Deeper Commentary
1Sa 1:1 Now there was a man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the hill country
of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of
Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite-
We note that this continues on from Judges-Ruth, where people from
Ephraim are generally apostate. So here we have an example of a family
holding on to the covenant amidst general apostacy from it.
Elkanah means "God obtains" and his father "Tohu" means "depression",
and he was to be taught the meaning of his name through obtaining Samuel
after the years of Hannah's depression. We too are set up by God with
challenges and things we need to perceive, and are led by Him to that
understanding- including through the experiences of our partners.
The variations in the genealogies reflect how fluid was the
spelling of names, and how there were variations upon the same name:
Elkanah, Jeroham, Elihu, Tohu, Zuph (1 Sam. 1:1); Elkanah, Jeroham, Eliab,
Nahath, Zophai (1 Chron. 6:26,27); Elkanah, Jeroham, Eliel, Toah, Zuph (1
Chron. 6:34,35).
1Sa 1:2 He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah and the name of the
other Peninnah; Peninnah had children but Hannah had no children-
"The one" could be translated "the first". Perhaps Hannah was
his first wife, but being barren he had taken Peninnah. Hannah, the
depressed, bitter, hopeless case, the barren first wife in a polygamous
marriage, with a co-wife who has produced ten sons, is again the hopeless
outsider chosen by God to further His saving purpose. For Peninnah to have
produced many children and Hannah none, this situation must have gone on
for at least 15 years. Throughout which God appeared apparently silent,
years when live must've seemed just not worth living for Hannah.
Issues related to barrenness are so common in the lives of the Old Testament faithful. To not have children was seen as the ultimate poverty and sign of God's lack of blessing. The equivalent in modern society may be a sense that God has not come through for us in life as we think He ought or might have done; whether or not the issue is fertility. "Hannah" means Yah's gift or grace; and like Elkanah (see on :1), she had to be brought to understand God's intention for her, and to realize that children like all blessings don't come automatically but are God's gift by grace. "Peninnah" means rubies, and perhaps Prov. 31:10 has her in view when saying that the virtuous woman (cp. Hannah) is worth more than rubies / Peninnah.
1Sa 1:3 This man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and
to sacrifice to Yahweh of Armies in Shiloh-
Elkanah is presented as faithful to the covenant. And yet the Mosaic
commandment was that every male should appear before Yahweh three times /
year (Ex. 23:17). But he went up only once / year, and yet is presented as
a righteous man. Clearly most of God's people didn't keep the law of Moses
perfectly, and yet legitimate relationship with God was still possible.
And yet the fact that was true, was therefore by His grace alone.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests to Yahweh, were
there-
Phinehas means "mouth of a serpent", Hophni is less clear, possibly
"one who punches / slaps with his hands". Strange names for men who were
supposed to be priests, and a reflection on Eli. "Eli" could be a
variation on El, but it seems more likely to mean high / proud one. And
for all his apparent humility, that was indeed his problem in the end.
1Sa 1:4 When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave to Peninnah his
wife and to all her sons and her daughters portions-
The idea may be that they ate a peace offering together, presided over
by Elkanah, and he shared out the portions of the sacrifice to the whole
family to eat, including little children. They ate of the symbol of the
covenant relationship which their parents had, and this may or may not be
helpful in formulating an understanding of whether children should partake
of the bread and wine in our dispensation.
1Sa 1:5 but to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but
Yahweh had shut up her womb-
"But Yahweh had shut up..." may hint that Elkanah's high view of Hannah
was not at that point shared by God. He gave her, literally, "the nose
portion". This could be a metaphor for "double", or it could be read
literally, as if the gift of this part of the animal was a symbolic sign
of favouritism. We will note on 1 Sam. 2 that she says many things which
seem to betray a very unspiritual and bitter heart, even though she was of
a woman of faith. We note again the usage of contemporary medical
understandings ["phenomenological language"], a point to bear in mind when
we come to the language of demon possession used to describe mental
illness in the New Testament. For infertility is not due to a literally
closed womb. The dynamics of the situation are so true to
life- Hannah had no children, but Peninah did; but Hannah was the
favourite wife and was given the "double portion" to demonstrate that, and
so Peninah responded by hitting at Hannah because of her barrenness.
