Zitat Kommentar zu Schemuel I 1:27

For the leader (el ha-nechilot): [Regarding the preposition] el (אֶל): It is like al (עַל - upon/concerning) in meaning here. Similar [is the usage in (I Samuel 1:10)]: "And she prayed unto/concerning (al) Ad-nai." [And compare (I Samuel 1:27)]: "Concerning (el) this child [I prayed]." [This is] the opposite [of their usual distinction: el normally means 'to/towards' while al means 'upon/about']. And the [letter] Alef (א) does not interchange with the [letter] Ayin (ע), but rather the letters Alef, Heh, Vav, Yod (אהו"י - the weak letters) are the ones that interchange, and [also] Shin (ש) with Samekh (ס), because they are close in their place of articulation.

toward an earthen vessel i.e., over an earthen vessel. See also, “I have prayed toward this child” [I Samuel 1:27].