He went on a circuit year by year: literally “And he went year by year and he went in a circle [or, circuit].” The sense is that Samuel went from one town to another, taking them in the order in which he came to them, starting in Ramah and ending in Ramah (see verse 17).

Year by year: that is, each year. The Hebrew is not clear on how many times he made the circuit each year. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch states that he made the circuit “once each year,” and New American Bible says “He made a yearly journey.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, on the other hand, says “Each year he made the rounds,” suggesting that he visited each city more than once each year. In some languages this element may be shifted forward to the very beginning of the verse, as in Good News Translation.

Bethel: located about nineteen kilometers (twelve miles) north of Jerusalem on the territorial boundary between Benjamin and Ephraim (Josh 18.21-22), this city was an important religious center (see 10.3; Bethel is mentioned also in Gen 28.19; 35.1-7; 1 Kgs 12.26-33).

Gilgal: located near the Jordan River close to Jericho, the city of Gilgal was the site of major events in the history of the Israelite people (see 11.15; 13.5-15; Josh 4.19-24; 9.6; 10.6; Amos 4.4; 5.5).

Judged: as in verses 6 and 15.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .