1 Samuel 1:9-20
Chapter 1
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.”
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.