1Sa 1:6 Her rival provoked her severely, to make her fret because Yahweh
had shut up her womb-
We have the situation of Rachel and Leah repeated again, whereby the
barren wife was loved more by the husband and was provoked by the other
partner. It is commendable however that she didn't resort to trying to get
her husband to sleep with another woman and bear a child symbolically for
her. The way circumstances repeat in life and between persons, both
contemporary with each other and historically, is typical of how God
works; we are intended to see the similarities with others and take
lessons and encouragement. This is what makes the Bible a living word,
because the characters selected for us to meet are all designed to speak
directly to us in our lives, and to confirm our deep sense that man is not
alone, and nothing we pass through is in fact totally unique to us.
Peninnah made Hannah "fret" (1 Sam. 1:6), and yet when she has Samuel she
asks God to "thunder", s.w. "fret", against her enemies, clearly having
Peninnah in view (1 Sam. 2:10). Hannah imagines He will do this when His
"anointed king" is reigning, and clearly she understood Samuel to be that.
He didn't become that; and the fact he anointed David to be king rather
than himself being anointed is pointed poof of the fact that her bitter
expectations and hopes didn't come true as she intended. There seems no
forgiveness, just a desire for judgment and to make Peninnah feel the same
way as she had been made to feel; and a desire for the manifestation of
the anointed King in order for her to see her enemy made to feel how she
had felt, and worse.
"Fret" is literally, 'Anger after anger'. The picture is of
continual provocation leading to continual anger episodes. But she will
later reflect that Yahweh 'counts actions' (1 Sam. 2:3 Heb.). Every
provocation and episode was counted.
1Sa 1:7 This went on year after year when she went up-
It is again emphasized that they made once yearly pilgrimages to the
tabernacle. And yet the Mosaic commandment was that every male should
appear before Yahweh three times / year (Ex. 23:17). But Elkanah went up
only once / year, and yet is presented as a righteous man. See on :3. This
is another indication that Hannah was not the peerlessly spiritual woman
which she is sometimes made out to be.
To the house of Yahweh-
The temple of Yahweh wasn't then built, so this anachronism may
reflect how these historical books were rewritten under Divine
inspiration, after the exile. Or it could simply be that a more permanent
structure had been built for the tabernacle.
She provoked her, therefore she wept and didn’t eat-
The idea may be that she didn't eat of the peace offerings, because
she didn't feel at peace neither with God nor with the rest of the family
because of Peninnah being so horrible to her. Again this is all so
psychologically credible; tension with another in the believing family
leads to distance from God. Until like Hannah we get a grip and take
initiative in our relationship with God personally.
1Sa 1:8 Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why do you weep? Why don’t
you eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?-
Perhaps this implied Peninah had borne him 10 sons; she is
described as "she who has many children" (1 Sam. 2:5). We could infer that
Hannah refused to eat the double portion Elkanah gave her; even his
special love and favouritism couldn't compensate, in her mind, for her
lack of children. We note that Elkanah isn't recorded as praying that his
wife Hannah conceives, unlike Isaac for Rebekah. Perhaps because his own
'need' for children had been met through Peninah. And so it is Hannah who
has to pray for herself directly to God. Only after she has done that does
she agree to eat again- not because of Elkanah's pleas. Through ignorance,
misintention, lack of sensitivity, dysfunction or whatever of others, we
too are driven to personal engagement with God. Perhaps he alludes to the happy Naomi, for whom her daughter in law's
love was better than seven sons. And he wonders why Hannah can't be like
her. Weeping and not eating could be associated with fasting; but also it
could be the psychological outcome of cruel teasing and provocation. Or
perhaps there was a little of both. The loss of appetite associated with
her depression turned into fasting before Yahweh for a child. Or as
suggested on :8, it may mean she declined to partake in the eating of the
peace offering.
