1 Hannah[1]
There was a darkness over Israel. The late morning sun shone on this day as on every other, but the light was for her eyes, not for her heart.
There was a silence in Israel. The birds still sang and people talked, but there was neither music nor voice that called to her soul.
There was an emptiness in Israel. The land still yielded its fruit and the herds still grazed in the fields, but there was nothing that filled her emptiness.
She watched from a distance atop a hill so that she could see down into the courtyard. The priests were preparing the sacrifice that her husband, Elkanah, had brought to them. Each year it was the same. The whole house of Elkanah came to Shiloh and the priests offered up the sacrifice to God, the peace offering. Here they thanked God for His blessings upon their household and feasted to celebrate His blessing.
Their household was blessed, for they were never in want. But Hannah felt that she could never truly feel blessed until she had a child for her husband. Was it only her emptiness, her barrenness, that colored the world about her as empty and without hope?
She dreaded the afternoon ahead. Peninnah, Elkanah’s other wife, the one he had chosen because Hannah had given him no child, would again make public Hannah’s inadequacy, Hannah’s failure as a wife. Was it only this woman who brought these feelings of a disordered world to Hannah’s mind?
Even now she should be performing her role in the preparations for their feast, but her heart was not in it. She knew the remainder of the day held no joy for her.
Then she saw Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, come out from the tabernacle. They were dressed in fine clean robes, leaving the messy work of preparing sacrifices to younger men. These younger priests, already stained with blood, labored on the bullock as Elkanah watched. Seeing the activity, Hophni and Phinehas walked over and immediately took charge.
As Hophni and Phinehas gestured toward the men, no doubt advising what portions would come to the high priests, she saw Elkanah become animated. This, too, was the same each year. The priests demanded more than their allotment, and they always prevailed. It was no matter, for there was always plenty for the feast afterward, but the offering to the Lord and the share for Elkanah were less because of the priests’ greed. The men already filled their robes, so it was not for any lack of food that they drove a hard bargain.
As Elkanah continued to protest, Hophni walked toward the mutilated carcass still being torn by the priests. He pointed and pieces were lifted up and placed on slabs waiting nearby. When they were done, Phinehas brushed Elkanah aside and joined his brother.
The priests did not wait for the fat to be boiled from the meat, but took it as it had been cut. They did not even pretend to obey but brazenly flouted God’s law. The brothers and the two priests carried away the large raw cuts of meat as the portion for the priests.
Elkanah was left alone until the two younger priests would return to prepare the reduced portion of the sacrifice for God. From her distant vantage point, Hannah saw him lift his head and hands to heaven, no doubt imploring God’s intervention. How did her husband see the world? This world did not seem the same one where the stories of Moses and Joshua had taken place.
There were many who no longer sacrificed to God because of the self-dealing priests. There were no prophets who spoke the words of God. Yes, she had heard that old Eli was a man of God, but no one spoke of him as a prophet. Besides, whatever good he had done had long since been overshadowed by his godless sons. She knew of the bands of so-called prophets that wandered the countryside, but most appeared to have less of God on their mind than of their next meal.
Hannah shivered in the warm morning sun as the emptiness around her and within her swept over her like waves. Yes, the emptiness within her was real, and so was the emptiness in the world about her.
She saw Elkanah collecting his portion of the sacrifice for the meal they would all share later. Elkanah was a good man, but he was powerless against Eli’s sons. And God was a just and loving God, but when would He judge the sons of Eli? That was no matter to her. If He would give her a son, she would see that he did not become evil.
Hannah remained apart throughout the afternoon, performing her tasks as well as possible while avoiding Peninnah. She did not even desire Elkanah’s presence, but he did not come to where the women were making preparations anyway.
Activity around the temple increased as other families arrived and began preparations for sacrifice and feasting. The morning became afternoon as other men in Elkanah’s extended family prepared their offerings and the women prepared for the meal. They had set aside a place for the meal in the shade of large evergreens beyond the courtyard.
