1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu,the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 And 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. 3 This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to Yahweh of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of Yahweh, were there. 4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although Yahweh had closed her womb. 6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because Yahweh had closed her womb. 7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of Yahweh, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.
“This book presents the history, the personal history of Samuel who was the last of the Judges. It ushers in the beginning of the period of the kings... among the children of Israel." (Chuck Smith) The children of Israel rejected Yahweh and desired an earthly king over them to be like the other nations. It was never meant to be; Yahweh was their King.
But first the judge become national prophet. "A certain man of Ramathaim Zophim," "literally, the two high places of the watchman; these were, no doubt, two contiguous hills, on which watchtowers were built, and in which watchmen kept continual guard for the safety of the country and which afterwards gave name to the place." (Adam Clarke) It is not certain, but it is possible that these places were inhabited by prophets, who were sometimes called watchmen, Ezekiel 3:17 and here is thought to be a school of the prophets, see 1 Samuel 19:19 and which seems to be countenanced by the Targum, in which the words are paraphrased thus, 'and there was one' man of Ramatha, of the disciples of the prophets." (John Gill)
And his name was Elkanah, meaning "acquired by God." Perhaps his parents namied him to remind him of the prior exchange when Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying: “Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am Yahweh.... Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying: 'Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel, and the livestock of the Levites instead of their livestock. The Levites shall be Mine: I am Yahweh.'” (Num. 3:11-13; 44-45) Thus, "the Levites were exchange for firstborn, a son of Korah. Exodus 6:24." (E.W. Bullinger)
"the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph," etc.— a goodly line of Levite laity—"'an Ephraimite' But from 1 Chronicles 6:20-28 we learn that Samuel and his father were of levitical descent. This has been pointed out as a discrepancy. It is however not at all inconsistent with the statement that Samuel’s father was of Ephraim [in Bethlehem-judah]. He was one of those Levites to whom cities were assigned in the portion given to the tribe of Ephraim (Josh. 21:20)." (Arno Gaebelein) "Ten cities were allotted to the children of Kohath, in the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and Manasseh. Joshua 21:5." (Daniel Whedon)
"He had two wives, the name of the one was Hannah - חנה Channah, which signifies fixed or settled, and the other פננה Peninnah, which signifies a jewel or pearl." (Adam Clarke) “The fact that Hannah’s name stands first makes it probable that her barren condition led Elkanah to marry a second wife. (See Deuteronomy 21:15.)" (Arno Gaebelein) The sins of his father Abraham had visited him in his generation. And through this act of disbelief, Peninnah had sons and daughters to him.
This man went up out of his city yearly— or better translated ‘from time to time’— to worship and sacrifice in “the 'earth‘s one sanctuary,' and thither he repaired at the three solemn feasts, accompanied by his family at one of them - probably the Passover." (Jameison-Faussett-Brown) He likely often served the priests as God appointed laity on occasion but he had now come with his family as worshippers to sacrifice.
The object of His worship and sacrifice was צבאות יהוה Yehovah tsebaoth, Jehovah of armies." (Clarke)- Jesus by name. "This title of God occurs here for the first time, and its use was probably occasioned by the warlike character of the book. As used in the books of Samuel, 'the hosts' are the armies of Israel (1 Sam. 17:45), but afterwards the idea was extended to the hosts of angels (Ps. 103:20-21)..." (John Dummelow), which Jesus directs according to His will:
"All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” (Daniel 4:35.) "Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and His Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last and there is no God besides Me.'" (Isaiah 44:6)
In the law of the peace offering, "portions of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings, the greatest part whereof fell to the offerer, and was eaten by him," (John Wesley) “which he then shared with the members of his household in a joyous fellowship meal (see Leviticus 7:11-16; 7:20).” (Bridgeway Bible Commentary) This was regarded as a meal in the presence ofthe Lord.
