12
Now the sonsוּבְנֵיof Eliעֵלִיwere wickedבְלִיָּעַלmen;בְּנֵיthey did notלֹאknowיָדְעוּYHWH.אֶת יְהוָה
1 Samuel 2:12
Study it in the app“Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they did not know YHWH.”
With the Hebrew beneath
1 Samuel 2:12, word by word
- Now the sonsבְנֵיvene
son
The male born of a father and mother; in the plural, also sons and daughters.
Where else “vene” appears- of Eliעֵלִיeli
Eli
Eli, priest at Shiloh who judged Israel forty years (1 Samuel 4:18); Samuel grew up with him.
Where else “eli” appears- were wickedבְלִיָּעַלveliyaal
worthlessness, wickedness
Worthlessness, a thing of no value: "sons of belial" are worthless people who do evil. Later it was used as a name for the evil one (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Where else “veliyaal” appears- knowיָדְעוּyadu
acknowledge
To acknowledge YHWH: admit that he is God.
Where else “yadu” appears- YHWHיְהוָהyehva
YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
Where else “yehva” appears
The context
11Then Elkanah went to Ramah, to his house. And the boy was ministering to YHWH before Eli the priest.
12 · This verse (above)
13And the custom of the priests with the people was this: whenever any man sacrificed a sacrifice, the priest’s young man would come while the meat was boiling, with a fork of three prongs in his hand,