When the time for the meal came, Elkanah brought portions of the offering to Peninnah, a portion for her and for each of her children. As always, he brought a double portion to Hannah, his first wife, to prove his love in spite of her barrenness. Each year he did this, and each year he saw the pain as she accepted her lot.
Also each year, Peninnah found some way to taunt Hannah. This was never so blatant as to draw Elkanah’s rebuke, but always sufficient to drive Hannah to tears.
As Hannah accepted her portions on this occasion, Peninnah spoke. “It is good that we are here at this holy place, Hannah. Perhaps you can beseech God to bless you with children as He has blessed me and Elkanah.”
Hannah struggled to control her emotions. Her body was wracked with the disordered thoughts of her mind. She had not expected this woman to use God against her, but stillstated as calmly as she was able, “The blessings of God come in many forms, and we are all indeed blessed.”
Peninnah sensed fear and pursued her quarry. “Yes, He sends many blessings to His people, and curses fall upon the others.”
Feeling the emptiness flowing within her and her will too weak to fight, Hannah rose and continued in her strongest voice, “I must excuse myself. I think my time is upon me.”
Peninnah quickly rejoined, “Oh, yes. It is that time of the month. But I may not be joining you because I believe God has blessed Elkanah with another child. Perhaps I will have another son!”
This was more than Hannah could stand. She walked as steadily as she could from the shadows of the tall trees and into the sunlight, finding herself moments later just within the courtyard. Here, her legs collapsed beneath her as though her heavy heart was too much for them to bear, and she sat hard upon the ground. Sobs racked her body.
Her active mind came to her defense. Was it only to bear a child that she had come into this world? Was there no value to her life beyond this one act, so desired by her yet so beyond her control? No matter the argument, she found that she always returned to the role of both the judge and the condemned.
Hannah remained at the edge of the courtyard, head bowed down to her lap, oblivious to her surroundings. She was not aware of how much time had passed when she felt a hand upon her shoulder. She looked up to see Elkanah’s concerned face above her.
“Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
Through her tears, Hannah realized that he really did not understand. It was not for herself that she wanted sons. It was only for him. If he had taken her for his wife, was it not her due to give him sons? How could she explain that the emptiness within her womb had become the emptiness of her life?
Elkanah must have sons to help with the work and to care for them in their old age. And he must have sons to carry his line for future generations. If he could not have sons through her, then what was her value to him, or to anyone for that matter?
She shook her head with tears still on her cheeks, unable to speak. She reached for the hand on her shoulder and kissed it before removing it. She could not look up.
Elkanah placed his hand back upon her shoulder. “Come join us when you are ready. I will wait for you.” He removed his hand and walked slowly back to where the women were clearing away the remains of the meal.
When Hannah looked up, she could not see him beyond the walls of the courtyard. She looked at the tabernacle as if looking for help, looking for God. She knew why she was here and what she must do.
Hannah rose and faced the tabernacle. Lifting her eyes and arms to heaven she began to pray. Although she spoke the words, they were but a determined whisper. “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”
If she loaned her son to God as a Nazirite, loaned him for his full life, then perhaps God would open her womb. Giving God her firstborn, the thing she most desired in life, would surely show her dedication to God.
She dropped her head and arms, but continued to pray, her mouth forming the words that still were but whispers as she stood in the courtyard.
Eli, the high priest, had been seated by the doorpost of the tabernacle during her prayer. Seeing her reddened eyes and her lips moving with no sound, he assumed that she was drunk. He shook his head as he watched. Unfortunately, he thought, in these days this was not unusual. But he still felt compelled to correct this woman and send her on her way.
The old man rose slowly and walked toward Hannah, but she did not see him coming. His speech startled her, breaking through her prayerful trance. “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”
Hannah spoke softly, recognizing the high priest. “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”
Indeed, Eli saw her grief and her faithfulness. He did not apologize but said only, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”
Hannah felt uplifted, whether by her prayer or the blessing of the high priest she did not know. Her first smile of the day accompanied her parting words and bow, “Let your maidservant find mercy in your sight.”