Hannah was barren but Elkanah loved her giving her "a double portion"—or better translated 'a worthy portion.' This rendering is based upon the idea that the Hebrew, which is literally 'one portion of two faces,' may mean 'one portion enough for two persons.' But for this there is no sufficient authority, and though the word is a dual, it really signifies the two sides of the face, or more exactly 'the two nostrils,' and so simply the countenance... 'And Elkanah was sad when he gave Hannah her portion; for …' The Septuagint has a different reading, epes for apaim, and though the words look different in our writing, they are nearly identical in Hebrew. This is probably the true reading, and the translation would then be, 'And to Hannah he gave one portion only (because she bad no child, while Peninnah had many portions, as each son and daughter had a share); for he loved Hannah, though Jehovah had shut up her womb.' These portions were of course taken from those parts of the victim which formed a feast for the offerers, after Jehovah and the priests had had their dues. It is plain from this feast that Elkanah's annual sacrifice was a peace offering, for the law of which see 1 Samuel 7:11 -21." (The Pulpit Commentaries)
“For Elkanah's household the happiness of the occasion was always spoiled when one of Elkanah's wives, Peninnah, mocked the other wife, Hannah, because Hannah was unable to have children.” Thus we witness "unhappiness occasioned by polygamy. Elkanah, not content without issue, took a second wife, who swelled with the pride of children, and insulted Hannah, the best of women. So was Sarah mocked by Hagar; and so will mischief always attend deviation from the pure and holy law of heaven." (Joseph Sutcliffe)
“But doubtless he believed, and acted on the belief, that the ordinances were ‘effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them, or in those who administered them, but from the grace of God being communicated through them.” (Jameison-Faussett-Brown)
“And Hannah was to learn the lesson, as we all ought to, that 'that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual' (1 Cor. 15:46). The Lord allows mere human nature to have its way at first in order to prove its own vanity: then He introduces what is altogether superior to it just as Adam was the first man, Christ the second Man [Adam]." (L. M. Grant)
8 Then Elkanah her husband said to 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?” 9 So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord. 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish. 11 Then she made a vow and said, “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.”
Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the entrance to "the tabernacle of the Lord" where the ark of the covenant rested in Shiloh. (9b) "For a time only, during the Benjamite war (Judges 20:27), the Ark [of the covenant, wherein were tablets and upon which was the mercy seat] was in Bethel. Shiloh was the permanent seat of the sanctuary..." (Lange's Commentary)
Eli the priest- "In distinction from his sons, who are called 'priests of the (to the) Lord' (כֹּהֲנִים לַיהֹוָה), Eli is called the priest (הַכֹּהֵן). Though called simply 'the priest,' he yet filled the office of High-Priest (Aaron and Eleazar, his sons, are so called Numbers 26:1; Numbers 27:2). In the beginning of the period of the Judges Phinehas, son of Eleazar, was High-Priest, Judges 20:28. This office was bestowed not only on him, but also on his posterity, Numbers 25:13. At the end of the period of the Judges it is in the possession of Eli, who, however, was a descendant, not of Eleazar and Phinehas, but of Ithamar, Aaron’s fourth son..." (Lange's Commentary)
As this family ate their peace offerimg with the Lord, Elkanah sought to comfort Hannah “in her grief by the affectionate appeal" (Keil & Delitzsch): "Why do you weep" on this grand occasion? "Why are you not eating" your portion? She "refused to take any part in the festival, of which the sacrificial meal was a principal feature (cp. 1 Samuel 9)." (John Dummelow) "Am not I better to thee than ten sons? - Ten, a certain for an uncertain number. Is not my especial affection to thee better than all the comfort thou couldst gain, even from a numerous family?” (Adam Clarke) Peninnah "would willingly change conditions with thee.” (John Wesley)
But Hannah had the ancient, pious desire for a son. She rose up and did eat. "In her we have an example of a dutiful wife; who, sensible of her husband’s kindness, endeavoured to please him, by complying with his desires, and avoiding what she perceived would give pain to his mind." (Joseph Benson)
Yet after receiving the sacrament, Hannah took her petition to Yahweh tsebaoth with Whom she had just shared a covenant meal. "She poured out all the vehemence and anguish of her soul in Shiloh;
and that was far better than to have returned the reproaches of her adversary, in bitterness of language.”(Joseph Sutcliffe) She cried out in a pattern encouraged in James 5:4.
"Prayer requires a conscious awareness and acceptance on our part of our human helplessness and a reliance upon God's resources. El Elyon the sovereign God had shut Hannah's womb but because He is also El Roi He saw her pain and mistreatment and as Jehovah Sabaoth He heard her cry to please 'remember me… '." (Precept Austin)
Beforehand: "Oh God give me a son. Lord I want a son. God why haven't You given me a son?' Yet there seemingly was no answer to her prayer. God delayed the answer. And there was a reason why God delayed the answer... God was waiting, bringing Hannah around to where her heart was completely towards God, and the things of God, and that which God wanted.
