1 Samuel — Hebrew and Greek compared
Choose a chapter to explore the source readings and their notes. Original references, source labels, and review records are retained.
Source guide and review record
SAINTS TRANSLATION
The First Book of Samuel
Chapters 1–31 / Greek: 1 Reigns
Independent literal-smooth translations
from the Hebrew and Greek texts
Christ-centered reading headings • Verse-by-verse classifications
Jewish and Christian reception • Sources and translation decisions
Review revision | 13 September 2026
Complete working translation draft
811 Hebrew source verses • 773 Greek source units • 812 comparison rows
Reviewed under the final Bible Translation Reference Document supplied 11 September 2026. All thirty-one chapters and both English columns were reviewed. Fresh review covers all thirty-one chapters in both publisher main texts; Hebrew 17 was recovered in a cached publisher presentation, as identified under H17. Selected judgments remain provisional.
“Rabbinic Priority” and “Saints Priority” identify the reception traditions consulted. Each translation remains governed by its own selected ancient source.
Reader’s guide
Read horizontally to compare the sources, or down one English column to follow its narrative. Visible MT and LXX references identify the actual source numbering. Editorial absence notices preserve gaps in the selected Greek and its additional verse; they are never reconstructed biblical wording.
English was drafted independently from the declared Hebrew and Greek. Ordinary syntax is smoothed while meaningful subjects, negatives, repetitions, names, numbers, objects, ritual terms, and changes of speaker remain visible. Attributed reception follows the textual comparison in the third column.
Source basis and extent of review
Column | Declared running text | Review scope |
|---|---|---|
Hebrew–English | BHS, fifth corrected edition, 1997; publisher web presentation [H]. | All thirty-one chapters reviewed directly in the publisher BHS main text, including the cached chapter 17 presentation H17. Selected written/read checks are identified by Q-codes and R2. |
Greek–English | Rahlfs–Hanhart, second revised edition, 2006; publisher web presentation [G]. | All 31 chapters of 1 Reigns. No full apparatus or alternate Greek recension collation claimed. |
The selected BHS and Rahlfs–Hanhart editions remain unchanged. All thirty-one chapters were reviewed in both selected publisher main texts. The recovered Hebrew 17 presentation is precisely identified under H17; Mechon Mamre remains an ancillary written/read check. Earlier NETS checks were indirect and were not freshly repeated. Whole-book linguistic review is distinct from independent scholarly review or full apparatus collation.
The five comparison categories
Category | Governing criterion |
|---|---|
Same | Corresponding meaning and content, allowing ordinary differences between languages. |
Similar | The essentials agree; a modest difference of expression, idiom, or emphasis is worth noting. |
Different | A meaningful difference of detail, name, number, action, participant, or image. |
Divergent | Added, absent, or substantially rearranged material governs the comparison. |
Disparate | A major difference in meaning or consequence, including agency, ritual outcome, or narrative force. Strict contradiction is not required. |
Each row has one governing category. Counts describe aligned rows, not unique variants, manuscript histories, or the worth of either religious tradition. Conventional YHWH / Lord wording alone does not require Similar.
Headings and liturgical reading map
Book headings are dark. Chapter headings are red under the project’s Blood of Jesus convention; major pericopes are purple under its Majesty of Jesus convention. Bold minor headings divide complete reading units. These are native Word heading styles.
A published selection is identified only where its exact range and occasion were verified. Full verses and surrounding narrative remain in the translation even where a lectionary selects clauses. Other headings are explicitly editorial Christian readings, attributed typology, or canonical thematic comparisons.
Code | 1 Samuel selection | Verified occasion and Gospel |
|---|---|---|
L1 | 1:20–22, 24–28 | Holy Family, 29 December 2024; Lectionary 17. Optional first reading. Gospel Luke 2:41–52. |
L2 | 3:3b–10, 19 | Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, 14 January 2024; Lectionary 65. Gospel John 1:35–42. |
L3 | 16:1b, 6–7, 10–13a | Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A scrutiny readings, 14 March 2021; Lectionary 31. Gospel John 9:1–41 or 9:1, 6–9, 13–17, 34–38. |
L4 | 26:2, 7–9, 12–13, 22–23 | Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, 23 February 2025. Gospel Luke 6:27–38. Confirmed on the USCCB page, 13 September 2026. |
These particular USCCB instances establish a selective Roman reading map, not an exhaustive survey of Christian lectionaries. L1–L3 were freshly read in full on the publisher pages. L4 was subsequently confirmed on the publisher page (13 September 2026).
How reception is presented
Text explains the relationship between the chosen readings. Rabbinic identifies a specific Jewish interpretation. Saints identifies apostolic or named Christian reception. Explicit Gospel reuse, later typology, and editorial thematic connections are distinguished. Sources are cited by code and passage; no entry claims consensus for an entire tradition.
The broad Christian frame is Acts 13:20–23, which moves from Samuel through Saul and David to Jesus. This does not turn every narrative event into an allegory. Later interpretation never supplies missing Hebrew or Greek clauses.
Book navigation
Chapter | Reading | Page | Chapter | Reading | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hannah’s prayer and Samuel’s birth | 17 | David and Goliath | ||
2 | Hannah’s song; the priests | 18 | Friendship, envy, and marriage | ||
3 | Samuel’s call | 19 | David escapes Saul | ||
4 | The ark captured; Eli dies | 20 | The covenant and the arrows | ||
5 | Dagon and the afflictions | 21 | Sacred bread and foreign refuge | ||
6 | The ark returned | 22 | Nob’s priests are slain | ||
7 | Repentance and deliverance | 23 | Keilah, Ziph, and the pursuit | ||
8 | The demand for a king | 24 | Saul spared in the cave | ||
9 | Saul seeks the seer | 25 | Abigail averts bloodshed | ||
10 | Saul anointed and chosen | 26 | Saul spared in the camp | ||
11 | Jabesh rescued | 27 | David with Achish | ||
12 | Samuel’s witness and warning | 28 | Saul and the woman at Endor | ||
13 | Saul’s offering and rejection | 29 | David sent away | ||
14 | Jonathan, the oath, and the lot | 30 | Ziklag rescued; the spoils shared | ||
15 | Amalek and the torn kingdom | 31 | Saul’s death and burial | ||
16 | David anointed; Saul’s distress |
Numbering in brief
This volume follows the publisher’s source numbering. Its 21:1 is the final departure sentence commonly included in English 20:42; its 21:2–16 corresponds to common English 21:1–15. Its 24:1 is commonly English 23:29; its 24:2–23 corresponds to English 24:1–22. Greek 30:28a is an additional source unit.