Eli’s Successor: Eli’s sons come back into the picture in verses 12 and 17, another inclusio emphasizing that they misused their position and, in contrast to Hannah, had no regard for either the power or the judgment of God. The sons showed contempt for God, his offerings, the people who brought those offerings, and their own calling. As priests, they had power and misused it.

2:12–17 Priests had a right to a portion of certain offerings. Leviticus 7:28–36, for example, speaks about the share of the fellowship offering that belonged to the priest who carried out the sacrifice. The priest’s share was part of the offerer’s gift to God and was to be separated out after the blood was removed and the fat was burned. Fat, like blood, was seen as representative of life, and life belonged to God al…