Eli,“Enemy of a Temple”? A Study of מעון in 1 Samuel 2.29 and 2.32

Abstract

The Septuagint’s reading of verses 29a and 32a in 1 Samuel 2 may appear to provide an explanation of the difficult readings of the Masoretic text, but in fact, the LXX complicates the matter. There is no definite evidence that the LXX is the original and MT its corrupt variant. I propose that MT מעון‎ “in a temple” in v. 29a and צר מעון‎ “enemy of a temple” in v. 32 not only make sense as they stand but also provide a hermeneutical key to understanding the story of the Elides’ degradation, which focuses on their negative role in the temple at Shiloh.