What Does 1 Samuel 1:17 Mean in the King James?
Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Eli speaks peace over Hannah while naming her petition as something God can still give.
THE MEANING
Your request is not erased by peace; the verse holds wholeness and the desire for an answer together. The giving remains God’s act, even while the petition is still being named.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Peace means your request has been dismissed; Eli speaks peace and names the petition in the same sentence.
THE ROOT
שְׁאֵלָתֵךְ
she'elatekha
GROWS FROM
שאל
sh-ʾ-l
Ask, inquire, request.
“petition / asked” in this verse is she'elatekha. The Hebrew uses forms of the same root for “petition” and “asked,” binding the request to the act of asking. The English gives them different shapes, while the Hebrew lets you hear one seed in both.
ALSO GROWS
she'elah: Request, petition.
שְׁאֵלָה
This noun names the petition Eli refers to, carrying the root of asking within it.
sha'al: Ask, request.
שָׁאַל
This is the verb behind “asked,” echoing the same root as “petition.”
שָׁלוֹם
shalom
GROWS FROM
שלם
sh-l-m
Be whole, complete, or made whole.
“Peace” carries the sense of wholeness, not only quiet or the absence of conflict. Eli’s words place the petition within that wholeness without pretending it has already been granted.
ALSO GROWS
shalem: Whole, complete.
שָׁלֵם
This branch makes the fullness inside shalom audible.
shelamim: Peace offerings.
שְׁלָמִים
The shared root connects peace with a form of offering named for wholeness and well-being.
יִתֵּן
yitten
GROWS FROM
נתן
n-t-n
Give, set, place.
The word translated “grant” is a form of the ordinary Hebrew verb for giving. The request is not merely approved in speech; Eli names God as the one who can give it.
ALSO GROWS
natan: Give, set, place.
נָתַן
This is the root verb behind “grant,” with the established sense of giving or placing.
mattanah: Gift.
מַתָּנָה
This related noun makes the giving in Eli’s blessing concrete.
THE PATTERN
A request can be named and held in peace before its outcome is visible.
And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.THE THREAD
For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:The same שאל (sh-ʾ-l, ask/request) root links “petition” and “asked” here to Hannah’s “my petition which I asked of him.” This verse makes the giving Eli names and the asking Hannah repeats part of one connected line.
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