Her spirits lifted, Hannah realized her hunger and returned to the shade to find if there was any food left that she might enjoy.
The whole family rose early the next morning and worshipped, and then they began their journey home. And Hannah’s heart was still lifted as with a promise of the future.
And well her heart might have been lifted, for she did conceive and bore a male child. She called his name Samuel, meaning “’Name of God,’ because I have asked for him from the Lord.”
When it came time to return to Shiloh the next year for the annual sacrifice, Hannah begged relief from the journey. She had told Elkanah of her vow, and she reminded him, “I will not go until the child is weaned, and when I take him, he will appear before the Lord and remain there forever.”
Elkanah had the right to overrule this vow, for the law gave the husband the final authority over the vow of a woman, whether it was good or void. Because Elkanah loved his wife, he allowed her to give his son to the Lord.
So it was that after Samuel was two years old, Hannah weaned him so that he could go to Shiloh with them. Because of Samuel, Hannah asked of Elkanah, “When you give a peace offering to the Lord, also give an additional offering to commemorate the dedication of Samuel to the Lord.”
Elkanah responded with a smile, “For the bounty that the Lord has provided, I give a young bull each year. And for Samuel, I will also give a bullock. And because my first wife has borne a son, the first of many, I will give a third bullock!” Elkanah took his wife’s hand in his and drew her to him Hannah yielded to his arms and allowed herself to be drawn to him, her face blushing as she smiled in joy at his words.
The extended family of Elkanah made its pilgrimage to Shiloh with the three young bulls of Elkanah in tow. When Elkanah brought the offering to the priests, he asked that Eli come and oversee the first sacrifice because this was the dedication of Samuel as a Nazirite.
A young priest bowed and said, “As you wish,” and took his leave, presumably to get Eli. The other priest began preparation for the sacrifice.
Only a few moments later, Hophni and Phinehas returned with the young priest. Hophni spoke first. “Elkanah, you have brought an offering to the Lord and also will dedicate a son to His service. The Lord is grateful.”
The words poured from the priest’s lips like a snake slithering from its hole and Elkanah felt unclean and weakened as the priest’s breath brushed over him.
Elkanah gathered his resolve and spoke straight to the point. “Hophni, I am a Levite, a descendent of Aaron, as yourself. I have been taught what the Lord requires and I give to Him with joy from what He has given to me. You speak well, for today I return to the Lord not only from my increase, but I also return the son that He has given to me. The gift of a son is His greatest blessing, and my return to Him of a son is the greatest gift that I can give.”
Elkanah held up his hand when Hophni began to interrupt. Elkanah was determined to finish his speech and to have his way on this issue. “Therefore you will prepare the first bullock for sacrifice just as the Law requires. This will be for the young boy, Samuel. When you have done this, there will be two more bullocks offered, and you may do with them what you will. The Lord has seen my offering, and what is it to me if you steal what is His? That is between you and the Lord. But for the sake of young Samuel, you will prepare this sacrifice as the Lord has commanded.”
Hophni showed signs of growing irritation but composed himself. He saw no need to explain himself, but thinking of the two bullocks that had not yet been brought forward, he said, “To prepare for the days when the rains do not come is but prudence. You have many cattle, much land, and a store of grain against such calamities.” Gesturing to the empty and untilled land about them, he continued, “Here, we have little except the small portion allotted by the Lord from His offerings.”
Elkanah quickly rejected this poor excuse. “Do you doubt the Lord Whom you serve? Can you grasp in your hand enough to feed you all your days?” Eying Hophni’s girth, he gestured toward the priest’s full robe, “Will your robe hold enough to preserve you if the Lord rejects your offerings? Does He not give you enough to meet your needs day by day?”
