for שׁאלתך), which thou hast asked of Him." This word of the high priest was not a prediction, but a pious wish, which God in His grace most gloriously fulfilled.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Then Eli answered

Eli was the head priest residing over the tabernacle.

Let your servant find

Hannah speaks of herself in the second person to show respect for Eli, the head priest. This can be stated in the first person. AT: "Let me, your servant, find" or "Let me find" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

find favor in your eyes

Here "find favor" is an idiom that means be approved of or that he is pleased with her. Here the eyes are a metonym for sight, and seeing represents judging or deciding the value of something. AT: "evaluated me and approve" (See: Metonymy and Metaphor)

ate; her face was

Here "her face" represents Hannah herself. You can make this a separate sentence, if needed. AT: "ate. She was" or "ate. People could see that she was" (See: Synecdoche)

translationWords

peace

God

Israel

servant

favor

face

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Your request. The א is missing, to infer [שֵׁלָתֵךְ] an expression of children, as in, "and her young [וּבְשִׁלְיָתָהּ] who emerges from…."

Will grant the request. He foretold to her that her prayer had been accepted.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

May [the Lord] grant what you have asked: The [letter,] alef is missing (in shelatekh) and its movement is placed upon the shin. As its rule (it usual spelling) is [with an alef]. And its explanation is that it is in the way of a prayer. Or he said it in the way of prophecy, for he was a prophet. So he said to her, "Go in peace," because "the Lord of Israel will grant you what you asked." Hence her heart was gladdened and she ate, for she hoped [about the fulfillment of] the words of the prophet. And she said, "May your maidservant find favor in your eyes" - in the way of (Ruth 2:13), "May I find favor in the eyes of my master, since you have comforted me." But according to the first explanation, the explanation would be, may your maidservant find favor in your eyes, that you should still pray more for me. And hence her heart was gladdened and she ate, since she thought that Eli's prayer would be effective for her. And in the homiletical teachings, it appears that he spoke in the way of prophecy: He said to her, "Go in peace" - he said to her, "This peace is from me; however your peace is from your children."

And may the God of Israel grant what you have asked (shelatekh): It is written, shaltekh - he said to her, "This son that you will establish in the future will capture much booty (lishlol harbeh shelal) from the Torah.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.