19: The Year Before Samuel's Birth

Our story takes place in Shiloh in the year preceding Samuel's birth.

Shiloh was a small settlement with a small worship center, to which Elkanah, Samuel's father, and his two wives, Peninnah and Hannah, used to come every year to perform some religious ceremony.

The Bible describes the hostile relationship that existed between Peninnah and Hannah. Yet, at the center of the story is the statement that God had closed Hannah's womb, and therefore she suffered from prolonged years of barrenness.

In this episode, we focus on two important matters. One is an ancient belief that God controls fertility in the world, including the fertility of women – and Hannah believed this as well.

Like Hannah, Sarah and Rachel also believed that for an unknown reason, God did not allow them to become pregnant for many years, which caused them great sorrow.

But unlike Sarah and Rachel, Hannah made a vow to persuade God to open her womb and allow her to become pregnant – and this is the second matter we focus on.

A vow is a paid oath. It is the most expensive payment that the person making the vow commits to before God, and this is exactly what Hannah intended!

Hannah swore that if she had a child, the child she had been waiting and longing for many years, would grow up and live all his life in the small temple that stood in Shiloh, and not with her or in his parents' home. As we know, Hannah kept her commitment.

In this episode, we define what a vow is, and how a vow made by a woman differs from that of a man.

Additionally, we discuss the meaning of the name Samuel. In English, the name Samuel has no meaning, but in the original language, the name Samuel (Shmuel in Hebrew) has several interpretations that play an important role in the story.