Hophni considered the speech of this impudent little man. He looked around. No one seemed to have heard the exchange except the priest beside him. He looked at the two young bullocks that Elkanah had brought. Indeed, he had been eying them during Elkanah’s long speech. Like the young bull before him, they were very choice animals. He gave Elkanah credit for sacrificing only the best, not the weak and lame as so many did.
In his unctuous voice he replied, “And what is it to me if you ask a special favor for this one poor animal?”
Hophni turned to the young priest who would prepare the sacrifice, “Do as he asks for this bullock.” Eying Elkanah, he continued to the priest, “I am sure that this man will remind you if you have forgotten the procedure.”
Then to Elkanah directly, Hophni gave a forced smile and continued, “See, we do not need to trouble Eli for this. He is old and does not need these cares. But we will ask him to come and see this sacrifice so that he may take the young boy when the time is come.”
Hophni, the smile seemingly frozen to his face, made a slight bow to Elkanah and turned toward the temple. Phinehas, standing silently with arms folded throughout the interchange, gave a snort as of disgust and followed his brother. For his part, Elkanah breathed a sigh of relief.
Elkanah then took charge and the young priest, rejoined by his companion, began to prepare the sacrifice. He saw that they set aside for the high priest only the required portions and that these were placed in a boiling cauldron so that the fat was removed. Elkanah ordered that the remaining blood and fatty tissues be set aside for the Lord and burned upon the altar, as required. He ensured that no one would sin by eating of the fat or blood, and that the Lord would receive His full due.
Eli had watched the transaction from a distance, unable to hear the words but gaining the gist of the exchange. He had never seen this commanding presence of Elkanah in years past. He watched as his sons yielded for this moment, and he envied Elkanah his strength. Would that Eli had this strength with his sons!
When the sacrifice had been made, Elkanah walked beside Hannah as she walked toward Eli, bearing the toddler in her arms as an offering. She said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord, as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.”
Hannah offered the child to Eli as she finished her speech.
Eli took the child from her outstretched hands, quickly setting the heavy boy on his feet on the ground. Eli thanked Elkanah for his gift, but he did not ignore Hannah and thanked her for her gift.
Then Hannah offered a prayer that was like a song. Eli remembered the woman from three years ago. He watched her as she spoke, marveling at her gifts. The child was indeed a gift, especially because he was the heart’s desire of this woman.
As a parent who had been neglectful of his own duty in raising his sons to be sons of God rather than sons of Belial, Eli marveled at this woman before him. She spoke at great lengths of the leveling power of God, but his thoughts kept his ears from hearing until he caught this part of her prayer:
“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And he has set the world upon them.
He will guard the feet of the saints,
But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.”
Was she referring to his sons when she spoke of “the wicked?” Did he hear their names spoken? No, it was only his imagination, but he feared the truth was as real.
Hannah finished her prayer,
“He will give strength to His king
And exalt the horn of his anointed.”
There was no king in Israel! And who was this woman to speak of the future with such certainty? Was she a prophet? Eli’s wonder at this day grew ever stronger, and he considered.
In these three people, a man, his wife, and their child, there was light even in these dark days of Israel. This gift of a child was like a bloom on the barren plain, the promise of a new future. Eli felt some measure of judgment, as well. His own sons had once been as innocent. They, too, could have been the catalysts for opening up new possibilities. Would that his own sons had become Nazirites!
For a man to give some weeks or months of his life to God as a Nazirite was not unusual. He loaned himself to God, abiding by the laws of the Nazirite. The Nazirite was separated from the world to the Lord. He must not partake of any food or drink from the grapevine, nor cut his hair, nor come in contact with any dead body, human or animal.[2] This gift of a child for life was a double blessing.
Eli looked down at the child who stood smiling back up at him. The child was all innocence, new to the world, a shining light and a breath of fresh air to the aging Eli. The old priest smiled, glad for a chance to change the past. He would raise this child in the ways of God.
