THE BIRTH OF SAMUEL Samuel was granted by God to ‘Hannah,’ a pious and barren mother, as a fruit of her prayers and faith; and was raised in the temple of God, to become a blessing to many people. 1- Hannah, the pious and barren 1-8. 2- The son of prayer 9-18. 3- The birth of Samuel 19-23. 4- Samuel lent to the Lord 24-28. 1- HANNAH, THE PIOUS AND BARREN ‘Elkanah’ had two wives: the name of one was ’Peninnah,’ meaning (a coral) or (a pearl); and the name of the other was ‘Hannah,’ meaning (compassion) or (grace). a- Elkanah was said to be an Ephramite (1 Samuel 1: 3), because he dwelt in the mountains of Ephraim; yet, he was of the tribe of Levi, of the family of Kohath (1 Chronicles 6: 22 - 28), although he did not practice as a Levite. He has been the head of the family of ‘Zuphim,’ that gave its name to the village of ‘Ramathaim Zophim’; namely, (the two heights of Suf’ or wool) 1. It was so called to designate it from other places that carried the same name ‘Ramathaim’; and probably is ‘Ram Allah’ nowadays. b- every year, ‘Elkanah’ used to take his family to ‘Shiloh’ to worship and sacrifice to the Lord; namely, to present the sacrifice of peace offerings (Leviticus 7: 11 - 21). Some believe that this pilgrimage was personal for his own family; beside his commitment to appear before the Lord in the three feasts: of ‘unleavened bread’ or the ‘Passover’; of ‘Harvest’; and that of ‘Ingathering’ (Exodus 23: 14). some scholars believe that the Jews used to appear before the Lord only once every year to celebrate the feast of the harvest with great joy; and that what made ‘Ali’ the priest think that Hannah was drunk2. Shiloh or Shiloh - most probably (silon) nowadays, about 17 miles north of Jerusalem, had been the center of worship chosen by Joshua to be the place for the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant and where he divided the promised land among the tribes of Israel (Joshua 18: 1; 8). In it Ali the priest, Samuel and Ahija the prophets dwelt; (1 Kings 14: 2). c- Elkanah loved Hannah his barren wife, and used to give her a double portion, something that probably inflamed the jealousy of his other wife Peninnah’ and proved to be a wrong policy on his part. Anyway, the two women symbolized the Churches of the Old and the New Testaments. If ‘Peninnah,’ means a (pearl) or a (coral), and brought forth many children, the Church of the Old Testament enjoyed the treasures of God: having received the law, got the promises, and brought forth men of God, the fathers, the prophets, etc. Yet, that fertile mother, turned barren, when she rejected faith in the Lord Christ; as expressed by the song of Hannah, saying: “Even the barren has borne seven, and she who has many children has become feeble” (1 Samuel 2: 5). Hannah, on the other hand, whose name means (compassion) or (grace) resembled the Church of the New Testament that has enjoyed the exalted compassion of God, proclaimed through the sacrifice of the cross and the grace of the 1 The Westminster Dict. Of the Bible, p. 792, 791. 2 Nelson: New Catholic Commentary…, p. 308. 4 Holy Spirit, the Grantor of son hood to God and communion with Him. It is His beloved Church that has gathered together, from the Gentiles, all those who have been barren, to bring forth sons to God. God allowed it, for the soul of the pious Hannah, to get so saturated with bitterness, to cry out from the depths of her heart, to grant her the son He had prepared beforehand for her, and for all His people; whose life and ministry became an integral part of the Holy Bible. So also, God allows it for His pious Church to enter unto Passion, to partake of the affliction of the cross, and to experience His death in her in order to bring forth an inner joy, and an incomprehensible peace. “If indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8: 17). So God let her “year by year” suffer bitterness (1 Samuel 1: 7); and when the fullness of time came, He expounded to her what surpassed all what she asked for, or even imagined; she got ‘Samuel,’ the great among the prophets. d- Listen to how her man who loved her admonished her; who expounded to her his soul, before any double portion, saying 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? “ (1 Samuel 1: 8). Jesus the Lord of glory, the Groom of our souls, likewise admonishes us; saying [Why is your heart grieved for worldly worries? or for temporary afflictions? Can’t I fulfill and comfort you? Is it not enough for you that I am the eternal Groom of your soul?] I wish we can say with the apostle Paul: “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?... Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?!... For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8: 32 - 39). Let us love God for His own sake; and let us accept Him to dwell in us; to proclaim His divine Kingdom inside us, and not to deny us even worldly blessings, if they are for our edification... In such a way, God was glorified in Hannah, and granted her Samuel, a fruit of her prayers and faith. 