1 Samuel 2:20Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, "Yahweh give you seed of this woman for the petition which was asked of Yahweh." They went to their own home.
The setting
Shiloh, Israel, ~1100 BC. The annual sacrifice complete. Old priest Eli places weathered hands on the couple who gave up their miracle son, speaking a prophetic blessing...
The emotion here: witnessing God's perfect justice — blessing those who gave up their most precious gift
The original word
zera (זֶרַע) — seed or offspring, the same word used for God's promise to Abraham about descendants
Why it matters
Eli spoke this blessing as both priest and prophet, making it a formal divine pronouncement
Read with care
What most readers miss in 1 Samuel 2:20
Eli blessed them for 'the petition which was asked' — he's specifically referring to Hannah's original desperate prayer for Samuel
Common misconceptionPeople think Eli is just being nice, but this is a prophetic blessing that literally came true — Hannah had five more children.
The thread continues
Verses that echo 1 Samuel 2:20
Bible Genome reading
1 Samuel 2:20 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
1 Samuel 2:20 comes from the book of 1 Samuel, written during the judges period. These words are attributed to Eli. The dominant emotion in this verse is grateful, with a comfort power of 80% and a tone that is reverent. It belongs to the poetry genre of biblical literature. Key themes include blessing, divine favor. Notable phrases: Yahweh give you seed. This verse contains a promise of God. This verse is a prayer.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same grateful
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
— John 3:16
“I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.”
— 2 Timothy 4:7
“It will be, that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.'”
— Acts 2:21
“for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
— Ephesians 2:8
“So now it wasn't you who sent me here, but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land o…”
— Genesis 45:8
Your reflection
What does 1 Samuel 2:20 mean to you, today?
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