So after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. So Hannah got upThe phrase "So Hannah got up" signifies a pivotal moment of action and determination. In the Hebrew text, the verb used here is "קָם" (qam), which means to rise or stand up. This action is not merely physical but also symbolic of Hannah's resolve and faith. After enduring emotional turmoil due to her barrenness and the provocation of her rival, Peninnah, Hannah's decision to rise indicates a turning point where she chooses to seek divine intervention. This act of getting up is a metaphor for spiritual awakening and determination to approach God with her deepest desires. after they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh
The setting in Shiloh is significant, as it was the religious center of Israel at the time, housing the tabernacle where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. The mention of eating and drinking suggests a communal meal, likely part of the sacrificial feast. In the context of ancient Israelite culture, such feasts were not only physical nourishment but also spiritual acts of worship and fellowship. Hannah's participation in this meal before her prayer highlights the integration of daily life with spiritual devotion, emphasizing that her plea to God is rooted in a life of worship and community. Now Eli the priest
Eli, as the high priest, represents the established religious authority in Israel. His presence in the narrative introduces a contrast between the institutional religious order and Hannah's personal, heartfelt devotion. Eli's role is crucial, as he later becomes an unwitting instrument in God's plan for Hannah. Historically, Eli's priesthood marks a transitional period in Israel's history, moving from the time of the judges to the establishment of the monarchy. His character also foreshadows the need for spiritual renewal in Israel, which will come through the birth of Samuel. was sitting on a chair
The image of Eli sitting on a chair, or "כִּסֵּא" (kisse), by the temple's doorpost, suggests a position of authority and judgment. In ancient Near Eastern culture, sitting was often associated with teaching or ruling. Eli's seated position contrasts with Hannah's active rising, highlighting the difference between passive observation and active faith. This setting also foreshadows Eli's later misunderstanding of Hannah's prayer, emphasizing the theme of spiritual perception versus blindness. by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD
The "doorpost of the temple of the LORD" refers to the entrance of the tabernacle at Shiloh, which served as the central place of worship for the Israelites. The term "temple" here is "הֵיכָל" (heikal), indicating a sacred space dedicated to the worship of Yahweh. The doorpost symbolizes a threshold between the secular and the sacred, a place of transition where Hannah's private anguish meets divine presence. This setting underscores the accessibility of God to those who earnestly seek Him, regardless of their social or personal circumstances. It is at this threshold that Hannah's heartfelt prayer will lead to a transformative encounter with God, setting the stage for the birth of Samuel, who will play a crucial role in Israel's history. Persons / Places / Events 1. HannahA devout woman who is deeply distressed due to her barrenness. She is one of the two wives of Elkanah and is known for her fervent prayer and vow to God. 2. EliThe high priest of Shiloh, who is sitting by the doorpost of the temple. He plays a significant role in the account as he initially misunderstands Hannah's prayer but later blesses her. 3. ShilohThe religious center of Israel at the time, where the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant were located. It is the setting for Hannah's prayer and vow. 4. Temple of the LORDRefers to the tabernacle at Shiloh, which served as the central place of worship before the construction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. 5. ElkanahHannah's husband, who loves her dearly despite her inability to bear children. He is a Levite and makes annual pilgrimages to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice. Teaching Points The Power of Persistent PrayerHannah's account teaches us the importance of persistent and heartfelt prayer. Despite her distress, she continues to seek God earnestly. God's Timing and SovereigntyHannah's eventual blessing of a child reminds us that God's timing is perfect, and His plans are sovereign over our lives. Faith in ActionHannah's vow to dedicate her son to the Lord demonstrates her faith and willingness to act on her promises to God. The Role of Spiritual LeadershipEli's initial misunderstanding of Hannah's prayer shows the importance of discernment and compassion in spiritual leadership. Finding Peace in God's PresenceHannah's peace after praying, despite her circumstances, illustrates the peace that comes from laying our burdens before God. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Hannah's response to her distress in 1 Samuel 1:9 inspire you to approach your own challenges in prayer? 2. In what ways can we see God's sovereignty at work in Hannah's account, and how can this encourage us in our own lives? 3. How does Hannah's vow to God reflect her faith, and what can we learn about making commitments to God in our own spiritual journey? 4. What lessons can we learn from Eli's interaction with Hannah about the role of spiritual leaders in understanding and supporting those in distress? 5. How can the peace that Hannah experiences after her prayer serve as a model for us when we bring our concerns to God? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 30The account of Rachel, who, like Hannah, experienced barrenness and prayed earnestly to God for a child. This connection highlights the theme of God hearing the prayers of the barren. Philippians 4:6-7Encourages believers to present their requests to God through prayer and supplication, similar to Hannah's approach in her distress. James 5:16Emphasizes the power of fervent prayer, which is exemplified by Hannah's heartfelt petition to God. People Eli, Elihu, Elkanah, Ephah, Hannah, Hophni, Jeroham, Peninnah, Phinehas, Samuel, Tohu, ZuphPlaces Ramah, Ramathaim-zophim, ShilohTopics Beside, Chair, Doorpost, Door-post, Doorway, Drank, Drinking, Drunk, Eaten, Eating, Eli, Got, Guest, Hannah, Lord's, Pillars, Post, Priest, Riseth, Room, Rose, Sat, Seat, Seated, Shiloh, Side-post, Sitting, Stood, Temple, Throne, WineDictionary of Bible Themes 1 Samuel 1:9 7377 high priest, OT 1 Samuel 1:1-20 5225 barrenness
5733 pregnancy 1 Samuel 1:6-16 5559 stress 1 Samuel 1:9-18 8830 suspicion 1 Samuel 1:9-20 5744 wife 1 Samuel 1:9-28 5745 women Library Of Self-Annihilation
Of Self-Annihilation Supplication and sacrifice are comprehended in prayer, which, according to S. John, is "an incense, the smoke whereof ascendeth unto God;" therefore it is said in the Apocalypse that "unto the Angel was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints'' (Chap. viii. 3). Prayer is the effusion of the heart in the Presence of God: "I have poured out my soul before God" saith the mother of Samuel. (1 Sam. i. 15) The prayer of the wise men at the feet of …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of PrayerPrayer and Sacrifice Explained by the Similitude of a Perfume --Our Annihilation in this Sacrifice --Solidity and Fruitfulness of this Prayer as Set Forth in The
Prayer ought to be both petition and sacrifice. Prayer, according to the testimony of St John, is an incense, whose perfume rises to God. Therefore it is said in the Revelation (chap. viii. 3), that an angel held a censer, which contained the incense of the prayers of saints. Prayer is an outpouring of the heart in the presence of God. "I have poured out my soul before the Lord," said the mother of Samuel (1 Sam. i. 15). Thus the prayers of the Magi at the feet of the infant Jesus in the stable of …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents Home Dedication.
"The rose was rich in bloom on Sharon's plain, When a young mother with her first born thence Went up to Zion, for the boy was vowed Unto the Temple-service; by the hand She led him, and her silent soul, the while, Oft as the dewy laughter of his eye Met her sweet serious glance, rejoiced to think That aught so pure, so beautiful, was hers, To bring before her God!" Beautiful thought, and thrice beautiful deed,--fresh from the pure fount of maternal piety! The Hebrew mother consecrating her first-born …
Samuel Philips—The Christian Home John Newton 1Sam 1:10,18
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John Newton—Olney Hymns Hwochow Women's Bible Training School
COURSE OF STUDY FIRST TERM Book of Genesis. Gospel according to St. Luke or St. Mark. Acts of the Apostles, chapters i. to ix. "A Synopsis of the Central Themes of the Holy Bible." Reading Lessons, with necessary Explanation and Writing of Chinese Character. Arithmetic. Singing and Memorisation of Hymns. SECOND TERM Book of Exodus, Numbers, and 1 Samuel i. to xvi. The Gospel according to St. John. The Epistle of St James. "A Synopsis of the Central Themes of the Holy Bible"--(continued). Reading …
A. Mildred Cable—The Fulfilment of a Dream of Pastor Hsi's The Love of the Holy Spirit in Us.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not."--Matt. xxvii. 37. The Scripture teaches not only that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and with Him Love, but also that He sheds abroad that Love in our hearts. This shedding abroad does not refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit's Person, for a person can not be shed abroad. He comes, takes possession, and dwells in us; but that which is shed abroad …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit The Prophet Jonah.