God was needing a man to lead Israel during these desperate days of transition. He needed a man that He could speak to, and that would speak to the people for Him. For during this period of their history, they had not really heard from God. It says, 'The word of the Lord was precious', it means it was scarce. God wasn't speaking to men. There were no men whose ears were really open... So Hannah finally out of the desperation of her soul said, 'Lord, if You will just give to me a son, I will give him back to You all the days of his life.' This is what God was desiring, this is what God was looking for, and so when God brought her around to this place of that commitment to God. 'Lord, if You'll just give me a son, I'll give him back to You.' Then the Lord answered her prayer."
(Chuck Smith Bible Commentary)
The promised consecration was life-long. "As a Levite, and the son of a Levite, he would be called on to render a certain period of service, but before his birth his mother dedicated him for life. Her vow, moreover, covered not only the length of this service, but its character, as she promised that he would be a Nazarite." (G. Campbell Morgan) See Numbers 6:1-21 for the law of the Nazarite.
12 And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth. 13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”
Hannah “was so deeply engrossed with her trouble that she forgot her surroundings.” (Kretzmann) "She was praying earnestly before Yahweh, at the door of the sanctuary. She could not, of course, enter it. That was for heads of families who brought sacrifices and offerings, and also for the priests. But she had come as near to God as she could. And humbly she spoke in her heart..." (Peter Pett)
This was a work of the flesh and Spirit. “‘Only her lips moved,’ in the intensity of her fervor, ‘but her voice was not heard.’” (Kretzmann) “Her wrestling was like that of Jacob; I will not let thee go except thou bless me. See Genesis 32:26, compared with Hosea 12:3-4.—
'He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; he wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, and there He spoke to us'— 'And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.' It, is worthy the Reader's remark, that when the Holy Ghost was poured out with such a fulness of power, on the minds of the apostles, at the day of Pentecost; the lookers on, had the same thought as Eli, here had, that the apostles were full of new wine. Oh! for such an effusion of the blessed Spirit upon my soul, that my whole frame might feel this precious warmth, as one beyond himself. Acts 2:13." (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
15 But Hannah answered and said, “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. 16 “Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”
"How evidently was the mind of Hannah under the gracious influence of the Spirit; and how meek an answer did grace enable her to make, to the unjust charge. Reader! depend upon it, nothing can induce this, but the sweet teachings of God the Holy Ghost. If you or I at any time, are enabled to subdue our angry passions, or curb our unruly lusts, it is by the Spirit alone, that we mortify the deeds of the body." (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)
17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.” 18 And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
"Eli generously acknowledged his mistake; and surely the pope is not less liable to err. We never find a highpriest of Yahweh who styled himself infallible." (Joseph Sutcliffe) Eli’s words "were spoken by the Holy Spirit through him whether he were aware of it or not. And Hannah seemed to understand them as a divine answer to her prayer (1 Sam. 1:18)." (James Gray) The high priest of Israel had blessed her; she was blessed indeed.
"Go in peace” etc — that intended by partaking of the peace offering; "I recall my censure, and give thee my blessing, and wish peace, i.e. a quiet and composed mind, free from whatsoever it is that grieves and oppresses thee; and withal, good success and prosperity in what thou desirest; for peace is a very comprehensive word among the Hebrews.- "and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him." (Matthew Poole)— "'And the God of Israel grant,' or rather, 'will grant,' was followed by an invocation which, as Hannah regarded it in the light of a prophecy pointing to the accomplishment of her earnest desire, dispelled her sadness, and filled her with confident hope. The character and services of the expected child were sufficiently important to make his birth a fit subject for prophecy." (Jameison-Faussett-Brown)
Brethren, what holy desires do you have? With the feverancy of Hannah endeavor to make your petition known to Yehovah tsebaoth! “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:26-27)
My Morning Manna: 1 Samuel 1: Samuel Is Born and Dedicated
19 Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, [Literally "Asked of God"] saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”
"'And they rose up in the morning early', ...partly for devotion, and partly for the sake of their journey: they went up to the tabernacle, and prayed with their faces towards that part of it, ... where stood the ark of the Lord, the symbol of the divine Presence;... 'and returned, and came to their house to Ramah';— or 'Ramatha', the same with Ramathaim, 1 Samuel 1:1. Abarbinel thinks that Elkanah had two houses, one at Ramah for Peninnah, and another at Ramatha for Hannah; and that this was Hannah's house, to which they returned and came: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife:...and the Lord remembered her; the prayer she had made to him, opened her womb, as he had before shut it..." (John Gill)
"And called his name “Samuel”— “Asked of God”— “Samuel at length being born, Hannah’s joy, and Israel’s hope, she gave him a name corresponding with the circumstances of his birth..” (Joseph Sutcliffe) That name “would put both the mother and the son in continual remembrance of the Divine interposition at his birth." (Adam Clarke)
21 Now the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will take him, that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever.”