[1][1] 1 Samuel 1:1-2:17
[2] Numbers 6:2-6
There was a darkness over Israel. The late morning sun shone on this day as on every other, but the light was for her eyes, not for her heart.
There was a silence in Israel. The birds still sang and people talked, but there was neither music nor voice that called to her soul.
There was an emptiness in Israel. The land still yielded its fruit and the herds still grazed in the fields, but there was nothing that filled her emptiness.
She watched from a distance atop a hill so that she could see down into the courtyard. The priests were preparing the sacrifice that her husband, Elkanah, had brought to them. Each year it was the same. The whole house of Elkanah came to Shiloh and the priests offered up the sacrifice to God, the peace offering. Here they thanked God for His blessings upon their household and feasted to celebrate His blessing.
Their household was blessed, for they were never in want. But Hannah felt that she could never truly feel blessed until she had a child for her husband. Was it only her emptiness, her barrenness, that colored the world about her as empty and without hope?
She dreaded the afternoon ahead. Peninnah, Elkanah’s other wife, the one he had chosen because Hannah had given him no child, would again make public Hannah’s inadequacy, Hannah’s failure as a wife. Was it only this woman who brought these feelings of a disordered world to Hannah’s mind?
Even now she should be performing her role in the preparations for their feast, but her heart was not in it. She knew the remainder of the day held no joy for her.
Then she saw Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, come out from the tabernacle. They were dressed in fine clean robes, leaving the messy work of preparing sacrifices to younger men. These younger priests, already stained with blood, labored on the bullock as Elkanah watched. Seeing the activity, Hophni and Phinehas walked over and immediately took charge.
As Hophni and Phinehas gestured toward the men, no doubt advising what portions would come to the high priests, she saw Elkanah become animated. This, too, was the same each year. The priests demanded more than their allotment, and they always prevailed. It was no matter, for there was always plenty for the feast afterward, but the offering to the Lord and the share for Elkanah were less because of the priests’ greed. The men already filled their robes, so it was not for any lack of food that they drove a hard bargain.
As Elkanah continued to protest, Hophni walked toward the mutilated carcass still being torn by the priests. He pointed and pieces were lifted up and placed on slabs waiting nearby. When they were done, Phinehas brushed Elkanah aside and joined his brother.
The priests did not wait for the fat to be boiled from the meat, but took it as it had been cut. They did not even pretend to obey but brazenly flouted God’s law. The brothers and the two priests carried away the large raw cuts of meat as the portion for the priests.
Elkanah was left alone until the two younger priests would return to prepare the reduced portion of the sacrifice for God. From her distant vantage point, Hannah saw him lift his head and hands to heaven, no doubt imploring God’s intervention. How did her husband see the world? This world did not seem the same one where the stories of Moses and Joshua had taken place.
There were many who no longer sacrificed to God because of the self-dealing priests. There were no prophets who spoke the words of God. Yes, she had heard that old Eli was a man of God, but no one spoke of him as a prophet. Besides, whatever good he had done had long since been overshadowed by his godless sons. She knew of the bands of so-called prophets that wandered the countryside, but most appeared to have less of God on their mind than of their next meal.
Hannah shivered in the warm morning sun as the emptiness around her and within her swept over her like waves. Yes, the emptiness within her was real, and so was the emptiness in the world about her.
She saw Elkanah collecting his portion of the sacrifice for the meal they would all share later. Elkanah was a good man, but he was powerless against Eli’s sons. And God was a just and loving God, but when would He judge the sons of Eli? That was no matter to her. If He would give her a son, she would see that he did not become evil.
Hannah remained apart throughout the afternoon, performing her tasks as well as possible while avoiding Peninnah. She did not even desire Elkanah’s presence, but he did not come to where the women were making preparations anyway.
Activity around the temple increased as other families arrived and began preparations for sacrifice and feasting. The morning became afternoon as other men in Elkanah’s extended family prepared their offerings and the women prepared for the meal. They had set aside a place for the meal in the shade of large evergreens beyond the courtyard.