1Sa 1:9 So Hannah rose up after they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh. Now
Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of Yahweh’s temple-
We have just read that she didn't eat (:7,8), which I suggested may
mean she declined the meat and wine of the peace offering. But now she
did, because her mood had changed because she had decided to make a vow
(:11) and pray for a child with a prayer believed in so strongly that she
believed and felt as if she had received the answer; for that is the true
nature of faith in prayer (Mt. 21:22).
Or perhaps Elkanah persuaded her to eat, and her
participation in the meal of fellowship and peace with God [the portions
were from the peace offering] inspired her to believe that this God she
sat and ate with would indeed respond to her prayer. The memorial meeting
should have the same inspiration for us.
We note how Eli sits but Hannah rises up. This is typical of
the reversals we will read about in her prayer in 1 Sam. 2. Samuel was to
rise and the house of Eli were to fall. So we have set up conflict between
her house and that of Eli. Her prayer imprecating her adversaries can be
read as referring to both Eli and Peninnah. Samuel was therefore born into
conflict, and this enabled him to comfort David who was in the same
situation with the house of Saul. Truly all our sufferings are in order to
help others (2 Cor. 1:4).
1Sa 1:10 She was in bitterness of soul and prayed to Yahweh and wept
bitterly-
I suggested on :9 that what we now read may be explaining how it came
about that she was not eating and drinking the peace offering again, when
previously she had not been. When we read in :18 that after her vow she
ate, this would be linking back to :9. Who we are as persons is
effectively our prayer and plea to God. This conception of prayer explains
why often weeping, crying, waiting, meditating etc. are spoken of as
"prayer" , although there was no specific verbalizing of requests (Ps.
5:1,2; 6:8; 18:1,2,3,6; 40:1; 42:8; 64:1 Heb.; 65:1,2; 66:17-20; Zech.
8:22). The association between prayer and weeping is especially common: 1
Sam. 1:10; Ps. 39:12; 55:1,2; Jn. 11:41,42; Heb. 5:7, especially in the
Lord's life and the Messianic Psalms. "The Lord has heard the voice of my
weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my
prayer" (Ps. 6:8,9) crystallizes the point.
Hannah's personal spiritual ambition and initiative contrasts positively with the responses of other barren women. Rachel demanded that her husband resolve the situation; Rebekah kept silent about it and it was her husband who prayed to God about it (Gen 25:21); Sarah was willing to live with the situation but got her husband to sleep with her slave girl. Samson's mother was ordered to Nazirite her child, whereas Hannah takes the initiative in offering that to God.
1Sa 1:11 She vowed a vow and said, Yahweh of Armies-
Poor Hannah was driven through the sorrow of her life to
coin the phrase "Yahweh of hosts" for the first time in Scripture, so strong became her sense of the strength and manifestation of
Yahweh in His Angels.
The close association between Angels [Yahweh's hosts] and answered prayer resulted in many of the early believers conceiving of God in terms of an Angel, as Jacob in particular did. Hannah is another example; she prayed to the Lord of Hosts (Angels) to "look on the affliction of
Your handmaid"; and the Angels are God's eyes through which He looks on us. She came to pray "before the Lord" (:15)- i.e. before the Angel dwelling over the ark. Angels are associated with conception- the cases of Samson, John and Jesus quickly spring to mind.
Her affliction drove her to a new paradigm in understanding God-
hence she apparently coined the term "Yahweh of armies", used here as an
address for the first time in Scripture. Our afflictions likewise drive us
to closer and paradigm breaking understandings of the Father.
If You will indeed
look on the affliction-
She was thinking of Leah, who considered the end of her barrenness to
have been Yahweh looking on her affliction (Gen. 29:32 s.w.). She formed
her faith from considering this Biblical precedent. But the same phrase is
also used of Yahweh's deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Ex. 3:7; 4:31; Dt.
26:7 etc.). She reasoned that the God who had done that for His people
could just as easily give her conception.
