What Does 1 Samuel 1:24 Mean in the King James?

And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.

1 Samuel 1:24 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The word for “weaned” shares a root with “dealt bountifully,” linking Samuel’s release from nursing with care carried through its full course.

THE MEANING

This verse holds care and dedication together: Hannah brings Samuel to the LORD’s house after he is weaned, with provisions for the journey. His move to a new place follows a season of nurture; it does not erase that care.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The verse loosens the assumption that release means neglect: Hannah brings Samuel only after weaning, and brings provisions with him.

THE ROOT

גְּמָלַתּוּ

gemalattu

GROWS FROM

גמל

To deal with or requite; in this form, to wean.

“weaned” in this verse is gemalattu. The Hebrew word for weaning comes from the same root used for dealing bountifully and recompensing. English separates the child’s completed nursing from the idea of generous dealing; the root places them in one word family.

ALSO GROWS

gāmal: To deal bountifully or requite

גָּמַל

In Psalm 13:6, this root describes the LORD’s bountiful dealing, echoing the care carried through in weaning Samuel.

gemul: Recompense; a person’s due dealing

גְּמוּל

This related noun shows the root’s wider reach: it can name what is rendered in response to someone, as well as the act of weaning.

THE PATTERN

A child’s transition into a new place follows a season of growth and care.

And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

Genesis 21:8 · KJVWeaning marks a completed season of nurture and opens a new moment in the child’s life.

And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.

Exodus 2:10 · KJVMoses is brought to Pharaoh’s daughter after his mother has nursed him, so his change of place follows care.

And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

Luke 2:22 · KJVJesus is brought to the LORD as part of the care and presentation surrounding his early life.

THE THREAD

I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 13:6 · KJV

The root ⁨גמל⁩ (gāmal), meaning to deal with or requite, appears in both “weaned” here and “dealt bountifully” in the psalm. It connects a completed stage of care with generous dealing.

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