{"id":56747,"date":"2019-06-03T18:58:30","date_gmt":"2019-06-03T15:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=56747"},"modified":"2022-12-26T15:25:52","modified_gmt":"2022-12-26T13:25:52","slug":"samuels-birth-but-hannahs-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/samuels-birth-but-hannahs-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Samuel\u2019s Birth, But Hannah\u2019s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[483,882,600],"acf":{"old_id":"56747","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":56490,"related_cahpter":"233","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"All eyes are on Hannah, the lowly, who serves as the embodiment of Israel","content":"

Even in this age of feminist literary criticism, many scholars continue to call the opening story of Samuel something like, \u201cThe Birth of Samuel\u201d or \u201cThe Samuel Birth Narrative.\u201d \u00a0Yet it remains abundantly clear that the narrative is about Hannah. For example, note that Hannah\u2019s name appears 11 times in ch. 1, far more than that of other characters. True, the chapter begins with a focus on Elkanah (v. 1), but the astute reader soon realizes that that is but a false lead. <\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, note that Hannah is the only character in ch. 1 to participate in each of the ten instances of recorded speech. \u00a0Six times she is the speaker, while four times she is addressed. By contrast, Eli is involved in only half as many speech acts (speaking twice, addressed thrice); while Elkanah is involved in only three (speaking twice, addressed once). I am grateful to Carol Meyers (Duke University) for these two keen observations.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an additional indication of how the story revolves around Hannah, note the narrowing of the focus in the plot development: \u00a0from the annual pilgrimage (v. 3) to the day of the sacrifice (v. 4a) to the giving of portions (v. 4b) to Hannah\u2019s portion specifically (v. 5). \u00a0From this point onward, through the end of the chapter, Hannah will be the primary character. <\/span><\/p>\n

In classic biblical style, the hope of Israel is not with the powerful, the priest Eli or the <\/span>paterfamilias<\/span><\/em> Elkanah, but rather with the lowly, in this case the barren Hannah: \u00a0a woman, mistreated by Peninah, with an apparently oblivious husband Elkanah, and castigated by Eli. <\/span><\/p>\n

The barren-woman motif occurs throughout the Bible (Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Samson\u2019s mother, Hannah), for it was through such lowly characters that Israel realized its self-definition. \u00a0Israel was not among the major players in the ancient geopolitical sphere (those roles were held by Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, etc.), but rather it was a small and less powerful nation, whose success was dependent on its fealty to God and on divine guidance. \u00a0All eyes, accordingly, are on Hannah, the lowly, who serves as the embodiment of Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n

The book of Judges ended with two of the darkest narratives in the Bible: \u00a0the story of the concubine at Gibeah (ch. 19) and the near annihilation of the tribe of Benjamin (ch. 20). \u00a0True, this tribe is saved from extinction in ch. 21, but the entire book of Judges nonetheless ends on an ominous note: \u201cIn those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did as he pleased\u201d (21:25), implying an unruly and disorderly society. \u00a0The reader hopes for a more pleasant subject matter to commence the book of Samuel, and indeed this expectation is met in the person of Hannah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Verlag von Wilhelm Jacobsohn, Breslau – Scanned 1902 book cover of “Hannah” by Jacob Freund (1867) \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":56748,"id":56748,"title":"isam1-Hanna_book_cover","filename":"isam1-Hanna_book_cover.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam1-Hanna_book_cover.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/samuels-birth-but-hannahs-story\/isam1-hanna_book_cover\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam1-hanna_book_cover","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":56747,"date":"2019-06-03 15:58:14","modified":"2019-06-03 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