4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; 5 but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. 6 Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 Thus, it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore, Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” In key ways, Hannah, Peninnah and Elkanah resemble Rachel, Leah and Jacob. In the stories of both families, a husband loves a childless wife, and a co-wife who has children but is resentful of the affection her husband affords his favorite. No doubt, this represents an archetypal scene of family dynamics in a polygamous culture in which the stakes are much higher for barren women than for their husbands or co-wives. We have an interesting anthropological insight into ancient Israelite culture. Specifically, the description of Hannah’s relationship to Elkanah and her desperate desire for a child makes a lie out of a very common stereotype about the ancient Israelite culture — namely, that an extreme form of patriarchy existed there which essentially made ancient Israelite women prisoners to the obsessive desires of ancient Israelite men for biological offspring. I Samuel 1 contradicts this stereotype in that it is Hannah who longs for a child and her husband Elkanah who tries to convince her that her childlessness is unimportant. He does not appear to value her less highly because she is childless, and appears to plead for reassurance that their relationship means as much to her as it does to him. Elkanah likely dismisses Hannah’s desire for a child, at least in part, because her childlessness is not a pressing issue for him. The cultural rules had already decided the disposition of his property and the survival of his personal legacy after his death in the birth of the children of Hannah’s co-wife, Peninnah. In other words, Elkanah is not childless. Only Hannah is childless, and the social implications of this for her are grave. Under Israelite inheritance law, Hannah would have no right to live on in this household should Elkanah die without giving her a child. At that point, she would be at Peninnah’s mercy because Peninnah would then own Elkanah’s property in surety for his children by her. Hannah could stay in the household at that point if only Peninnah allowed her to do so. Therefore, Hannah’s childlessness may not be a major issue while Elkanah lives, but once he has died Hannah could well be left homeless and without a family of which to be a part. Given this, it is easy to see why Hannah cares more about her barrenness than Elkanah does.
9 After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. This terminology and the description of the structure imply a substantial temple building that predated the temple in Jerusalem (see also Jeremiah 7). It is also implied later, however, that the tent of meeting was set up at Shiloh (I Samuel 2:22). Although archeologists have excavated Shiloh, no clear solution to this apparent contradiction in the text has surfaced.[1] This has led some archaeologists to hypothesize that the “temple” at Shiloh was in fact a platform on which they set up the tent of meeting. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. 11 She made this vow: “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.” She pours out her soul to the Lord in a time of distress, and feels the presence of the Lord. The emphasis on Nazirite applied to Samuel does not fit. If historians have combined an early birth narrative of Saul with Samuel, it becomes understandable. Chapter 7 does contain some military elements, but they are general. On the other hand, one can closely parallel Saul's hero stories to Samson. The first section is an interesting one in many ways. Textually, this passage is one of the few passages in the Old Testament for which the Dead Sea Scroll evidence provided information previously unknown from other versions. One such detail of information is that Hannah dedicated Samuel as a nazirite. A nazirite (Numbers 6:1-21) was separate to the Lord. He or she was not to drink alcohol, shave the head, go near a corpse, go through a ritual cleansing process if they accidentally come near a corpse, bring their offering to the priests and they may drink wine then. They are holy and consecrated to the Lord. An angel of the Lord says Samson will be nazirite from birth, and she was not to drink alcohol or eat anything unclean, nor cut his hair, for this nazirite will deliver Israel from the Philistines (Judges 13:3-5). Although earlier scribes had not preserved this notion in any other manuscripts, scholars today largely accept it because of the evidence from Qumran. For more information on the Qumran witnesses to Samuel see Kyle McCarter’s commentary.[2]
12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but no one heard her voice; therefore, Eli thought she was drunk. 14 Therefore, Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” The sad reality was that the priest was not able to see or notice the spiritual struggle. As we shall read, Eli has lost much spiritual insight. 15 However, Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” Hannah does not take offense. She may well show spiritual depth and maturity in this response. She, not the priest, is the one who has spiritual insight. 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” 18 She said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer. Hannah’s motives in her prayer were not necessarily the purest. But then, is there a right or wrong reason to wish to have a child? In this case, Hannah may have been motivated by jealousy, frustration, fear (economic — being a widow without children), maternal instincts and so on. Does God care about our motives? Notice that Hannah also bargains with God to get what she wants.
19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 20 In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.”
In addition to the archetypal family dynamics portrayed in this story, 1 Samuel 1:4-20 is also an example of the classic tale of the miraculous birth of a heroic figure. Like all previously barren women in the text before her (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Manoah’s wife), Hannah eventually gives birth to a hero of epic proportions. Although he is not the fulfillment of God’s covenant with a patriarch (like Isaac), or the father of a nation (like Jacob, Esau and Joseph), Samuel is, like Samson, a great judge and warrior, but he is also much more. He is the last judge and the first true prophet. He is the pivotal individual who transforms Israel from a tribal society to a monarchy. He is prophet, priest and king-maker — a worthy product of miraculous divine intervention. Samuel is such a key figure that when another miraculous birth takes place for Mary of Nazareth, the laudable description of Jesus’ growth “in divine and human favor” (Luke 2:52) resembles the praise once given to Samuel (I Samuel 2:26).
Institutional religion has never been all its proponents have said it was. Here, we have a spiritually out of touch priest. He is not even able to tell the difference between drunkenness and spiritual need. The barren woman is the one who has spiritual insight. Hannah is a role model for us, as we seek to grow spiritually. Organized religion, churches, are far from perfect. The clergy less so, I fear. Yet, part of spiritual maturity is not to allow what others do or say to offend us easily. We need to have more personal and spiritual strength than that. Hannah brought her needs to temple and offered her request to the Lord honestly. She did not try to be spiritual, but not religious. She was spiritual and religious, even when the religious priest is not very spiritual. In our time, some studies suggest that finding the “spiritual, but not religious” person is like chasing a unicorn. Such persons do not exist. People who say they such persons self-describe as not religious, but some studies suggest they are not spiritual either. Today, I would suggest, there is something about the hymns and songs, being present before the Lord with others, and even the ritual every congregation has, that can provide the context for making genuine spiritual connection. I grant that religious institutions can make it difficult to grow your spiritual life. Yet, being part of an imperfect community, and accepting its imperfections, is already part of the spiritual growth we need.[3]
[1] (See Israel Finkelstein, “Excavations at Shiloh 1981-1984,” Tel Aviv 12 [1985], 123-80).
[2] (1 Samuel: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary [Anchor Bible 8. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980], 5-30).
[3] Tom Jacobs, "Millennials are less religious -- and less spiritual too," Pacific Standard, May 12, 2015, psmag.com.
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