2- THE SON OF PRAYERS a- Hannah was in bitterness of soul (1 Samuel 1: 10); yet her anguish did not keep her from sharing with other believers, eating of the sacrifice, so that all would be reconciled together in God. Her bitterness of soul did not cause her to hate or envy her husband’s other wife, but made her entreat for divine help to take away her disgrace. She yearned for bringing forth a son, not only for the sake of fulfilling her natural motherhood, but also for what is more: every Jewish woman was anticipating that the Messiah would come from her descent; as is clear from Hannah’s song, in which she vowed to lend her son to the Lord as long as he lives (1 Samuel 2: 1 - 10). So Hannah arose, after they have finished eating and drinking, to offer a secret personal prayer before the temple of the Lord [The tabernacle was called the temple of the Lord, having settled for about 300 years in Shiloh; and all around it buildings were established; and a seat by the doorpost for Eli the high priest to sit for judgment]. It happened as Hannah continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth but he could not apprehend the secret of power of her prayer, and thought that she was drunk (1 Samuel 1: 14). Yet God listened to her. 5 Hannah became a living example - along the generations - of the power of a silent prayer, springing out of an inner deep faith; her prayer has been mixed with her faith, as well with her meekness. The following are comments of the saintly fathers on Hannah’s silent prayer, by her heart as well as her tears: As to Hannah, once she harbored the thought, her wish was granted, and got Samuel. The Book says: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find” (Matthew 7: 7). We are taught that God knows the heart; and does not care for the apparent movements of the body, nor is He influenced by the outer events. Praying is to dare to speak and debate with God; If we silently whisper, without even opening our lips, crying out from inside, we should be sure that God will always hear us. Now, if we assign for ourselves, certain hours for praying - like the third, the sixth, and the ninth hours - the Gnostic; namely, the spiritual man of knowledge, prays all his life long, seeking to have a communion with God through his prayers. It is possible to utter a prayer with no sound; through the concentration of all the inner spiritual nature, without the distraction of the mind from thinking of God. St. Clement of Alexandria1 Hannah - mentioned in the first book of the kings (1 Samuel) – who is a symbol of the Church, held fast to praying to God, not by noisy requests, but in silence and meekness from the depths of her heart, She uttered a secret prayer with an obvious faith. She did not speak with her voice, but within her heart; and believing that God listens to such prayer, she got what she prayed for. That is what the Book confirms, saying: “Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard (but God listened to her) “ (1 Samuel 1: 13). And we read in the Psalms: “Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still” (Psalm 4: 4). St. Cyprian2 Hannah, though her voice was not heard, her quest was granted, because her heart cried out! ‘Abel,’ the righteous, not only prayed while silent, but also prayed while dead, as his blood cried out louder than any trumpet! 3. Her tears preceded her tongue, more clearly than any trumpet; that is why God opened her womb4, and turned the solid rock into a fruitful field. If you so weep, you would follow the example of your Lord who has wept for Lazarus, and for Jerusalem and got troubled in spirit because of Judas. He often wept, but was never seen laughing5. St. John Chrysostom It was not possible for the high priest to discern between a contrite hearted woman, to whose inner moaning, heaven responds and a daughter of ‘Bileal’ [a Hebrew word meaning (evil) or (vain), a name given to him who does not fear God (2 1 Stromata 6: 12, 7: 7. 2 Treatise 4: 5. 3 In Matt. Hom 19. 4 In Eph. Hom 24. 5 In Matt hom 6. 6 Corinthians 6: 15)... Only God, who knows what is inside the heart, can discern between this and that. Hannah combined her hidden prayer with her meekness; When Eli the high priest accused her of being drunk, she humbly answered him, saying: “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, but out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now” (1 Samuel 1: 15, 16). St. John Chrysostom was impressed by that meekness, and commended her more than once; saying: “This is the proof of a contrite heart; when we do not respond in anger to him who slanders us; but within the limits of self defense1”. She spoke politely and humbly, saying: “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight” (1 Samuel 1: 18).And her faith becomes apparent in the words of the Book: “So the woman went her way..., and her face was no longer sad” (1 Samuel 1: 18). Her heart was comforted after her prayer. I wish that God grants us such faith so as not to be troubled or distressed, especially after praying, and surrendering our life in the hands of God our Father. Speaking of the activity of prayers in the life of the barren Hannah, the scholar Origen expounds the barren fruitless souls, to enjoy what Hannah got; saying: “The souls that have remained for so long, barren