1 Samuel 1:24

Three bullocks. The LXX reads, “a bullock in its third year.” According to v. 25, “they slew a bullock.” Abraham, in his consecration sacrifice, used a heifer three years old (Gen. 15:9). Elkanah’s sacrifice presented in fulfillment of the vow (vs. 11,21) consisted of a bullock, with its requisite cereal and wine offerings (Num. 15:9, 10). Because Elkanah and Hannah brought a whole ephah of flour, and the amount required for one bullock was three tenths of an ephah (Num. 15:8-10), it is probable that the bullock mentioned in v. 25 was the burnt offering with which the child Samuel was consecrated to the Lord, and that the other two bullocks were sacrificed as the accompanying sin offering and peace offering, each of which would require three tenths of an ephah of flour. The fact that Elkanah brought a whole ephah of flour, sufficient for three bullocks, implies that the LXX and other translations that read “a bullock in its third year,” are in error.