Of Your handmaid and remember me and not forget
Your handmaid, but will give to Your handmaid a boy, then I will give him
to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head-
She wanted not merely a child to remove her reproach amongst men, but
specifically a male so she could present him as a Nazirite to God.
Although they were not Levites, by promising him as a Nazirite she was
effectively asking for him to be counted as a Levite. Hannah's request in
1 Sam. 1:11 that God look upon her affliction and answer it was heard, and
she became an inspiration to her descendant David; who often makes the
same request, unashamed to be inspired by the example of a woman (s.w. 2
Sam. 16:12; Ps. 9:13; 25:18 and so often in the Psalms). See on :15.
And yet why would Hannah so desperately want to give God just one
more Nazirite? Surely her motives were mixed. She seems to have wanted
above all to personally attain the status of motherhood, and for that she
was willing to sacrifice retaining the child. Indeed it could be argued
that abandonning Samuel after weaning him to be cared for far away from
her by Eli and his immoral sons... showed no real care for Samuel. All she
wanted, it could be argued, was the status of motherhood, and her offer of
Samuel as a Nazirite was as it were a bargaining chip she offered God in
return. But from this low point, she grew spiritually. And God worked
through it to raise up Samuel and thence David as His servants.
It seems from :21 that they were in the habit of making a vow every year, hence Hannah decides to vow that if she has a son, she will give him to Yahweh's service.
1Sa 1:12 As she continued praying before Yahweh, Eli saw her mouth-
Col. 4:2 alludes to the LXX of this verse, bidding us all be like
Hannah and continue in prayer; I noted on :11 that her example served as a
template for David, as it should for us.
1Sa 1:13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart, only her lips moved but her voice
was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk-
The tacit implication is that Eli had seen drunk people in the
tabernacle before. The low level of spirituality in Israel is a continued
theme of the Old Testament. We also have a reflection of
how unspiritual
and solely "religious" was Eli; the concept of praying silently rather
than out loud was totally foreign to him. There is also the implication
that Eli didn't hear her voice, but God did.
1Sa 1:14 Eli said to her, How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine
from you-
It's possible that most of the then existent Old Testament was
rewritten under inspiration in the exile. Hannah becomes the template for
the exiles; for they too were "afflicted" as she was (:11), and are
described as drunk but not with wine who would be justified and their
tormentors punished, surely an allusion to Hannah (Is. 51:21,23). See on
:15. We recall how Peter was likewise falsely accused of being
drunk when speaking in the Spirit. Circumstances repeat between Biblical
characters, just as they do between the lives of contemporary believers.
The same Divine hand is at work.
1Sa 1:15 Hannah answered, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit-
Israel in affliction in Egypt were of sorrowful spirit (s.w. Ex.
6:9). As noted on :11, she clearly had God's past salvation of His people
from Egypt in mind. She felt that her domestic situation was as theirs,
and likewise believed that God could miraculously save her from it. We
note that this is the extent of depression and desperation that is
inflicted by those who goad others over their supposed spiritual
inferiority and God's supposed displeasure with them. We think of those
disfellowshipped or tormented by others over their marital status, to the
point they feel driven to suicide.
"Sorrowful" is the word for "hard". Her triumphant victory song of 1 Sam. 2 would indeed suggest her to be a hard woman, rejoicing over and requesting Peninnah's downfall. Verse 10 twice uses the word bitter about her- "in bitterness of soul... wept bitterly". Her language there is also relevant in parts to Eli and his sons, and came true of them. She commendably refused to be disillusioned with God because of the situation in the "church" of her time, but her bitterness with it is still discernible. The song seems all about her, and her self justification and vindication. Grace and forgiveness is not much on her agenda.
I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my
soul before Yahweh-
It was Judah in captivity whose soul was poured out (s.w. Lam.
2:12,19); see on :14. And David again took inspiration from his ancestor
Hannah in speaking of himself likewise in Ps. 42:4; see on :11.
