John Gill Commentary


John Gill Commentary
"Count not thy handmaid for a wicked woman; for out of the abundance of my complaint and my provocation have I spoken hitherto." — 1 Samuel 1:16 (ASV)
Count not your handmaid for a daughter of Belial
A yokeless, a lawless, impudent, and abandoned creature; one of the most wicked, vilest, and most profligate wretches; as she must be to come drunk into the sanctuary of God; see (1 Samuel 25:17 1 Samuel 25:25) . Drunkenness in man is an abominable crime, but much more in a woman. The Romans F1 forbad wine to women, and drunkenness in them was a capital crime, as adultery, or any other; and indeed a drunken woman is liable to all manner of sin.
for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken
hitherto ;
out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak, whether it is matter of trouble or of joy; the heart of Hannah was full of grief, and her mouth full of complaints, on which she long dwelt, in order to give vent thereunto, and ease herself.