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Hannah

Prayed without making a sound, got what she asked for, and handed him back.

Hannah is one of two wives, and the other one has children and reminds her of it every year at the feast. Her husband loves her and says so in a way that misses the point entirely: am I not better to you than ten sons. She goes up to the house of the LORD in bitterness of soul and prays in a way nobody there has seen, moving her lips with no voice, and vows that if she is given a son she will give him back for his whole life. She is given one. When he is weaned she walks him to Shiloh and leaves him there.

Where she appears1 Samuel 1 to 2

1 Samuel
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Hannah

The movements, in the order the text gives them.

The Account of Hannah

  1. 01

    1 Samuel 1:1-8

    Year after year at the feast

    A double portion from a husband who loves her, and a rival who provokes her until she weeps and will not eat. His comfort is sincere and lands badly.

    The meal has a way of counting everyone Hannah does not have. Portions go to Peninnah, to her sons, and to her daughters. Hannah receives special consideration from Elkanah, but affection cannot turn one place at the table into a household of children. The Book of First Samuel places his love and her barrenness in the same sentence. Neither cancels the other.

    Year by year is the cruel rhythm. The pilgrimage returns, the offerings return, and Peninnah's provocation returns with them. Going to the house of the LORD does not suspend the rivalry; it supplies the setting in which Hannah is made to feel it again. Her tears and refusal to eat are stated plainly. The chapter does not need to invent a private speech to show what the feast has become for her.

    Elkanah's answer offers himself as better than ten sons. The arithmetic is generous. It still answers a different question from the one her grief is asking. His love is not denied, but neither is Hannah required to become content because he has announced its value. For now, her husband has the closing words. Hannah's sorrow remains unanswered.

    Verse by verse

    1. 1:2

      The text identifies Peninnah's children and Hannah's lack of children. It does not state which woman Elkanah married first.

    2. 1:5

      Worthy portion renders a difficult Hebrew phrase often understood as a double portion. The clear explanation supplied by the verse is Elkanah's love for Hannah.

    3. 1:6

      The LORD's closing of Hannah's womb is stated, but no sin of Hannah is given as its cause.

    4. 1:8

      Ten sons is Elkanah's comparison, not a statement of how many sons Peninnah had. Hannah gives no recorded verbal reply to him here.

    1 Samuel 1:1-8

    King James Version · 8 verses

    1:1Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:

    1:2And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

    1:3And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.

    1:4And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:

    1:5But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.

    1:6And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

    1:7And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.

    1:8Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?

    1 Samuel 1:1-8: Year after year at the feast
  2. 02

    1 Samuel 1:9-18

    She spoke in her heart

    Only her lips move. Accused of drunkenness by the priest, she answers that she has poured out her soul, and walks away eating, her face no longer sad, before anything has changed.

    The prayer that asks for a son also gives him away. Before there is a child to hold, Hannah specifies all the days of his life. This is not a promise of a brief visit to Shiloh or a ceremonial acknowledgment after the birth. The request and the lifelong dedication are formed together, in the same sentence.

    Her prayer is quiet, but the account of it is not vague. It names affliction, remembrance, a male child, a lifetime, and a head untouched by a razor. Eli can see her lips without hearing any of that. When he accuses her, Hannah does not surrender the meaning of what she has been doing. She answers as someone with complaint and grief, not wine, to explain. The priest has mistaken the outward sign; she names the inward act: poured out my soul.

    Then the chapter gives an unexpectedly ordinary sign of change. She eats. No pregnancy has yet been announced, and the vow has not been fulfilled. The woman who could not take part in the meal can take food again. The text marks that small bodily change before it records the answer to her request.

    Verse by verse

    1. 1:11

      The uncut hair recalls the Nazirite rule in Numbers 6:5. This KJV passage does not use the title Nazirite or repeat all the regulations of Numbers 6.

    2. 1:13

      Silent prayer here still includes moving lips. It is not described as wordless feeling or a prayer performed for the priest's attention.

    3. 1:15

      Poured out my soul is Hannah's own description of her prayer, not an emotion supplied from outside the passage.

    4. 1:18

      The change in appetite and countenance comes before the conception in verse 20. No claim is made here that the physical cause of her childlessness had already changed.

    1 Samuel 1:9-18

    King James Version · 10 verses

    1:9So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD.

    1:10And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.

    1:11And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

    1:12And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli marked her mouth.

    1:13Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.

    1:14And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.

    1:15And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD.

    1:16Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.

    1:17Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

    1:18And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.

  3. 03

    1 Samuel 1:24-28

    As long as he lives

    She waits until he is weaned, then brings a bull, flour and wine to Shiloh and gives the boy to Eli. For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted my petition.