When the time for the meal came, Elkanah brought portions of the offering to Peninnah, a portion for her and for each of her children. As always, he brought a double portion to Hannah, his first wife, to prove his love in spite of her barrenness. Each year he did this, and each year he saw the pain as she accepted her lot.
Also each year, Peninnah found some way to taunt Hannah. This was never so blatant as to draw Elkanah’s rebuke, but always sufficient to drive Hannah to tears.
As Hannah accepted her portions on this occasion, Peninnah spoke. “It is good that we are here at this holy place, Hannah. Perhaps you can beseech God to bless you with children as He has blessed me and Elkanah.”
Hannah struggled to control her emotions. Her body was wracked with the disordered thoughts of her mind. She had not expected this woman to use God against her, but stillstated as calmly as she was able, “The blessings of God come in many forms, and we are all indeed blessed.”
Peninnah sensed fear and pursued her quarry. “Yes, He sends many blessings to His people, and curses fall upon the others.”
Feeling the emptiness flowing within her and her will too weak to fight, Hannah rose and continued in her strongest voice, “I must excuse myself. I think my time is upon me.”
Peninnah quickly rejoined, “Oh, yes. It is that time of the month. But I may not be joining you because I believe God has blessed Elkanah with another child. Perhaps I will have another son!”
This was more than Hannah could stand. She walked as steadily as she could from the shadows of the tall trees and into the sunlight, finding herself moments later just within the courtyard. Here, her legs collapsed beneath her as though her heavy heart was too much for them to bear, and she sat hard upon the ground. Sobs racked her body.
Her active mind came to her defense. Was it only to bear a child that she had come into this world? Was there no value to her life beyond this one act, so desired by her yet so beyond her control? No matter the argument, she found that she always returned to the role of both the judge and the condemned.
Hannah remained at the edge of the courtyard, head bowed down to her lap, oblivious to her surroundings. She was not aware of how much time had passed when she felt a hand upon her shoulder. She looked up to see Elkanah’s concerned face above her.
“Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
Through her tears, Hannah realized that he really did not understand. It was not for herself that she wanted sons. It was only for him. If he had taken her for his wife, was it not her due to give him sons? How could she explain that the emptiness within her womb had become the emptiness of her life?
Elkanah must have sons to help with the work and to care for them in their old age. And he must have sons to carry his line for future generations. If he could not have sons through her, then what was her value to him, or to anyone for that matter?
She shook her head with tears still on her cheeks, unable to speak. She reached for the hand on her shoulder and kissed it before removing it. She could not look up.
Elkanah placed his hand back upon her shoulder. “Come join us when you are ready. I will wait for you.” He removed his hand and walked slowly back to where the women were clearing away the remains of the meal.
When Hannah looked up, she could not see him beyond the walls of the courtyard. She looked at the tabernacle as if looking for help, looking for God. She knew why she was here and what she must do.
Hannah rose and faced the tabernacle. Lifting her eyes and arms to heaven she began to pray. Although she spoke the words, they were but a determined whisper. “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”
If she loaned her son to God as a Nazirite, loaned him for his full life, then perhaps God would open her womb. Giving God her firstborn, the thing she most desired in life, would surely show her dedication to God.
She dropped her head and arms, but continued to pray, her mouth forming the words that still were but whispers as she stood in the courtyard.
Eli, the high priest, had been seated by the doorpost of the tabernacle during her prayer. Seeing her reddened eyes and her lips moving with no sound, he assumed that she was drunk. He shook his head as he watched. Unfortunately, he thought, in these days this was not unusual. But he still felt compelled to correct this woman and send her on her way.
The old man rose slowly and walked toward Hannah, but she did not see him coming. His speech startled her, breaking through her prayerful trance. “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”
Hannah spoke softly, recognizing the high priest. “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”
Indeed, Eli saw her grief and her faithfulness. He did not apologize but said only, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”
Hannah felt uplifted, whether by her prayer or the blessing of the high priest she did not know. Her first smile of the day accompanied her parting words and bow, “Let your maidservant find mercy in your sight.”
