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the prophet. After praying to the Lord, Hanna gave birth to this man, whom she called Samuel, meaning "'requested of God,'" as "one might say."[1] Then "when" his mother "recalled her prayer" to God, which she prayed to Eli the high priest, "she handed him over to Eli, thereby having devoted him to God to become a prophet.[2] Therefore both his hair was left uncut, and his drink was water. And he spent his life being brought up in the temple, but to Elkanah [3] from Hanna were born three sons and a daughter.[4] Now when Samuel had turned twelve, he began to prophesy.[5] And one time while he was sleeping, God called him by name. But Samuel, supposing he had been summoned by the high priest, went to him. When the high priest said he had not called, God did this a total of three times. Eli, once the truth dawned on him, said to him, 'No, Samuel, I was silent just as before; but God is the one who is calling. But communicate[6] to him, "Here I am."' When God again spoke, Samuel heard it and asked God to speak about his oracles, for he would not fail him in whatever service he might desire.[7] And God said,[8] 'Since you are here, learn that a calamity shall befall the Israelites[9] and the sons of Eli will die on the same day.[10]'

Σαμουήλ, ὁ προφήτης. τοῦτον ἐγέννησεν Ἄννα εὐξαμένη πρὸς κύριον: ὃν Σαμουὴλ ἐκάλεσε, Θεαίτητον ὡς ἄν τις εἴποι. καὶ ἀναμνησθεῖσα ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ τῆς εὐχῆς, ἣν ηὔξατο πρὸς Ἡλεὶ τὸν ἀρχιερέα, παρεδίδου Ἡλεί, ἀνατιθεῖσα τῷ θεῷ προφήτην γενησόμενον. κόμη τε οὖν αὐτῷ ἀνεῖτο, καὶ ποτὸν ὕδωρ ἦν. καὶ διῆγεν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ τρεφόμενος, Ἀλκάνῃ δ' ἐκ τῆς Ἄννης υἱεῖς γείνονται τρεῖς καὶ θυγάτηρ. Σαμουὴλ δὲ πεπληρωκὼς ἔτος δωδέκατον προεφήτευσε. καί ποτε κοιμώμενον ὀνομαστὶ ἐκάλεσεν ὁ θεός. ὁ δὲ νομίσας ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀρχιερέως πεφωνῆσθαι παραγίνεται πρὸς αὐτόν. οὐ φαμένου δὲ καλέσαι τοῦ ἀρχιερέως, ὁ θεὸς εἰς τρὶς τοῦτο ποιεῖ, καὶ Ἡλεὶ διαυγασθείς φησι πρὸς αὐτόν: ἀλλ' ἐγὼ μέν, Σαμουήλ, σιγὴν ὡς καὶ τὸ πρὶν ἦγον: θεὸς δ' ἐστὶν ὁ καλῶν. ἀλλὰ σήμαινε πρὸς αὐτόν, ὅτι παρατυγχάνω. καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ φθεγξαμένου πάλιν ἀκούσας ἠξίου λαλεῖν ἐπὶ τοῖς χρωμένοις: οὐ γὰρ ὑστερήσειν αὐτόν, ἐφ' αἷς ἂν θελήσειε διακονίαις. καὶ ὁ θεός, ἐπεὶ παρατυγχάνεις, μάνθανε συμφορὰν Ἰσραηλίταις ἐσομένην καὶ τοῦ Ἡλεὶ παῖδας μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ τεθνηξομένους.

[1] This meaning comes from Josephus, AJ 5.346 (5.10.3) (see web address 1). In fact, the Suda quotes Josephus' summary very closely; exact quotations from Josephus, without distinguishing minor word order variations, are indicated by quotation marks, with ellipses included in footnotes. Josephus uses the term θεαίτητος , which LSJ (s.v., web address 2) translate as "obtained from the gods," but which Thackery and Marcus in the Loeb edition of Josephus translate as "asked of God," which is certainly in keeping with the Biblical text (1 Sam [LXX 1 Kgdm] 1:20). Other etymologies existed in the later Christian books of sacred names. For example, "request(ed) from God" (going along with biblical derivation), "servant who listens to God" (adding the term "servant," perhaps from 1 Sam 3:9, and identifying the Hebrew root of the element שמו Shemu as though from שמע shma`, the Hebrew word for "hear"); "law of their God" (taking שמו Shemu as the Hebrew שׂים sim "place, put" [sc. "decree"]) or "there is God himself" (taking "Shemu" as from the Hebrew word שם sham, there"); and finally, "request or listening to God" (Lagarde, p. 184, lines 51, 55; p. 198, line 53; p. 204, line 30). On the derivation of "Sam" to a Hebrew word meaning law, see Wutz, vol. 1, p.116.
[2] 1 Sam 1:22-28.
[3] The father of Samuel and husband of Hanna.
[4] cf. 1 Sam 2:21. Josephus reads, "other sons and three daughters," according to the Loeb edition, which does indicate a textual problem at this point, namely, the omission of "other." Niese's text follows the manuscripts that omit "other." I did not have access to the critical apparatus of Niese's edition, but it should be checked. The Suda may perhaps preserve here a more original fragment of Josephus; otherwise it is a correction of Josephus to conform to biblical data. The former seems a likely possibility since the Suda quotes Josephus and not the biblical text, which reads "and she bore in addition three sons and two daughters" (Septuaginta [Rahlfs], in agreement with the Hebrew Bible). The Suda and Josephus use the verb γίνομαι ; the LXX uses τίκτω .
[5] The age is not mentioned in Scripture, but comes from Josephus, AJ 5.348 (5.10.4).
[6] The Suda omits τε , which Josephus has here.
[7] Instead of "in whatever service he might desire," Josephus reads, "in whatever things of service he might desire"; a discrepency of only two letters. This change is deliberate simply to smooth out the Greek for this entry.
[8] The Suda omits the verb "said."
[9] The Suda omits the phrase found in Josephus: "surpassing the speech or belief of them that are present."
[10] Compare 1 Sam 3:10-14. The Suda has minor textual variations from Josephus in this last phrase, but again the Suda is clearly following Josephus.

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