Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 1:13
Now Hannah, she spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
13. Eli thought she had been drunken ] Silent prayer was not usual at the time. Eli’s ready suspicion makes it probable that such excesses were not uncommon at the sacrificial feasts. His hasty and uncharitable judgment points to some of the defects of his character.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1Sa 1:13
Now Hannah, she spake in her heart.
Hannah as a worshipper
The strength of Hannahs moral character is manifested in her temple service. She possessed a force of soul which lifted her above trouble. Many in her circumstances would have hid the tears of their graceful nature in attic solitude; but Hannah goes to the temple to supplicate the aid of Heaven, and where so likely to be obtained as at its Shiloh Porch?
1. Hannah was a tearful worshipper. Wept sore (1Sa 1:10). The worshippers of modern days scorn the idea of weeping in the sanctuary; they call it sentimentalism, an immoderate display of feeling, which should be concealed from public gaze.
2. Hannah was a soulful worshipper (1Sa 1:11). Trouble had intensified her feelings, and rendered her capable of more fervent volition. Her prayer was a vow which bound to duty and to God. Her soul was in its deepest action, stretching out its hand for blessing
3. Hannah was a silent worshipper. Spake in her heart (1Sa 1:13). Her prayer was so pungent that it savoured more of emotion than voice. Yes! inside the temple at Shiloh there was a smaller sanctuary, whose floor echoed not to the unhallowed footsteps of Elis wicked sons–that temple was Hannahs heart; Christ was its Ruler Priest.
4. Hannah was a constant, an observed, and a slandered worshipper (verse 12-14). We should be careful in censuring the devotions of others. People are too ready with enthusiast, or zealot.
5. Hannah was a successful worshipper (verse 17-18). Upon the next festival Hannah remained from the temple on account of domestic duties (1Sa 1:22). Women were not obligated to attend any of these feasts, and that Hannah went with her husband before shows their earnest piety. Never remain from the temple unless, like this good mother, duty demands you to. In this chapter we find home life and temple worship in very intimate association. The one greatly influences the other. When the homes of the world are one with the temple in the nature of its sacrifices, and the purity of its life, the great object of redemption will have been accomplished. At length Samuel is born, and Hannah performs her vow (1Sa 1:24) And all who come to the Christian temple must come through sacrifice, through the death of Christ. The mother felt that her all was due to God for the child. Wows made in sorrow must not be forgotten in song. What a motto for mothers, I have lent him to the Lord. God pays good interest for the loan of young children. Hannah made a good investment both for herself and her son–today she is known not as the wife of Elkanah but as the mother of Samuel. Why? Because she lent him to the Lord
Lessons:
1. Never deride personal affliction. It is from the Lord. (ver 5)
2. Families living at Rama should remember the temple at Shiloh.
3. Children taken to the temple in youth are likely to turn out prophets, as Samuel did.
4. The discord of home may be hushed by a visit to the temple. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Prayer in the heart
The sufferings of Elizabeth Fry as she drew near her end were sometimes very great, and once she said that if it was to last no one could wish for her life. In her worse pain, however, her faith and hope burned clearly. Prayer is always in my heart, if I may say so, it is my life, was among her sayings. (The Quiver.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
1Sa 1:13-17
Therefore Eli thought she was drunken.
Of the sinfulness of rash judgments
This was not the first time, nor will it be the last that Gods true servants have been mocked and falsely accused for actions which have been really pious and devout. They are a peculiar people–peculiar, that is, to the world, who cannot understand their ways If you resolve to be a Christian, indeed, you must be prepared to be misunderstood, and to have things said about you which are not true. Elis judgment of Hannah was a rash one. He should not have censured her for intemperance, without much better grounds to go upon. And the fault was all the worse in him, because he was high priest; and, as Gods minister, he ought, even supposing her to have gone astray to have shown some pity and gentleness in reproving her. If Eli had judged himself and his own house, seriously taking himself to task for his weak partiality to his sons, and giving them such a rebuff for their vileness as should have restrained them, he would not have been judged by God. The sin of rash judgment and censoriousness is a very serious one, however lightly we may be disposed to think of it. This is evident both from reason and from the Bible. As we have plenty of faults to find at home, it must be the height of presumption to go out of ourselves, and to pass judgment upon our neighbour.
Then, again, we have not the material for judging our neighbour fairly, His conduct, indeed, is under our eyes; but how can we know what have been his motives and intentions? Lastly, judgment, like vengeance, belongs to God, and to God only. Having committed himself to a false accusation, Eli did the best thing he could to repair it. (Dean Goulburn.)