It has been asserted without any sufficient reason, that Jonah is older than Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah,--that he is the oldest among the prophets whose written monuments have been preserved to us. The passage in 2 Kings xiv. 25, where it is said, that Jonah, the son of Amittai the prophet, prophesied to Jeroboam the happy success of his arms, and the restoration of the ancient boundaries of Israel, and that this prophecy was confirmed by the event, cannot decide in favour of this assertion, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament And V the Kingdom Undivided and the Kingdom Divided
THE HISTORICAL BOOKS: I and II Samuel. I and II Kings. I and II Chronicles. NOTE.--As these three pairs of books are so closely related in their historical contents, it is deemed best to study them together, though they overlap the two divisions of IV and V. I. CHARTS Chart A. General Contents +--+ " I AND II SAMUEL " +-------------+-----+------+ "Samuel "Saul "David " +-------------+-----+------+----------+ " " " " I AND II KINGS "NOTE.--Biblical …
Frank Nelson Palmer—A Bird's-Eye View of the Bible Divers Matters.
I. Beth-cerem, Nehemiah 3:14. "The stones, as well of the altar, as of the ascent to the altar, were from the valley of Beth-cerem, which they digged out beneath the barren land. And thence they are wont to bring whole stones, upon which the working iron came not." The fathers of the traditions, treating concerning the blood of women's terms, reckon up five colours of it; among which that, "which is like the water of the earth, out of the valley of Beth-cerem."--Where the Gloss writes thus, "Beth-cerem …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Ramah. Ramathaim Zophim. Gibeah.
There was a certain Ramah, in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:25, and that within sight of Jerusalem, as it seems, Judges 19:13; where it is named with Gibeah:--and elsewhere, Hosea 5:8; which towns were not much distant. See 1 Samuel 22:6; "Saul sat in Gibeah, under a grove in Ramah." Here the Gemarists trifle: "Whence is it (say they) that Ramah is placed near Gibea? To hint to you, that the speech of Samuel of Ramah was the cause, why Saul remained two years and a half in Gibeah." They blindly …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica The King --Continued.
The years thus well begun are, in the historical books, characterized mainly by three events, namely, the bringing up of the ark to the newly won city of David, Nathan's prophecy of the perpetual dominion of his house, and his victories over the surrounding nations. These three hinges of the narrative are all abundantly illustrated in the psalms. As to the first, we have relics of the joyful ceremonial connected with it in two psalms, the fifteenth and twenty-fourth, which are singularly alike not …
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David Nature of Covenanting.
A covenant is a mutual voluntary compact between two parties on given terms or conditions. It may be made between superiors and inferiors, or between equals. The sentiment that a covenant can be made only between parties respectively independent of one another is inconsistent with the testimony of Scripture. Parties to covenants in a great variety of relative circumstances, are there introduced. There, covenant relations among men are represented as obtaining not merely between nation and nation, …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting I Will Pray with the Spirit and with the Understanding Also-
OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING PRAYER; WHEREIN IS BRIEFLY DISCOVERED, 1. WHAT PRAYER IS. 2. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT. 3. WHAT IT IS TO PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT AND WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO. WRITTEN IN PRISON, 1662. PUBLISHED, 1663. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought:--the Spirit--helpeth our infirmities" (Rom 8:26). ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. There is no subject of more solemn importance to human happiness than prayer. It is the only medium of intercourse with heaven. "It is …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 1 Samuel 1:9 NIV1 Samuel 1:9 NLT1 Samuel 1:9 ESV1 Samuel 1:9 NASB1 Samuel 1:9 KJV
1 Samuel 1:9 Commentaries
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