what was significant about the birth and childhood of samuelwhat was significant about the birth and childhood of samuel

Samuel was very probably intruded into this narrative. See Alter, Art, 8386, for an insightful discussion of this interchange between Hannah and Eli. Rather than accepting her husbands invitation that she privilege her spousal role and enjoy its intended personal benefits (the worthy portion), Hannah chooses instead to focus on her maternal role: nurturing Samuel at home while he remains dependent on her for life and sustenance. 4. WebSaul, along with three of his sons die in a battle with the Philistines. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. 5. The central thesis of this study is that the literary craftsmanship of this account focuses the readers attention on JHWHs abiding covenant with biblical Israel. Following mention of Hophni and Phinehass high ritual status in the storys initial exposition (1:3), the narrator condemns them in his only detailed description of their character with the awful epithet: Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord. More specifically, the verb that describes the promiscuous encounters between Elis sons and the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation is not yada (knew), as in the virtuous union that produced Samuel, but shakab, translated lie with. So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. And he rose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. Following Samuels birth, Hannah nurtures him as only a mother can and thereafter entrusts him to JHWHs priest. Structuring Devices: Play of Perspectives. The dynamic interplay in the biblical text between narrow and broad perspectives (narrative and dialogue in Alters terms) comes into focus in the third segment of the Samuel story. After Samuel is born but before he is weaned, Elkanah invites Hannah to accompany him to Shiloh for the annual observance. In fact, it places her within a small but crucial cadre of womenmost notably Rebekah, Tamar, and Ruthwhose own unprecedented spiritual initiatives eventually and distinctively transform biblical Israel.24 Traditional readers of the Samuel story would have recognized the intended craftsmanship of the text for this exceptional interpretive purpose. Together, these structural and rhetorical conventions of exposition provide evidence of the independence of the prophetic history of the rise of kingship that begins with the story of Samuel.19 They also signal that the remarkable outcome of the story could have been orchestrated by no one but JHWH. From a structural perspective, the song is not only an appropriate expression of personal gratitude for Hannahs heavenly blessing but also a crucial narrative bridge between the initial fulfillment of her vow and the Lords repeated faithful response. 16. Furthermore, mood disorders are also commonly related to childhood trauma, affecting a child's functioning in many ways. There is no wickedness in this pitiable old man, but neither is there the strength to combat wickedness, and Yahweh has found himself a strong man to lead Israel aright.. Michael D. Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 13264. 12. While some linkages may be incidental, most scholars recognize that an authors intentional linkages create a phenomenon that Adele Berlin, following Paul Werth, calls poetic effect, which she defines as the result of an interaction between verbal form and meaning. Adele Berlin, The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992), 10. While more than one priest could easily officiate at the temple, the fact that the story initially identifies Elis sons as priests of the Lord creates dramatic tensions that become central to the unfolding of the Samuel story. Despite the similarity of their messages, the text structures the two encounters inversely. See McCarter, ISamuel, 72 n.5; see also Alter, Moses, 269 n.27; 307 n.5. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, gada is used in reference to felling trees, particularly groves devoted to the worship of pagan gods, or more generally to destroying anything of value as a consequence of wickedness and as a sign of Gods displeasure (for example, Deuteronomy 7:5; Judges 21:6; 2 Chronicles 14:3; 31:1; Psalms 75:10; 107:16; Isaiah 9:10; 14:12; 15:2; 22:25; 45:2; Jeremiah 48:25; 50:23; Ezekiel 6:6). The paradigm serves as a frame of reference that allows us to examine each component in the context of the expectations aroused by its parallels in the other stories. Willard R. Trask (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1953), 323; Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative (New York: Basic Books, 1981), 322; Meir Sternberg, The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985), 157; Jason P. Rosenblatt and Joseph C. Sitterson Jr., eds. Samuel, the son of Elkanah (of Ephraim) and Hannah, was born in answer to the prayer of his previously childless mother. Recurrent literary conventions that form the interpretive fabric of this account include parallelism,9 characterization,10 key words (Leitwrter),11 type scenes,12 patterns of customary behavior,13 and structuring devices like Sternbergs play of perspective.14 The dynamic and complementary interplay of these conventions throughout the text increases the drama, engagement, meaning, and pleasure of the reading experience. However, nearly every specific detail of introduction is marginal to the larger history of Israel in the Holy Land. By contrast, characters in the Hebrew Bible are crafted primarily to serve the texts central ideological purposes. Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. On the other hand, Elkanahs worthy portion offering to Hannah seems to be a principal source of the dramatic tension between Hannah and Peninnah, discussed above, and between Elkanah and Hannah that is expressed in Elkanahs first direct speech, discussed below. Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Samuel Adams Life Jan 1, 1736. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. In ancient Israel, children were considered a clear sign of Gods blessing (see Psalm 127:3 ). Leitwrter: know and lie with. And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. As a boy Samuel received a divine oracle in which the fall of the house of Eli was predicted (1 Samuel 13). This subtle literary convention repeatedly brings attentive readers back to the central focus of the larger narrative. Samuel Gompers (January 27, 1850 December 13, 1924) was a key American labor union leader who founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and served as its president for nearly four decades, from 1886 to 1894, and from 1895 until his death in 1924. And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. As portrayed in the text, Elkanah believes that Hannah should be more consoled by his worthy portion than had she born him ten sons.. been registered with such subtlety and insight. Alter, Moses, xii. This perspective does acknowledge, however, that biblical portraits are focused, even in their depth and complexity, and include few extraneous details. The reiterated and, then, plays an important role in creating the rhythm of the story, in phonetically punctuating the forward driving movement of the prose. To this end, the following phrases from the song comment on key personalities, events, and circumstances of the larger story of which it is a part.47, Mine horn is exalted in the Lord (2:1). Structuring Devices: Play of Perspectives. Prior sections of the Samuel story are devoted to contents that are primarily narrative or primarily dialogue. and why is thy heart grieved? Her initial vow is made when motherhood is a worthy but still unrealized aspiration. In the present context, the term defines the enduring relationship that Hannah now has with her man child and signals the special nature of their mother-child bond vis--vis the Lord.42. There must have been some reason why Samuel was important enough to be remembered for a major role in the establishment of the monarchy. Indeed, its authors4 meaningful intentions may be revealed more in the accounts rhetorical and poetic than in its documentary qualities. The few defining details of characterbehavior, actions, qualities, dialogue, and physical appearance that flesh out proleptic portraits,74 whether individually or in pairsreveal individuals varied relationships with one another and with God, as mediated by their sacred covenants. In biblical Hebrew, shael has a double meaning: to request and to lend. These details may explain why the man of God specifically refers to Pharaohs house in his condemnation of the house of Eli (2:27). Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. Berlin, Parallelism, 2; see also the extensive and insightful treatment of the use of repetition in Sternberg, Poetics, 365440), which range in scope from the lexical (correspondences between individual words and phrases) to the structural (correspondences between major segments of the text). 72. On the occasion of their final interaction, Eli blesses Samuels parentsthe Lord give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lordusing the same verbs, nathan (give) and shael (lend), which define Hannahs initial offering of Samuel to the Lord. Crafting this key story in an artful way enriches the reading experience and rewards attentive readers with nuances and levels of insight. The biblical preference for direct discourse is so pronounced that thought is almost invariably rendered as actual speech. Alter, Art, 67. While Samuel ministered to the Lord (1 Samuel 2:18). The patriarchal focus of the introduction is really a Hebrew convention that gives the larger account of Samuel a measure of cultural legitimacy.18. And the priests custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priests servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand; And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. Please select which sections you would like to print: Professor of Theology, DePaul University, Chicago, 197078. Structuring Devices: Conjunctions. Thus, Samuels dual descent may have qualified him, in terms of his lineage, to serve as priest as well as prophet and judge during his ministry. 68. 993 BC. (1:919), Structuring Devices: Play of Perspectives. The next eleven verses define the storys dramatic focus: Hannah pleads in desperation for a son, and the Lord blesses her accordingly. 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