On judging others
The ordinary cannot judge the extraordinary. A man when he has all his senses about him, and would therefore feel himself in his most judicious mood, cannot reach certain cases–they lie mile on mile beyond him. Only grief can understand grief; only poetry can understand poetry; only love can interpret love; and only a woman in Hannahs mood can understand the trembling of Hannahs lips. We should be careful how we judge one another. Priests do not always understand people. Official persons seldom do understand extra officials. Eli had been accustomed to look upon persons, and to see them behave themselves under certain limits; he had observed them displaying certain decorums when they came into the neighbourhood of the holy place. But here is something he never saw before; and the priest of the living God, ordained and consecrated–who ought to have had a word of charity for the lowliest creature beneath his feet–instantly, with that little remnant of devil that is in the best men, says, Thou art drunken! Oh, when will priests be charitable! When shall we put the better and not the worse construction on extraordinary signs and tokens! When shall we speak hopefully! Men would be better if we better deemed them. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Hannah
The following circumstances attending this prayer are recorded, and worthy of attention:–
1. It was accompanied with a vow, expressed in language the most suitable and pious, Are we desiring anything of God? We ought to think of Him, as well as of ourselves. It is thus we pray according to His will, and then we may know that He heareth us.
2. Observe the manner of her devotion. Now Hannah, she spake in her heart, etc. There are things which we may not be at liberty to communicate to the nearest relation, or to the dearest friend; but to God only. Hereby she testified her belief that God was omniscient. She knew that words were not necessary to inform a Being to whom all hearts are open It is better to want language than disposition when we address Him, Who seeketh such to worship Him as worship in spirit and in truth. It showed also that in dealing with God, she desired the notice of none besides Him. Jehu said, Come see my zeal for the Lord of hosts. The Pharisees prayed in the corners of the streets, and to be seen of men. But, says the Saviour, thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, etc.
3. Observe the misconception and censure to which it gave rise. This was the very reproach which Peter and his fellows met with on the day of Pentecost. The multitude mocking, said, These men are full of new wine. But this reproach came from enemies But here we find a good man, even the priest of the Most High God, issuing an equally rash censure Some err in judging by the effects of constitutional temperament They find a man of great vivacity, and loquaciousness, and ready to speak on all occasions, and to every one he meets, concerning his own experience and the things of God; and they set him down as a very lively Christian, and of great spirituality They see another shrinking from observation, and seemingly afraid to open his lips, lest he should utter more than he feels; and they consider him as a lifeless soul, and under the fear of man. But if they duly reflected, and judged properly, they would ascribe much to the mercury of the one and the phlegm of the other, which affect them in all other things as well as in religion. Many are too much biased in their judgment by real faults and failings. These need not be pleaded for; but through natural infirmity there may be much irregularity, where there is also not a little share of sincerity. Especially let us guard against vilifying or censuring the devotion of others, or the mode of their worship; lest we deem as hypocrisy, or fanaticism, or superstition, what is truly conscientious and accepted of God. It is probable that Eli had seen many abuses of this kind, some even in his own family, and he may have stationed himself by a part of the temple to observe, and endeavour to repress such scandals. The guilty often occasion suspicions and reproaches with regard to the innocent. When a disease is epidemical, many are feared who are not infected.
4. Observe the manner in which Hannah received the sad and insulting rebuke. She makes no rash appeal to Heaven, such as is often the effect and proof of hardened guilt. She utters no bitter complaint against her accuser. She does not bid him to look at home, and upbraid him with the conduct of his own sons. She does not tell him how ill and unbecoming it was for one, in his place and office, to abuse a poor disconsolate woman at the footstool of divine mercy. She knew that a proper representation of her condition and conduct in respectful language would be the best argument in her favour. Eli was an imperfect character, yet there were in him traces of real excellencies, and his ingenuousness is one of them. He is open to conviction, and willing to acknowledge himself mistaken, and ready to make amends for the injury he had done her, by his blessing and his prayers. A lively writer has said, I was mistaken are the three hardest words to pronounce in the English language. Yet it seems but acknowledging that we are wiser then we were before to see our error, and humbler than we were before to own it. But so it is; and Goldsmith observes that Frederic the Great did himself more honour by his letter to his senate, stating that he had just lost a great battle by his own fault, than by all the victories he had won.
5. Observe her relief and satisfaction. And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. Her satisfaction arose from two things. First, the rectifying Elis mistake concerning her, and the blessing he had pronounced upon her; for whet can be more consoling than to stand fair in the judgment of those we value? To live in the estimation of the wise and good, says Robinson, is like walking in an eastern spice grove. Secondly, the confidence in God, which is derived from prayer. (W. Jay.)
Mistaken judgment
Ah! how different is the eye of God and the eye of man! While Eli rebukes Hannah as a drunken woman, God is holding secret communion with her as a praying saint. I was once passing by the seaside, where there was a great variety of beautiful and valuable stones. I understood little or nothing about them, and was for picking up those which appeared the prettiest to me. I took them to a person who understood stones; he smiled, and told me they were only fit to mend the road with; and then he showed me some which he had been cutting asunder, and which were indeed beautiful: but when I took them in my hand and examined the outside, I could not but acknowledge that they were almost the last that I should have thought of picking up. These stones then preached a useful sermon to me, and their text seemed to be this, Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. (Joh 7:24.) (Helen Plumptre.)