in mind and thought as they realize their loss, would conceive by the Holy Spirit, to bring forth words of salvation, filled with concepts of truth through persisting on prayer2]. In other words, we are in need to acknowledge our inner barrenness, so that when our souls would become embittered and contrite before God, we entreat him in faith, confident that He, alone, is able to turn our barrenness into fruition; granting us the fruits of His Holy Spirit in us. 3- BIRTH OF SAMUEL Hannah’s returning joyfully to her family to partake peacefully in their life, reveals her realization, that the solution of problems, is not in the hand of man, nor in the outer circumstances, but through entering into the depths of soul, and discovering God’s possibilities in us. That was what Hannah did, and how she encountered God through her secret prayer; and how she felt God’s power, capable of solving all problems. That is why when the apostle Paul preached to the Corinthians, he demonstrated to them “the power of God” and not “the persuasive words of human wisdom” (1 Corinthians 2: 4, 5). In due time, God granted Hannah a son. She called him “Samuel”. She stayed with her child until she weaned him, then fulfilled her vow to lend him to the Lord, “that he may appear before the Lord and remain there forever” (1 Samuel 1: 22) 4- SAMUEL LENT TO THE LORD a- “Now when she weaned him, she took him up with her” (1 Samuel 1: 24). Some wonder, how could she offer him to the house of the Lord directly after weaning (about 9 months). The answer is that, in the region of the Middle East, mothers used not to wean their babies before the third, and sometimes the fifth year3 of their life. 1 In Eph. Ho 24. 2 On Prayer 13: 3. 3 Scripture Union: Bible Study Books, books 2, p. 48. 7 b- What does she mean by saying: “Therefore I have also lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord” (1 Samuel 1: 28)? She has previously “vowed to (give) him to the Lord all the days of his life” (1 Samuel 1: 11); and now, she does not say, “I give him,” but, “I have lent him to the Lord” She did not retract her promise to deliver her child to the Lord to minister to him as long as he lives; but she wanted to confirm her attachment to her child as a mother; So, though she is giving him to serve the Lord as long as he lives, she is counting him as “lent” to the Lord, thus holding fast to him as her own son. It is a living portrait of family love in the Lord! Women should follow the example of those amazing mothers! Let her, who brought forth a child, have Hannah as a role model, and see what she did (1 Samuel 1: 14); She brought him to the temple to serve the Lord! Who of you does not wish her son to become a “Samuel,” thousand of times greater than a king?! She did not say “for one year” or “for two years,” as we usually do; nor said, “If you grant me a child, I shall offer You money”; but said, “I shall give You back your whole gift! I shall give you my firstborn son, “the son of my prayers”. She is truly the daughter of Abraham! Abraham offered his son when he was asked to do that; but Hannah offered him even before being asked to do so! St. John Chrysostom1 Hannah lent her son, Samuel, to the Lord to serve him all the days of his life, to be anointed by the Lord as a great prophet (1 Samuel 3: 20); to be counted in the Old Testament, together with Moses and Aaron (Psalm 99: 6; Jeremiah 15: 1); and to be referred to, in the New Testament, as the first prophet (Acts 3: 24). Samuel is considered to be the founder of the school of prophets (1 Samuel 19: 20), in Ramah, that was followed by other schools in Bethel (2 Kings 2: 3), in Jericho (2 Kings 2: 5), and in Gilgal (2 Kings 4: 38). He is also considered as the founder of the Monarchy, despite his preliminary disapproval of it; He anointed Saul, who succeeded for sometime; then anointed David, whose descendants inherited the monarchy though he did not live long enough to crown him a king2. Having weaned the child Samuel, his mother took him up to the house of the Lord in Shiloh (1 Samuel 1: 24). The Book did not say that his father took him up; not because she took over as head of the household but her exalted faith made her hasten to take him up, to be exalted in the sight of the Lord, who referred to her taking Samuel up to the house of the Lord, with the following offerings: a- Three bulls; one of which was presented as a burnt offering (Leviticus 1: 1 - 9; 1 Samuel 1: 25); on account that Samuel was presented as a burnt offering to the Lord to offer all his life, with all his capabilities, as a sacrifice of love to the Lord. As to the other two bulls, these were the annual offering of Elkanah: ‘a peace offering’ and ‘a sin offering’ (Leviticus 3, 4). b- One ephah of flower, about 10 Libra (the figure 10 refers to the consummation of the law). c- A skin of wine, referring to rejoicing... as she joyfully offered her son to the Lord; counting it a great dignity to herself, that the Lord received her son as an offering of love; and not counting it a loss on her part. 1 In Eph. Hom 21, 24. 2 J. H. Raven: O. T. Introd., 1910, p/ 168.
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