The Meaning of 1 Samuel 1:11 Explained

1 Samuel 1:11

KJV: And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no rasor come upon his head.

YLT: and voweth a vow, and saith, 'Jehovah of Hosts, if Thou dost certainly look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and hast remembered me, and dost not forget Thy handmaid, and hast given to Thy handmaid seed of men -- then I have given him to Jehovah all days of his life, and a razor doth not go up upon his head.'

Darby: And she vowed a vow, and said, O Jehovah of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wilt give unto thy handmaid a man child, then I will give him to Jehovah all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

ASV: And she vowed a vow, and said, O Jehovah of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thy handmaid, but wilt give unto thy handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto Jehovah all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And she vowed  a vow,  and said,  O LORD  of hosts,  if thou wilt indeed  look  on the affliction  of thine handmaid,  and remember  me, and not forget  thine handmaid,  but wilt give  unto thine handmaid  a man  child,  then I will give  him unto the LORD  all the days  of his life,  and there shall no razor  come  upon his head. 

What does 1 Samuel 1:11 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 1:1-11 - Hannah's Prayer And Vow
Elkanah was evidently a kind husband to Hannah; but marriage had suffered from the general relaxation of morals, and the bitter effects of polygamy are illustrated here. Because Hannah was specially loved, Peninnah hated her.
The grief of the childless wife drove Hannah to God. There she found her only resource. When the heart is nigh to breaking, what else can we do than pour out our complaint before the One who is ever ready to hear our cry? We may trust God with our secrets; He will keep sacred our confidence. Elkanah's love may go a long way, but we have for the most part to tread the wine-press alone. After we have eaten and drunk before our friends, "anointing our head and washing our face," that they may not guess what is happening within, we must have a spot where we can unbend and open the sluice-gates of grief. And what place is so good as the Mercy-Seat? We need not vow our vows to bribe God to help us. The gifts of His love are more blessed for Him to give than for us to receive. But out of love we can vow what we will. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 1

1  Elkanah, a Levite, having two wives, worships yearly at Shiloh
4  He cherishes Hannah, though barren, and provoked by Peninnah
9  Hannah in grief prays for a child
12  Eli first rebuking her, afterwards blesses her
19  Hannah, having born Samuel, stays at home till he is weaned
24  She presents him, according to her vow, to the Lord

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 1:11 mean?

And she made a vow and said Yahweh of hosts if indeed You will look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me and not forget - Your maidservant but will give Your maidservant a child male then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life and razor no shall come upon his head
וַתִּדֹּ֨ר נֶ֜דֶר וַתֹּאמַ֗ר יְהוָ֨ה צְבָא֜וֹת אִם־ רָאֹ֥ה תִרְאֶ֣ה ׀ בָּעֳנִ֣י אֲמָתֶ֗ךָ וּזְכַרְתַּ֙נִי֙ וְלֹֽא־ תִשְׁכַּ֣ח אֶת־ אֲמָתֶ֔ךָ וְנָתַתָּ֥ה לַאֲמָתְךָ֖ זֶ֣רַע אֲנָשִׁ֑ים וּנְתַתִּ֤יו לַֽיהוָה֙ כָּל־ יְמֵ֣י חַיָּ֔יו וּמוֹרָ֖ה לֹא־ יַעֲלֶ֥ה עַל־ רֹאשֽׁוֹ

וַתִּדֹּ֨ר  And  she  made 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: נָדַר  
Sense: to vow, make a vow.
נֶ֜דֶר  a  vow 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נֵדֶר  
Sense: vow, votive offering.
וַתֹּאמַ֗ר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֨ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
צְבָא֜וֹת  of  hosts 
Parse: Noun, common plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
רָאֹ֥ה  indeed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
תִרְאֶ֣ה ׀  You  will  look 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
בָּעֳנִ֣י  on  the  affliction 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֳנִי  
Sense: affliction, poverty, misery.
אֲמָתֶ֗ךָ  of  Your  maidservant 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אָמָה  
Sense: maid-servant, female slave, maid, handmaid, concubine.
וּזְכַרְתַּ֙נִי֙  and  remember  me 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
וְלֹֽא־  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תִשְׁכַּ֣ח  forget 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: כָּשַׁח 
Sense: to forget, ignore, wither.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אֲמָתֶ֔ךָ  Your  maidservant 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אָמָה  
Sense: maid-servant, female slave, maid, handmaid, concubine.
וְנָתַתָּ֥ה  but  will  give 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
לַאֲמָתְךָ֖  Your  maidservant 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אָמָה  
Sense: maid-servant, female slave, maid, handmaid, concubine.
זֶ֣רַע  a  child 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: זֶרַע  
Sense: seed, sowing, offspring.
אֲנָשִׁ֑ים  male 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
וּנְתַתִּ֤יו  then  I  will  give  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
לַֽיהוָה֙  to  Yahweh 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
יְמֵ֣י  the  days 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
חַיָּ֔יו  of  his  life 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
וּמוֹרָ֖ה  and  razor 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹורָה  
Sense: razor.
לֹא־  no 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יַעֲלֶ֥ה  shall  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
עַל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
רֹאשֽׁוֹ  his  head 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.