* Author's note... I am not a Bible scholar. The following is an essay I wrote for an Old Testament Lit class. It is strictly my opinion & the opinion of others.
There are numerous examples of Biblical women who were barren for a season or more until the Lord opened their womb. According to Hebrew laws of Moses, infertility could be seen as a punishment for having an adulterous relationship or having incestuous relationships among family members (Numbers 5:20, Leviticus 20:20-21). However, neither of these situations was the case for why Hannah was barren. The depth of her pain – physically, emotionally and spiritually – is beyond compare. The implications of these Jewish customs and traditions, the importance of children and procreation, causes an unnecessary, but vital sense of failure, despair and pain that barren women ultimately feel due to their inability to produce. It is the desperate nature of Hannah’s pleas that lead to her ultimate euphoric joy at the conception of a son.
Being barren was shameful, an embarrassment to Hebrew women and believed to be the woman’s fault, through her disobedience to God. A barren woman was considered a curse, because according to Genesis 1:28 they were told to “be fruitful and multiply.” The Matriarchs of the Old Testament believed that without offspring, their lines would dissolve; their status and value among their families would decrease. As a result of this pressure, their barren wives were coping with feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, torment by the other wives in the family who were able to produce children and anguish. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, is no different.
As we have seen with Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel, the mothers of Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, children were regarded as a blessing (Psalm 127:3-4); a woman’s value was based on her ability to produce heirs. Rachel even likens motherhood to life itself in her impassioned plea of “give me children or else I will die!” (Gen. 30:1).
Hannah’s desperate cries and pleas (1 Samuel 1:10-11) were because of her deep desire to have children. She is so distressed that Eli, the priest, believes that she is drunk. For Hannah, all she wanted was to have a baby. The Lord had closed her womb (1 Samuel 1:5), not because of disobedience, or for punishment but for the fulfillment of His covenant with the Israelites.
Hannah was bold enough to believe that God would grant her desire for a son so much that she vowed to dedicate Him back to the Lord (Baldwin, 52). Hannah’s barrenness was not caused by a disobedience to God, but rather because her desire for a child was so strong that God brought her to the lowest point of her valley so that her faith would be strengthened and where she would depend the most on Him to fulfill her needs.
While Hannah waited on God to provide her with a son, Israel continued to fall into the trappings of their sin, heavy in disunity and disarray. There were civil wars that erupted between tribes and the priesthood was failing. Eli was an indulgent father who allowed his sons to be disobedient. The Philistines were growing stronger and threatening to take over the Israelites land. The people had rejected God and were demanding an earthly king (1 Samuel 8:4-7). Samuel’s birth marked the end of the time of Judges: Samuel was the last. Samuel was also the first of the prophets and the founder of the monarchy (Mears, 122).
Though God made a covenant with the Israelites, only He can fulfill those promises. He never intended for Israel to have any king but himself; the Israelites had grown restless. They wanted an earthly king, like the nations around them. In order for Israel to be stronger than the surrounding nations, the tribes had to come together under one king and become powerful. God fulfilled this promise by allowing Samuel to find a king for them, first in Saul, then David.
Hannah’s song is not only a song of thanksgiving and praise, but her humble way of showing her faith and belief that God would answer her prayer. She was a woman of modest beginnings with a desperate desire to have as son. During her months of infertility, she is tormented by other women around her who were able to conceive. The Lord closed her womb, so that she was forced to look to Him to give her the desires of her heart. In perhaps one of the most beautiful of exaltations, Hannah sings a song of joyful thanksgiving, giving praise to the Lord for sending her a son. It is here that we see her overjoyed spirit and belief in the Lord’s deliverance and power.
Hannah, in particular, was so desperate for a child that she made a vow and consecrated her unborn son back to the Lord, so that Samuel, the child, would be a servant leader for the people of Israel. She experienced the gauntlet of emotions; shame, humiliation, embarrassment, even ridicule and guilt for not being able to produce an heir for her husband. Israel cried out for someone tangible to guide them; God listened and gave Hannah her utmost wish. Hannah’s triumph comes when she completely surrenders her most precious desire and prays fervently to God for a child, adding to that passionate prayer a commitment of surrender -- her beloved child to a lifetime of service.