The peace offerings, of which Hannah was given a double portion, involved eating and also drinking wine. But although she has eaten (:9), she says she hasn't drunk wine. I take that as being because she believed before she prayed that she would conceive and Nazirite the child to Yahweh. She was surely influenced by the command to Samson's mother not to drink wine because even whilst Samson was in utero he was to be a Nazirite and not drink alcohol. So her prayer was preceded by faith that it would indeed be answered and she acted as if it had been answered. This is indeed faith in prayer, and it is why she exits the sanctuary and returns home with joy, believing and feeling as if the prayer has already been answered.
1Sa 1:16 Don’t count your handmaid a wicked woman, for I have been
speaking out of the abundance of my complaint and my provocation-
She meant, she had been speaking to God in her heart.
"Wicked woman"
is AV "daughter of Belial", the term used of Eli's sons. She may be
implying that she was not in fact drunk as Eli's sons often were. In this
case, Eli criticized her for doing what his sons did. It's a psychological
classic, taking out on someone else what should be directed to ones own
family.
1Sa 1:17 Then Eli answered, Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant
your petition that you have asked of Him-
Eli's unspirituality is again revealed, for he thinks that prayer is
simply asking God for petitions. But in fact she had been pouring out her
soul to God, telling Him all her feelings about the provocation of
Peninnah
(:16). Let us also not think that prayer is simply
requests; read David's prayers in his Psalms, and see how few of his words
are actually requests.
Eli told her that her prayer would be granted even though he
didn't know what it was for. In fact the answer to that prayer, Samuel,
would mean the end of his priestly line and service. Hence she later tells
Eli "For this boy did I pray, and the Lord granted me my request that I
requested from him". Eli presents as the disinterested priest coming out
with a standard form of verbal blessing with no personal interest in the
worshipper. Perhaps she grasped that, and therefore didn't tell Eli her
prayer- when it is usual in religious circles to want a priest to pray for
you, to put your prayer to God. Again, the dysfunction of the situation
led her to closer intimacy with God.
1Sa 1:18 She said, Let your handmaid find grace in your sight-
Corrupt and unspiritual as Eli was, she still saw him as Yahweh's
representative. His acceptance of her therefore encouraged her that God
likewise had accepted her. "Hannah" means 'grace'. She perhaps
hints that to receive grace was 'her', it was how she had been set up by
life's path of infertility, polygamous marriage experience etc.
So the
woman went her way and ate, and her face wasn’t sad any more-
She ate, of the peace offerings. I suggested on :9 that the mention
of the fact that she again "ate" is then explained by :10-17.
Her
newfound joy was because she had the faith that feels and acts as if what
we asked for has been granted, even though we don't yet have it (Mt.
21:22).
The LXX adds that they stayed in an inn. Hannah’s song was clearly a major influence in the mind of Mary. But there are some background similarities as well as the verbal ones. The LXX of 1 Sam. 1:18 [not the Hebrew text] speaks of Elkanah and Hannah staying in a katalyma on their journey to Shiloh- the very word used of the “inn” in whose stable Mary had to stay. If we ask why Mary based her song so heavily on that of Hannah, we find a clue in considering how she was greeted by the Angel as “favoured” (Lk. 1:28). The Greek kecharitomene virtually translates the Hebrew name ‘Hannah’. The record is written in Greek, but Mary was a Jewess and spoke Aramaic and Hebrew; and probably the Angel spoke to her in those languages. So the link would have been all the stronger- ‘Hail, Hannah-like one’. And this set the mind of Mary thinking about Hannah, and in the days between hearing these words and meeting Elisabeth, Mary had perceived the similarities between her position and that of Hannah. She allowed the spirit of Hannah to genuinely become hers, in perceptive obedience to the Angel’s bidding. She came to share God’s perception of her as a woman like Hannah. ‘Hannah’ comes from the Hebrew root hnn – favour. Mary is told that she has been favoured / ‘Hannah-ed’ by God (Lk. 1:30)- as if to lead her to see the similarities between her and Hannah. And she responds magnificently, by alluding to Hannah’s song so closely. Tragically as we shall see, she later came to be more influenced by the world’s perception of both herself and her Son. The theme of joy is very great in her song- again, because she was obedient to the greeting “Hail!”, literally, ‘rejoice!’.
