Editing Samuel (section)

===Birth narrative===
The birth-narrative of the prophet Samuel is found at 1 Samuel 1:1-28. It describes how Samuel's mother [[Hannah (Bible)|Hannah]] requests a son from [[Yahweh]], and dedicates the child to God at the shrine of Shiloh. The passage appears to make extensive play with the root-elements of Saul's name, and ends with the phrase ''hu sa'ul le-Yahweh'', "he is dedicated to Yahweh." Hannah names the resulting son Samuel, giving as her explanation, "because from God I requested him." Samuel's name, however, can mean "name of God," (or "Heard of God" or "Told of God") and the etymology and multiple references to the root of the name would seem to fit Saul instead. Thus, several scholars argue that the narrative originally described the birth of Saul, and was given to Samuel to enhance the position of David and Samuel at the former king's expense.<ref>[[P. Kyle McCarter Jr.|P. Kyle McCarter]], "I Samuel: A New Translation with Introduction, Notes and Commentary", Anchor Bible Series, 1980, pp. 62–66.</ref> Alternatively, [[Nadav Na'aman]] argues that the verbal root ''sh-'-l'' is actually related to the name "Shiloh", the place where Samuel was born.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Samuelʼs Birth Legend and the Sanctuary of Shiloh |journal=Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages |url=https://www.academia.edu/38485667 |last=Na’aman |first=Nadav |issue=1 |volume=43 |pages=51–61 |year=2017 |issn=0259-0131 |hdl=10520/EJC-87008214d}}</ref>