”Before Samuel could begin to serve the Lord he had to be weaned. 'As a weaned child no longer cries, frets, and longs for the breast, but lies still and is content, because it is with its mother, so the soul must be weaned from all discontented thoughts, from all fretful desires of earthly good, waiting in stillness upon God, finding its satisfaction in His presence, resting peacefully in His arms.' (Perowne)" (Arno Gaebelein)
Elkanah and all his house went up to offer “the yearly sacrifice” "that solemn sacrifice which was offered up once every year; probably the paschal lamb, which is oft called a sacrifice, as Exodus 12:27 34:25." (Matthew Poole) Yet he had something extra this year— “‘his vow’ made first by his wife, and afterwards owned and ratified by himself.” (Trapp) His "concurrence in Hannah‘s vow was necessary to make it obligatory. (Numbers 30:3).” (Jameison-Faussett-Brown) But Hannah went not up — “Men only were obliged to attend the solemn feasts (Exodus 23:17)... Hannah, like other pious women, was in the habit of going, only she deemed it more prudent and becoming to defer her next journey till her son‘s age would enable her to fulfill her vow.” (Jameison-Faussett-Brown) "Now also she was a mother, and had a child to nurse.
Nightingales are silent when once they have hatched their eggs, as if then all their care were for their young ones.” (John Trapp)
23 So Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him. Only let the Lord establish His [Septuagint reads "your"] word.” Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. 24 Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli.
This work Hannah had begun. Elkanah her husband said to her, ‘Do what seems best to you;’ etc. Wives must be gratified in their lawful and reasonable requests. ‘Only the Lord establish’ etc. perfect what he hath begun.” (John Trapp) “He who began a good work in you will continue to perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:16)
“Then the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him.”— “The weaning doth not perhaps mean from the breast only: but as he was to be the Lord's servant, Hannah weaned him as much as possible from her over affections. Creature comforts should all be so weaned, by those who would find suitable room, for the great Creator's love.” (Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary)
As soon as Samuel was weaned, Hannah and Elkanah brought him to the house of Yahweh in Shiloh with the offerings. according to the law of the Nazirite. (Num. 6:13-21) “Three bullocks— One for a burnt - offering, the second for a sin -offering [a votive offering in respect of the vow], and the third for a peace offering; all these sorts being expedient for this work and time." (John Wesley) Each of these offerings required “a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil; and you shall bring as the drink offering half a hin of wine as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.” See Numbers 15:8-10
"'Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli,' offering a burnt-offering, a meal offering and a drink offering unto the Yahweh— to be consumed solely by Him, as perfect picture of that which is devoted to destruction. Then the votive offering was made for the vow. And the peace offering ensued, where they had parts to eat with Eli, the priest.
Upon Samuel's death, if he proved evil, his fate would be sealed to eternal destruction [as typified by the burnt offering], based on his works. He should not be called upon by man, as oculist are apt to do, until prayerfully Jesus Himself descends from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. (1 Thes. 4:16)
26 And she said, “O my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. 28 Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.
"As thy soul liveth - 'as sure as thou art a living soul,' so surely am I the person who stood by thee here praying."(Adam Clarke) Hannah and Elkanah loaned Samuel to Yahweh, etc. The sense is: 'The Lord gave him to me, and now I have returned him whom I obtained by prayer to the Lord, as one asked or demanded.' 'And they', rather 'he,' that is, the boy Samuel, 'worshipped the Lord there', — thus putting his own child-seal to his mother’s gift of himself to God." (Ellicott's Commentary)