The points of connection between the songs of Hannah and Mary's
Magnificat are really quite detailed:
1 Sam. 1:3 = Lk. 1:7; 1 Sam. 1:18 = Lk. 1:38, 30; 1 Sam. 2:1 = Lk. 1:46; 1
Sam. 1:11 = Lk. 1:48; 1 Sam. 2:2 = Lk. 1:49; 1 Sam. 2:4 = Lk. 1:51; 1 Sam.
2:3 = Lk. 1:51; 1 Sam. 2:4 = Lk. 1:52; 1 Sam. 2:8 = Lk. 1:52; 1 Sam. 2:5 =
Lk. 1:53; 1 Sam. 2:10 = Lk. 1:69; 1 Sam. 2:26 = Lk. 2:52.
Hannah's faith and initiative is impressive. There are several
cases of Divinely induced pregnancies after infertility. But usually a
prophet or Angel gives the news of the pregnancy, often there is a sign
that it will indeed happen- whereas here Hannah takes it upon herself to
pray for it, and with no confirmatory sign, totally believes it will
happen and rejoices because of it.
1Sa 1:19 They rose up in the morning early and worshipped before Yahweh
and returned home to Ramah, and Elkanah lay with Hannah his wife, and
Yahweh remembered her-
The worship may imply thankfulness. As noted on :18, Hannah really
believed the prayer would be heard, even though she had not yet tried to
conceive again. "Remembered" doesn't mean God had forgotten. The word is
often used of what man does to God, and is translated "burn [incense]" and
other terms appropriate to prayer to God. There is a mutuality between God
and man, which especially functions through prayer. We 'make mention' of
things to God in prayer, and He respects that and in turn, in His own
council of Heaven, mentions or makes a mark for us in response. This is
why the Hebrew for "ask" is the same for "heard" regarding prayer and the
answers to prayer. See on :20.
1Sa 1:20 When the time had come, Hannah conceived and bore a son-
The time coming is applied to both the conception and the birth of
the child. With respect to the conception, the idea would be that God
indeed had specified a time for this in His plan for Hannah from the
beginning of the world. But all the same, without Hannah's intense prayer,
this would not have been actualized. And it follows therefore that there
are so many potentials which aren't actualized by intense prayer.
And she
named him Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of Yahweh-
"Samuel" means both 'asked of God' and 'heard of God'. This
exemplifies what was discussed on :19; that God and man are in mutual
relationship. What we ask, He hears in the sense of answering. Samuel's
name memorialized how she had asked and had such faith in the answer
coming.
1Sa 1:21 The man Elkanah and all his household went up to offer to Yahweh
the yearly sacrifice and his vow-
It seems they were in the habit of making a vow every year, hence
Hannah decides to vow that if she has a son, she will give him to Yahweh's
service. LXX adds "and his tithes". It was surely clear that the
tithes were being abused by Eli's family, but Elkanah still brought them.
Their abuses led to men sinning against Yahweh by not bringing tithes and
offerings (1 Sam. 2:23,24). But Elkanah is commended for not being amongst
those made to stumble in this way. See on :25.
1Sa 1:22 But Hannah didn’t go up, for she said to her husband, Not until
the child is weaned, then I will bring him that he may appear before
Yahweh and stay there forever-
The idea may be that she didn't go up because she had no vow to
bring, whereas Elkanah did (:21); because her fulfilment of her vow would
be when Samuel was old enough to be brought to the temple and left there,
as a living sacrifice. We see here Hannah's individual, personal
relationship with Yahweh; her vow was different to that of her husband's.
This was at a time when religion was largely a male preserve, and the
woman just followed along with the husband's religion. Elkanah encouraged
her to do what was right to her.