Christian charity in estimating others
When Bernard chanced to espy a poor man meanly apparelled, he would say to himself, Truly, Bernard, this man hath more patience beneath his cross than thou hast; but if he saw a rich man delicately clothed, then he would say, It may be that this man, under his delicate clothing, hath a better soul than thou hast under thy religious habit! This showed an excellent charity! Oh, that we could learn it! It is easy to think evil of all men, for there is sure to he some fault about each one which the least discerning may readily discover; but it is far more worthy of a Christian, and shows much more nobility of soul, to spy out the good in each fellow believerse This needs a larger mind as well as a better heart, and hence it should be a point of honour to practise ourselves in it till we obtain an aptitude for it. Any simpleton might be set to sniff out offensive odours; but it would require a scientific man to bring to us all the fragrant essences and rare perfumes which lie hid in field and garden. Oh, to learn the science of Christian charity! It is an art far more to be esteemed than the most lucrative of human labours. This choice art of love is the true alchemy. Charity towards others, abundantly practised, would be the death of envy and the life of fellowship, the overthrow of self and the enthronement of grace. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. Spake in her heart; only her lips moved] She prayed; her whole heart was engaged: and though she spake not with an audible voice, yet her lips formed themselves according to the pronunciation of the words which her heart uttered.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Her voice was not heard; partly, to avoid the suspicion of vain-glory; partly, because she would not have others acquainted with her barrenness, which was matter of reproach; and partly, because she would not disturb others, who at this solemn feast were probably employed there in the same work.
Eli thought she had been drunken, because of the multitude of her words, and those uncouth gestures and motions of her face and body, which the vehemency of her passion and her fervency in prayer, caused in her, as it doth frequently in others; and because she was but newly come from a feast, wherein the manner was to eat and drink liberally, (though not to excess.) which he knew very well, both from the general custom of that season, and from the time of the day.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Now Hannah, she spake in her heart,…. It was mental prayer she used, some ejaculations of her mind she sent up to God, which she was sensible were well known to him, and she needed not to express vocally:
only her lips moved; as her heart spoke, and sent up her petitions, as if she had used words and phrases in form:
but her voice was not heard: that she might not seem to be ostentatious in her prayer, and that she might not interrupt others in their devotions; and she knew that her voice was not necessary with respect to God:
therefore Eli thought she had been drunken; by the motions she made, and gestures she used, as if she was muttering something to herself, and by her long continuance therein, and it being after a feast she had been at with her husband, and the rest of the family; from all which Eli concluded this must be her case.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(13) Now Hannah, she spake in her heart.Eli was watching the worshippers, and, as Bunsen well remarks, was struck with dismay at her silent earnestness, such heartfelt prayer being apparently not usual at that time, and remembering the condition of the moral life in the precincts of the sanctuary over which he ruled with so weak and vacillating a rule, and how sadly frequent were disorders at the sacrificial meal, at once suspected that the weeping, praying one was a drunken woman. He, however, quickly atoned for his unworthy suspicion.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“… only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard.” 1Sa 1:13 .
Yet it was possible to form some opinion of the agitation of Hannah’s mind. It was known that she was not in a jovial mood, but that her soul was cast down within her. The power of the soul to write itself on the face is indicative of its still larger power to write itself on all the circumstances and events through which it passes, and upon the society with which it comes in contact. Now and again we see vivid instances of mind triumphing over matter; never perhaps is this so signally seen as when grief enters into the heart, and writes its grim signature on the whole countenance. These indications of mental action may of course be misunderstood, as in the case of Hannah. Though Eli was a priest, he was not sufficiently penetrating to understand what Hannah was doing. He who ought to have been a prophet, a very seer of God, looking at the heart and reading all its woe, said in tones of harshness, “How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.” When sorrow is misunderstood it is doubled. When men understand our grief, and speak to us in its own tone, they go far towards removing the heartache which makes us groan. When priests misunderstand their age, either in its totality or its individuality, they make the most profound mistakes, and throw insult where they ought to offer benediction. We can conduct a silent ministry in life. We can be known as men of prayer without causing our voice to be heard in the streets: we can express our joy without blatancy; we can show how truly wise we are without trumpeting our own greatness. Sometimes all we can do is to move the lips; the voice will not come through the choked throat, or if it did come we should not know it, it would not be our voice, but another, tortured by the spirit of grief. Let us yield to our emotions up to a given point, but always seek to have some measure of control over them; otherwise we may by exaggeration or wantonness allow our character to be honestly misunderstood, and vilified with some show of reason.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
1Sa 1:13 Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
Ver. 13. She spake in her heart. ] Vocis egit silentio ut corde clamaret, as Augustine saith of Moses. Exo 14:4-5 Non vex sed votum.
Therefore Eli thought she had been drunken.
a Tertul., Apolog.
b Act. and Mon., 1653.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
spake: Gen 24:42-45, Neh 2:4, Psa 25:1, Rom 8:26
she had: Zec 9:15, Act 2:13, 1Co 13:7
Reciprocal: Gen 24:45 – speaking Psa 5:1 – consider my