Her spirits lifted, Hannah realized her hunger and returned to the shade to find if there was any food left that she might enjoy.
The whole family rose early the next morning and worshipped, and then they began their journey home. And Hannah’s heart was still lifted as with a promise of the future.
And well her heart might have been lifted, for she did conceive and bore a male child. She called his name Samuel, meaning “’Name of God,’ because I have asked for him from the Lord.”
When it came time to return to Shiloh the next year for the annual sacrifice, Hannah begged relief from the journey. She had told Elkanah of her vow, and she reminded him, “I will not go until the child is weaned, and when I take him, he will appear before the Lord and remain there forever.”
Elkanah had the right to overrule this vow, for the law gave the husband the final authority over the vow of a woman, whether it was good or void. Because Elkanah loved his wife, he allowed her to give his son to the Lord.
So it was that after Samuel was two years old, Hannah weaned him so that he could go to Shiloh with them. Because of Samuel, Hannah asked of Elkanah, “When you give a peace offering to the Lord, also give an additional offering to commemorate the dedication of Samuel to the Lord.”
Elkanah responded with a smile, “For the bounty that the Lord has provided, I give a young bull each year. And for Samuel, I will also give a bullock. And because my first wife has borne a son, the first of many, I will give a third bullock!” Elkanah took his wife’s hand in his and drew her to him Hannah yielded to his arms and allowed herself to be drawn to him, her face blushing as she smiled in joy at his words.
The extended family of Elkanah made its pilgrimage to Shiloh with the three young bulls of Elkanah in tow. When Elkanah brought the offering to the priests, he asked that Eli come and oversee the first sacrifice because this was the dedication of Samuel as a Nazirite.
A young priest bowed and said, “As you wish,” and took his leave, presumably to get Eli. The other priest began preparation for the sacrifice.
Only a few moments later, Hophni and Phinehas returned with the young priest. Hophni spoke first. “Elkanah, you have brought an offering to the Lord and also will dedicate a son to His service. The Lord is grateful.”
The words poured from the priest’s lips like a snake slithering from its hole and Elkanah felt unclean and weakened as the priest’s breath brushed over him.
Elkanah gathered his resolve and spoke straight to the point. “Hophni, I am a Levite, a descendent of Aaron, as yourself. I have been taught what the Lord requires and I give to Him with joy from what He has given to me. You speak well, for today I return to the Lord not only from my increase, but I also return the son that He has given to me. The gift of a son is His greatest blessing, and my return to Him of a son is the greatest gift that I can give.”
Elkanah held up his hand when Hophni began to interrupt. Elkanah was determined to finish his speech and to have his way on this issue. “Therefore you will prepare the first bullock for sacrifice just as the Law requires. This will be for the young boy, Samuel. When you have done this, there will be two more bullocks offered, and you may do with them what you will. The Lord has seen my offering, and what is it to me if you steal what is His? That is between you and the Lord. But for the sake of young Samuel, you will prepare this sacrifice as the Lord has commanded.”
Hophni showed signs of growing irritation but composed himself. He saw no need to explain himself, but thinking of the two bullocks that had not yet been brought forward, he said, “To prepare for the days when the rains do not come is but prudence. You have many cattle, much land, and a store of grain against such calamities.” Gesturing to the empty and untilled land about them, he continued, “Here, we have little except the small portion allotted by the Lord from His offerings.”
Elkanah quickly rejected this poor excuse. “Do you doubt the Lord Whom you serve? Can you grasp in your hand enough to feed you all your days?” Eying Hophni’s girth, he gestured toward the priest’s full robe, “Will your robe hold enough to preserve you if the Lord rejects your offerings? Does He not give you enough to meet your needs day by day?”
