and why Hannah, the beloved but barren one, so fervently desired a son. 1:4–8. Because a Hebrew man’s posterity was bound up in his having a son to perpetuate his name, his wife’s inability to conceive a son was regarded as a curse from God. But Hannah’s barrenness did not diminish Elkanah’s love for her. In fact he gave her twice what he gave Peninnah, his second wife, when they took their offerings to the LORD at Shiloh.
This antagonized Peninnah, belittled her rival Hannah (1 Sam. 1:6–7). Hannah’s only resort was to cast herself entirely on the mercies of God. Elkanah regularly attended the festivals with his wives, and Hannah there poured out her soul to God in petition for a son. On one such occasion Hannah made a vow that if God would grant her request she would give her son to the LORD for as long as he lived. This dedication of her son was a commitment to the Nazirite vow, described in Numbers 6:1–8. It was the same vow undertaken by the parents of Samson whom they dedicated to the LORD under nearly identical circumstances (Jud. 13:2–5). So intense was Hannah’s silent prayer that Eli, the high priest who was seated nearby, noted the movement of her lips and assumed she was intoxicated. When the priest learned about her true plight, he assured her that God would answer her prayer (1Sa 1:1-18).
God listened to Hannah;s impassioned plea and caused her to conceive. “It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel [asked of God], saying, “Because I have asked him of the Lord” (1 Sa 1:20). 1:24–28. After Hannah had weaned her son, she fulfilled her pledge and took him to Shiloh to offer him to the Lord as a lifelong Nazirite (see Samson). Since it was customary for a child to be nursed until he was about three years of the lad Samuel would be no unusual burden for Eli and the priestly staff at Shiloh. Also Samuel would be old enough to learn the rudiments of tabernacle service at that age. She continued to look after him. “Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy wearing a linen ephod. And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice” (1Sa 2:18-19).
Hannah was so overjoyed with the Lord that she wrote a poem to Him. This is one of the earliest and most stirring poems in the Old Testament. So messianic in character is it that Mary, the mother of Jesus, incorporated it into her own song of triumph, the Magnificat, in which she praised God for having selected her to be the human mother of Jesus, the Messiah (Luke 1:46–55). The poem is as follows:
“My heart exults in the Lord;
My horn is exalted in the Lord,
My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Thy salvation.
2 “There is no one holy like the Lord,
Indeed, there is no one besides Thee,
Nor is there any rock like our God.
3 “Boast no more so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed.
4 “The bows of the mighty are shattered,
But the feeble gird on strength.
5 “Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease to hunger.
Even the barren gives birth to seven,
But she who has many children languishes.
6 “The Lord kills and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 “The Lord makes poor and rich;
He brings low, He also exalts.
8 “He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the world on them.
9 “He keeps the feet of His godly ones,
But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
For not by might shall a man prevail.
10 “Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered;
Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His king,
And will exalt the horn of His anointed.” (1 Sa 2:1-10).
Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the boy ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.
2:11, 26. Immediately after the return of his parents to their home young Samuel began his training under Eli (v. 11), a training which was characterized by his development physically, but especially spiritually (v. 26). He grew in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men, a description also given Christ (Luke 2:52).
2:12–17, 22–25. There was also a divine reason for the coming of Samuel at this time. The Book of Judges asserts, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Jud. 21:25). This was also true of the priests. Eli, though apparently a moral man himself, had lost control of his priestly sons. Scripture says; “Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord…When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Also, before they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” 16 And if the man said to him, “They must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.”; who went so far as to appropriate for themselves the choice meat of the sacrificial animals which rightfully belonged to the Lord as His offering (1 Sam. 2:12–17). Moreover, they engaged in ritual fornication in the very precincts of the tabernacle at Shiloh in accord with Canaanite cultic practice (vv. 22–25).
2:18–21. To show the contrast between the ungodly sons of Eli and the Godly about which Hannah had sung, the two are contrasted with each other. Though Samuel’s mother had given Samuel to the Lord, she retained her maternal love and responsibility. She came yearly to Shiloh to attend to the needs of her son. Nor did the Lord forget Hannah. As is so often the case, He gave her not only what she had prayed for but much more—in her case three sons and two daughters. Samuel’s mother was of the same spirit of Samuel as she was a prophetess and was able to create what perhaps was not available, but for her faith and cries.
2:27–36. God decided to end the faithless priesthood. An unnamed man of God announced to Eli that