    Lent is an arresting word for a gift with no date of return. Hannah immediately explains its length: as long as he liveth. The child is not being left at Shiloh until the family has room for him or until his mother changes her mind. The dedication is the fulfillment of the vow she made before she conceived.

    She introduces herself to Eli by the prayer he once misunderstood. I am the woman that stood by thee here. Then the language becomes wonderfully particular: for this child I prayed. Not motherhood in the abstract, not a symbol of answered longing. This child, brought with flour, wine, and animals for sacrifice, stands at the meeting point of the request and its fulfillment.

    Yet dedication is not the disappearance of his mother. In 2:19 Hannah brings Samuel a little coat each year when she returns for the sacrifice. The yearly journey that once displayed her humiliation now includes something made for her son. The text gives no farewell speech and no inventory of tears. It gives a lasting vow, and later a small coat. Both belong to the same mother.

    Verse by verse

    1. 1:24

      The child has been weaned, but this passage supplies no exact age. Three bullocks is the wording of the KJV and is retained here.

    2. 1:26

      As thy soul liveth is an assurance invoking Eli's living person. Hannah uses it as she identifies herself, not as a description of a previous conversation about immortality.

    3. 1:28

      Lent must be read with as long as he liveth. The dedication is lifelong, not an ordinary loan with a promised return.

    4. 1:28

      And he worshipped leaves the male subject unnamed in this sentence. Identifying him as Samuel is a common reading, but the verse does not repeat his name.

    1 Samuel 1:24-28

    King James Version · 5 verses

    1:24And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young.

    1:25And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli.

    1:26And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD.

    1:27For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him:

    1:28Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.

    1 Samuel 1:24-28: As long as he lives
  4. 04

    1 Samuel 2:1-10

    My heart rejoices in the LORD

    Not a lullaby. The bows of the mighty are broken, the full hire themselves out for bread, and the song ends on a king and an anointed, before Israel has either.

    Hannah begins with her horn and ends with the horn of the LORD's anointed. The same image carries the prayer from one woman's restored strength to the strength of a king. Her thanksgiving refuses to stay the size of the household that occasioned it.

    Broken bows, hungry people, hired labor, dust, and a dunghill make these reversals bodily and public. The poor man does not merely receive an encouraging thought; he is raised to sit among princes. The well-fed do not simply feel less secure; they hire themselves out for bread. Hannah knows the difference between a place at the feast and an inability to eat, and the prayer sets that contrast within a much larger account of God's government.

    The last verse speaks of his king before Israel has received the king it will request in chapter 8. That is a striking placement, not a reason to pretend the monarchy has already begun. The prayer supplies a measure for royal strength before the royal portraits fill the book: strength is given, not self-created. Its account of pride and reversal also finds a clear echo in Mary's praise in Luke 1:46-55. Hannah's voice carries far beyond Shiloh.

    Verse by verse

    1. 2:1

      Horn is an image of strength and exaltation, drawn from the horn of an animal, not a musical instrument. The image returns in verse 10.

    2. 2:6

      The grave translates Hebrew sheol, the realm of the dead. The line declares the LORD's power over death and life without narrating a particular resurrection.

    3. 2:8

      Psalm 113:7-9 closely shares the language of lifting the poor from dust and the dunghill to sit with princes, followed by a barren woman becoming a mother.

    4. 2:10

      His anointed translates a form of mashiach, the Hebrew term behind Messiah. In this verse it stands parallel to his king; the larger canonical use develops beyond this immediate setting.

    1 Samuel 2:1-10

    King James Version · 10 verses

    2:1And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.

    2:2There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

    2:3Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

    2:4The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

    2:5They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble.

    2:6The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

    2:7The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

    2:8He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and he hath set the world upon them.

    2:9He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

    2:10The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

    1 Samuel 2:1-10: My heart rejoices in the LORD

Why it matters

Hannah’s song in chapter two is the pattern for the Magnificat a thousand years later, and it is not about a baby. It is about a world turned over: bows broken, the hungry filled, the barren bearing seven, and a king who does not exist yet. She is the last figure of the judges era and the first of the monarchy, and the whole transition runs through one woman’s vow at a doorpost.

4 songs

The music

Every song in the catalogue whose passage falls inside these chapters.

  1. 1 Samuel 1-2

    Hannah's Song

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  2. 1 Samuel 1:1-2:11

    Poured Out Before the LORD

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  3. 1 Samuel 1-2

    The Prayer of Hannah

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  4. 1 Samuel 2:12-3:21

    Speak, for Thy Servant Heareth

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