Hophni considered the speech of this impudent little man. He looked around. No one seemed to have heard the exchange except the priest beside him. He looked at the two young bullocks that Elkanah had brought. Indeed, he had been eying them during Elkanah’s long speech. Like the young bull before him, they were very choice animals. He gave Elkanah credit for sacrificing only the best, not the weak and lame as so many did.
In his unctuous voice he replied, “And what is it to me if you ask a special favor for this one poor animal?”
Hophni turned to the young priest who would prepare the sacrifice, “Do as he asks for this bullock.” Eying Elkanah, he continued to the priest, “I am sure that this man will remind you if you have forgotten the procedure.”
Then to Elkanah directly, Hophni gave a forced smile and continued, “See, we do not need to trouble Eli for this. He is old and does not need these cares. But we will ask him to come and see this sacrifice so that he may take the young boy when the time is come.”
Hophni, the smile seemingly frozen to his face, made a slight bow to Elkanah and turned toward the temple. Phinehas, standing silently with arms folded throughout the interchange, gave a snort as of disgust and followed his brother. For his part, Elkanah breathed a sigh of relief.
Elkanah then took charge and the young priest, rejoined by his companion, began to prepare the sacrifice. He saw that they set aside for the high priest only the required portions and that these were placed in a boiling cauldron so that the fat was removed. Elkanah ordered that the remaining blood and fatty tissues be set aside for the Lord and burned upon the altar, as required. He ensured that no one would sin by eating of the fat or blood, and that the Lord would receive His full due.
Eli had watched the transaction from a distance, unable to hear the words but gaining the gist of the exchange. He had never seen this commanding presence of Elkanah in years past. He watched as his sons yielded for this moment, and he envied Elkanah his strength. Would that Eli had this strength with his sons!
When the sacrifice had been made, Elkanah walked beside Hannah as she walked toward Eli, bearing the toddler in her arms as an offering. She said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord, as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.”
Hannah offered the child to Eli as she finished her speech.
Eli took the child from her outstretched hands, quickly setting the heavy boy on his feet on the ground. Eli thanked Elkanah for his gift, but he did not ignore Hannah and thanked her for her gift.
Then Hannah offered a prayer that was like a song. Eli remembered the woman from three years ago. He watched her as she spoke, marveling at her gifts. The child was indeed a gift, especially because he was the heart’s desire of this woman.
As a parent who had been neglectful of his own duty in raising his sons to be sons of God rather than sons of Belial, Eli marveled at this woman before him. She spoke at great lengths of the leveling power of God, but his thoughts kept his ears from hearing until he caught this part of her prayer:
“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And he has set the world upon them.
He will guard the feet of the saints,
But the wicked shall be silent in darkness.”
Was she referring to his sons when she spoke of “the wicked?” Did he hear their names spoken? No, it was only his imagination, but he feared the truth was as real.
Hannah finished her prayer,
“He will give strength to His king
And exalt the horn of his anointed.”
There was no king in Israel! And who was this woman to speak of the future with such certainty? Was she a prophet? Eli’s wonder at this day grew ever stronger, and he considered.
In these three people, a man, his wife, and their child, there was light even in these dark days of Israel. This gift of a child was like a bloom on the barren plain, the promise of a new future. Eli felt some measure of judgment, as well. His own sons had once been as innocent. They, too, could have been the catalysts for opening up new possibilities. Would that his own sons had become Nazirites!
For a man to give some weeks or months of his life to God as a Nazirite was not unusual. He loaned himself to God, abiding by the laws of the Nazirite. The Nazirite was separated from the world to the Lord. He must not partake of any food or drink from the grapevine, nor cut his hair, nor come in contact with any dead body, human or animal.[2] This gift of a child for life was a double blessing.
Eli looked down at the child who stood smiling back up at him. The child was all innocence, new to the world, a shining light and a breath of fresh air to the aging Eli. The old priest smiled, glad for a chance to change the past. He would raise this child in the ways of God.
[1][1] 1 Samuel 1:1-2:17
[2] Numbers 6:2-6
