1 Samuel
Chapter 1
Birth of Samuel
There was a man from Ramathaim named Elkanah who lived in the hills of Ephraim. He was the son of Tohu, the son of Jeroham, from the Zuph clan.
He had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
Elkanah went to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts at Shiloh every year. The priests there were the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas.
Whenever Elkanah offered sacrifice, he gave portions to his wife, Peninnah, and all her sons and daughters.
To Hannah, however, he gave the more delightful portion because he loved her more, although she had no child.
Yet Hannah’s rival used to tease her for being barren.
It happened every year when they went to the Lord’s house. Peninnah irritated Hannah, and she would weep and refuse to eat.
Once, Elkanah, her husband, asked: “Hannah, why do you weep instead of eating? Why are you sad? Are you not better off with me than with many sons?”
After eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up not far from Eli, the priest, whose seat was beside the doorpost of the Lord’s house.
Deeply distressed, she wept and prayed to the Lord
and made this vow: “O Lord of Hosts, if you will have compassion on your maidservant and give me a son, I will put him in your service for as long as he lives and no razor shall touch his head.”
As she prayed before the Lord, Eli observed the movement of her lips.
Hannah prayed silently; she moved her lips but uttered no sound, and Eli thought Hannah was drunk.
He, therefore, said to her: “For how long will you be drunk? Let your drunkenness pass.”
But Hannah answered: “No, my lord, I am a woman in great distress, not drunk. I have not drunk wine or strong drink, but I am pouring out my soul before the Lord.
Do not take me for a bad woman. I was so afflicted that my prayer flowed continuously.”
Then Eli said: “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you asked for.”
Hannah answered: “Let your maidservant deserve your kindness.” Then she left the temple, and when she was at the table, she seemed a different woman.
Elkanah rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord with his wives. Then they went back home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with his wife, Hannah, the Lord took compassion on her,
and she became pregnant. She gave birth to a son and named him Samuel, saying: “I have asked the Lord to give him to me.”
Once more, Elkanah went to the temple with his family to make his yearly sacrifice and pay his vow to the Lord.
Hannah would not go along but said to her husband: “I will bring the child there as soon as he is weaned. He shall be presented to the Lord and stay there forever.”
Her husband answered: “Do what seems best to you. Stay here until you have weaned the child, and may the Lord confirm your vow.” So Hannah stayed behind and continued to nurse her son until he was weaned.
When the child was weaned, Hannah took him with her along with a three-year-old bull, a measure of flour, and a flask of wine, and she brought him to the Lord’s house at Shiloh. The child was still young.
After slaying the bull, they brought the child to Eli.
Hannah exclaimed: “Oh, my lord, look! I am the woman standing before you, praying to the Lord.
I asked for this child, and the Lord granted me the favor I begged of him.
I think the Lord is now asking for this child. As long as he lives, he belongs to the Lord.” And they worshiped the Lord there.
Commentaries
Birth of Samuel.
The First Book of Samuel begins with the story of the birth of its main character, after whom the book is named. Instead of emphasizing the remarkable circumstances of a woman who was barren but loved by her husband, yet rejected and humiliated by his other wife, who was fertile, the author seeks to reflect the condition of the people—those whom God loves but who do not produce the results expected of that love. Just as Hannah, despite her barrenness, conceived a son, Israel—also facing barrenness in social, religious, and political stagnation and decline—can look toward a future where the people are more aligned with the justice and life project that the Lord has called it to.