1Sa 1:23 Elkanah her husband said to her, Do what seems good to you.
Wait
until you have weaned him, only may Yahweh establish His word. So the
woman waited and nursed her son until she weaned him-
I noted on :22 that Elkanah encouraged her to do what was right to
her. And this reflects how within a good, spiritual marriage, the
devotions of the wife and husband may be quite different. Hence the
significance of LXX "but may the Lord establish that which comes out of
thy mouth". He saw Samuel as her project whilst he had his own
projects for Yahweh, his vows he brought yearly; but Samuel was his wife's
project. The Dead Sea Scrolls at this point has “Only may the Lord
fulfill what your mouth has uttered".
1Sa 1:24 When she had weaned him she took him up with her, with a
three-year-old bull, an ephah of meal and a bottle of wine, and brought
him to Yahweh’s sanctuary in Shiloh-
"I am the woman" may suggest Eli had forgotten who Hannah was and she had to introduce herself to him again. She and her husband had been regular visitors over the years as well as her having had the encounter with him which is recorded here. Again he is presented as unthoughtful and mindless concerning his flock, which drove her to personal engagement with God. She clearly separated church from God, and didn't allow inept religious leadership to discourage her from personal relationship with God. Rather did it drive her to this.
The age of the bull was perhaps to represent Samuel, who would have been weaned by three years old (see on 1 Sam. 2:11). If Samuel was only three years old when given to Eli, his later spiritual maturity and devotion is the more remarkable; for he grew up surrounded by bad examples, and only the annual visit of his parents to impart true spiritual guidance. The bread ["meal"] and wine were associated with the voluntary peace offerings. This formed the basis for the later institution of bread and wine in the breaking of bread. If we ask "And where is the animal that is devoted and eaten?" the answer would be that it represents the Lord Jesus and also ourselves, as living sacrifices (Rom 12:1) because we are "in Him".
The child was young-
Evidence enough that a child can still serve God.
1Sa 1:25 They killed the bull and brought the child to Eli-
The "they" is presumably Eli's sons, whom we learn usually abused the
offering and took it all for themselves. But just as Elkanah still offered
tithes despite the abuse of them by these men (see on :21), so Hannah
offered the bull. She knew it was done to Yahweh despite the abuse of His
representatives. She separated church from God, in a way which many fail
to do today.
1Sa 1:26 She said, Oh my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman
who stood by you here, praying to Yahweh-
We note that she doesn't swear as Yahweh lives, as is commonly found
in the Bible, but by Eli's own life. Perhaps she felt that Yahweh was no
authority to Eli to make an oath by. We note that this way of swearing by
the life of the person being spoken to [rather than by Yahweh] is used of
men to Saul (1 Sam. 17:55), by Uriah to David when he knew David had slept
with his wife (2 Sam. 11:11) and by Hannah to Eli (1 Sam. 1:26). In every
case the implication is that the speaker didn't think that the person
being addressed really feared Yahweh.
1Sa 1:27 For this child I prayed, and Yahweh has given me my petition
which I asked of Him-
As Yahweh gave her, so she wanted to give to Yahweh (:28). This is
the irresistible motivating power of grace, once it is perceived.
1Sa 1:28 Therefore I have given him to Yahweh-
AV "lent". It is rendered by many versions as "given" because she
seems to have totally and absolutely given Samuel to Yahweh for all his
life, with no intention of getting him back. However, we can still read
"lent" if she had a Kingdom perspective; she looked forward to receiving
back the sacrificed relationships in the Kingdom, just as we can.
As long as he lives he is
given to Yahweh. Eli worshipped Yahweh there-
This is an attempt to interpret "he worshipped Yahweh there". But I
think the "he" refers to Elkanah, unless we apply it to Samuel, who was
still so young. And then his worship becomes parallel with Hannah pouring
out her heart to Yahweh in the next chapter, making this a repeat of the
situation earlier, and continuing the theme of this lovely couple each
independently pursuing their devotion to Yahweh in unique ways.
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