1 Samuel 1:9

HANNAH'S PRAYER

"After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, "Oh Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look upon the affliction of thy maidservant, and remember me, and not forget thy maidservant, but wilt give to thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head."

"As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard; therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. And Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunken? Put away your wine from you." But Hannah answered, "No, my lord, I am a woman sorely troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your maidservant as a base woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation. Then Eli answered, "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have made to him." Then the woman went her way and ate, and her countenance was no longer sad."

"After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh" suggests that this phrase might mean "after their meal had started," and that Hannah interrupted her meal to make her appeal to God.

"Hannah rose." The Septuagint (LXX) adds the words here that "she arose and stood before the Lord," indicating that she made her prayer from a standing position, a bit of information which seems to be borne out by Hannah's reference to the occasion in 1 Samuel 1:26.

"No razor shall touch his head." From this, we may conclude that Samuel was a Nazarite for life, but Samuel's right to prophesy, to offer sacrifices, and to give commandments to kings did not derive from this, but solely from his being directly called by the Lord to the prophetic office.

"Now Eli was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord." According to R. Payne Smith, the "seat" mentioned here was a kind of "pontifical throne at the entrance to the inner court of the tabernacle."[12]

"The temple of the Lord." Wilson reminds us that the word "temple" means, "either the temple or the tabernacle,"[13] and in our studies in the Psalms, we found that very frequently the term was used of the tabernacle, as is certainly the case here.

"How long will you be drunken?" It appears from this that drunkenness at the tabernacle festivals was a rather common occurrence, else Eli would not so readily have accused Hannah with these harsh words. It is of great interest that "silent" prayer is here answered by the direct intervention of God Himself.

"Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition." This response from Eli came after Hannah explained to the High Priest his mistake, and we view this sentence from the lips of Eli as a prayer to God, and not merely as "a wish" that God would answer Hannah's prayer. The proof of this is seen in the fact of Hannah's being "no longer sad" (1 Samuel 1:18). The prayer of the great High Priest and judge of Israel himself was the factor that resulted in the dramatic change in Hannah's attitude.