Hannah's prayer - Introducing the Books of Samuel

1 Samuel 1:9-20 - Tuesday, 1st Week in Ordinary Time, January 9, 2024

We begin today the ordinary time in our liturgical year and the Books of Samuel are going to accompany us for some time on our journey with the Scriptures. These books - originally one book - are part of a longer narrative that begins with the Book of Joshua and ends with the Books of Kings. The narrative tells us the story of the Twelve Tribes of Israel taking possession of the land promised to Abraham, the establishment of the monarchy and its end with the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

The Books of Samuel narrates the transition from tribalism to monarchy. At the centre of the narrative are the figures of Samuel, Saul, and David. Samuel is a judge and a prophet, Saul is the first king succeeded by David after a sequence of tragic events. Each figure is introduced with a hopeful note but that hope is dashed by their failure. The editors of the entire narratives make it clear that none of the leaders of Israel lived up to the standards established by God. We would have to wait for another few centuries for the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah about the coming of an ideal leader (see Is 11:1-5; Mark 10:42-45).

The Books of Samuel begin with a story of miraculous conception and the birth of Samuel in answer to his mother's prayer and vow. This is not the first time that we encounter a barren woman in the Bible. Sarah, Rebecca, Raechel, and the mother of Samson struggled with the same problem as Hannah. It is also not the first time that we have encountered the phrase "the Lord remembered" (1 Sam 1:19). The Lord remembered Sarah and Rachel in a similar predicament (see Gen 21:1; 30:22) and He also remembered the suffering of His people in Egypt (Ex. 2:25). The phrase indicates that when the Lord remembers things are going to happen.

The story of Elkanah, Peninnah and Hannah resembles the story of Jacob, Lea and Rachel. Like Jacob who loved Rachel more than Lea, Elkanah loved Hannah more than Peninnah. Like Rachel, Hannah felt humiliated by her barrenness and dreamed of having a son. Also in both cases, the miraculous boys played an important role in the history of salvation: Joseph would be the saviour of Egypt and his family and Samuel would facilitate the transition from the period of chieftains to monarchy.

The highlight of our passage is the statement that describes Hannah's prayer: "Now, Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not heard" (1 Sam 1:13). Although, the prayer was not audible to Eli, the priest serving in Shiloh, it was laud and clear to the Lord. Her prayer teaches us that we do not need to babble with many words to be heard - the Lord knows the secrets of our hearts (see Matth 6:7; Ps 44:21).