And Elkanah … said to her: the Hebrew has a connecting word translated as And in many translations (Revised Standard Version, Nueva Biblia Española). Often the connection is left implicit in translation and the Hebrew word is not translated (so Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). But some translations find it natural to use other transition words, like “So” (Contemporary English Version).

Why is your heart sad? The Hebrew verb means “to be evil” or “to be discontented.” In Hebrew thought the heart designates the most inward part of a person, the center of one’s will and thoughts (see 16.7, which states that the LORD looks on a person’s heart).

The question Am I not more to you than ten sons? is translated literally in most versions. The exact sense, however, is not clear. Perhaps the meaning is “Am I not more devoted to you than ten sons?” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). More commonly the sense is understood to be “Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” (New International Version). The number ten here, as in Gen 31.7; Num 14.22; Neh 4.6; and Job 19.3, probably has symbolic value, meaning “a large number.” Compare also Ruth 4.15. In many languages the number “ten” will convey the intended meaning. In those cases where Good News Translation or New International Version is accepted as the model, the idea may have to be expressed as “I can surely do more for you than ten sons,” since this question is a rhetorical one, which normally means the same as an emphatic statement.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .