1 Samuel 1:9-18

Hannah's prayer. 1 Samuel 1:9-18

9 So 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.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.

11 And 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.
12 And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth.
13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.
15 And 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.

16 Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.
17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.

18 And 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.

15.

Was eating and drinking normally associated with worship? 1 Samuel 1:9

God had ordained a central sanctuary for Israel (Deuteronomy 12:5-12). He gave them instructions about the nature of their worship, and He said of the place where they were to worship: There ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households (Deuteronomy 12:7). They were forbidden to eat the tithe of their corn or of their wine or of their oil within their gates: that is, within the towns where they lived they were not to conduct their worship services. They were further instructed: Thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose (Deuteronomy 12:18). On many different occasions people enjoyed a sacrificial meal together (Genesis 31:54; Exodus 18:12). A holy feast was very much a part of Israel's worship. It was this kind of a feast that was enjoyed by Elkanah and his household.

16.

Why is the Tabernacle called the Temple? 1 Samuel 1:9 b

The temple proper was not built until the days of Solomon. The Tabernacle itself was more portable and less permanent than the Temple. It was intended to be a temporary place of worship which could be moved about in the wilderness. The Tabernacle was set up rather permanently in Shiloh. Excavations on the site indicate that there were some rather permanent walls erected around the court, and the fact that it was there for a long time made it seem less like a portable place of worship. All of these rather permanent arrangements led to the Tabernacle being called the Temple. Notices are made in the Scripture that there was a post erected and a seat where the high priest could sit. References to these are made again in 1 Samuel 4:13; 1 Samuel 4:18.

17.

What was Hannah's attitude? 1 Samuel 1:10

Hannah is described as being in bitterness of soul. She prayed unto the Lord, She also wept sore. We dare not describe her as being cynical, but she was bitter. Much of her time was spent in prayer. On other occasions she was seen to be weeping. The Hebrew word used to describe the bitterness of her soul is from the same root as the word which Naomi used to describe her condition when she came back from Moab. Naomi had lost her husband and her two sons in Moab. She had gone out as a happy wife and mother and came back to her home in Bethlehem alone except for her foreign daughter-in-law. When the people came out to greet her, she asked them not to call her anymore Naomi but Mara (Ruth 1:20). The word Naomi indicates pleasantness, the word Mara is best translated as bitter. This is the same word used to describe Hannah.

18.

What vow did Hannah make? 1 Samuel 1:11

The vow of Hannah stipulated that she would give her son to Jehovah all the days of his life. She intended that he would become a servant around the house of Jehovah (see Numbers 8:19). A vow is a promise to give something to God, or to perform some thing for Him, in case He grants a prayer. An example of this is Jacob's vow (Genesis 28:20-22). She further vowed that he would be reared in a way that reminds one of the Nazarite vows of Samson. The regulations for a Nazarite are found in Numbers 6. He could not shave his head, neither was he to take strong drink or touch a dead body. Hannah mentions specifically the matter of not shaving the head. A married woman could vow a vow only if her husband approved. Single women could make a vow only if their fathers approved (Numbers 30). Since these limitations prevailed, Elkanah must have known of Hannah's vow and concurred in it.

19.

Did Hannah pray of ten? 1 Samuel 1:12

The fact that the Scripture says she continued praying indicates that Hannah was often in the Tabernacle in prayer. The original language indicates that she multiplied her prayers. This brings to our minds the statement of Jesus that men ought always to pray and not to faint (Luke 18:1). Jesus set the good example Himself when He went and prayed the same prayer three times in one night. The apostle Paul indicates that he prayed three times that the thorn in the flesh might be removed from him (2 Corinthians 12:8). Hannah no doubt prayed repeatedly that God would give her a man child. Her prayer may also have been quite extended. All of this attracted Eli's attention. He noticed especially that she was not saying anything audibly. His attention was thus directed to her mouth. He saw that it was moving, but he heard no sound.

20.

Why would Eli think Hannah was drunk? 1 Samuel 1:13

It was no doubt not uncommon to see women drunken in that day. The specific reason was that she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Since he could see her lips moving and could not hear her voice, he supposed that she was drunken.
The fact that he supposed that she was drunk is an indication of the prevalency of intemperance. Had he been more accustomed of seeing women in deep prayer, he would have supposed she was praying silently. Hannah's attitude in prayer gives us an example of prayer that is silent. Even though we make no sound with our lips, we believe that God hears us.

21.

What light does Eli's accusation throw on the moral condition of the Israelites at this time? 1 Samuel 1:14

Eli was evidently so accustomed to seeing the wickedness around about him that he spoke the way he did to Hannah. This would imply that the moral condition of the civilization was bad. The conduct of his sons, the religious leaders of the time, would indicate that the corruption was very generally thorough. It had touched even the worship of God, and morality was not present in the place of public worship.

22.

What explanation did Hannah make? 1 Samuel 1:15

Hannah explained that she was not drunken but that she was of sorrowing spirit. She prayed Eli not to think of her as a vile woman. Greek translators render men of Belial by adjectives like vile, ungodly, senseless, contrary. It was her hope that Eli would not think of her as one who had fallen to the depths from which few arise.

23.

Who was Belial? 1 Samuel 1:16

The word Belial is used in the King James version as if it were a proper name. It seems better not to transliterate it this way but rather to translate it as indicated above. In the New Testament books, the term appears in the form Belias, and Belial. This term is used in 2 Corinthians 6:15 for example; and it is generally understood as a reference to Satan as the personification of evil. This is a proper way to render this verse. Hannah is saying that she does not want to be counted as a daughter of Satan.

24.

How could Eli say that God would answer Hannah's prayer? 1 Samuel 1:17

No man has the power to forgive men their sins by himself alone. Neither does any man have the right to say what God will or will not do without a revelation from God. Those who know the Scriptures can rest assured that they are true. If they make a prophecy, man can say that it will come true. Eli was announcing what he knew was right and true, He knew that God hears and answers prayers. He knew that Hannah was sincere in her prayers. Such prayers could not go unanswered. In addition, Eli was anointed of God as high priest. He had charismatic gifts which would enable him to make announcements beyond the normal, and this was also a prayer of his own. He sent Hannah away with his spirit united with hers. He would join her in praying that God would hear her petition. He firmly believed that her prayers would be answered; and as God's anointed high priest, he predicted that they would be answered.

25.

Why did Hannah call herself a handmaid? 1 Samuel 1:18

The term was used quite frequently by women who wanted to describe themselves as being a part of a household. The word does not indicate one who is a slave, but one who had something of the stature of Hagar in the household of Abraham (Genesis 16:1). The same word is also used to describe Zilpah, the handmaid of Leah (Genesis 29:24). Hannah felt that she found a friend in Eli. She did not want to make herself equal to him, but she did want him to look upon her as one of the household of faith, willing to do what the Lord commanded as might be directed by the high priest himself.