2 Samuel 1-10: Poetry, Christian Interpretation, and Quantum Physics

Last week's entry concluded with the deaths of Saul and his son Jonathan, and David killing the man who claimed to mercifully murder Saul.

Today I will focus on David's early campaign as king. I will go about it a little differently than normal. Let me know if you like it! Or hate it!

David's Lamentation: 2 Samuel 1.19-27
David's mourning over Jonathan takes the form of poetry, in fact a complete poem with a great deal of repetition. The repetition helps to clarify David's psychology. Let's take a look:

Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places!

How the mighty have fallen! 


Tell it not in Gath,

proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon;

or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,

the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult.


You mountains of Gilboa,

let there be no dew or rain upon you,

nor bounteous fields!


For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,

the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more.


From the blood of the slain,

from the fat of the mighty,

the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,

nor the sword of Saul return empty.


Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!

In life and in death they were not divided;

they were swifter than eagles,

they were stronger than lions.


O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,

who clothed you with crimson, in luxury,

who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

How the mighty have fallen

in the midst of the battle!


Jonathan lies slain upon your high places. 

I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;

greatly beloved were you to me;

your love to me was wonderful,

passing the love of women.


How the mighty have fallen,

and the weapons of war perished!

The formula "How the mighty have fallen!" serves to structure the poem, appearing at the beginning and end as well as in the middle. However, the poem truly pivots on the verses that mention both Saul and Jonathan: "The bow of Jonathan did not turn back, / nor the sword of Saul return empty. / Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!" The poem begins with general lamentations for the glory of Israel, before focusing on the death of Saul. But David's mind isn't truly on Saul, for soon after the reference he includes Jonathan, before displaying his greater appreciation of Jonathan.

Over the course of the poem the formula: "X lies slain upon your high places" is repeated twice, opening first with Your Glory, O Israel and then with Jonathan, so that Jonathan is equated with the Glory of Israel, as opposed to his father, Saul. Of course, it is David and later his son Solomon that are the true glory of Israel, but David's sentiment exemplifies the great love he shared with Jonathan. Even with his emphatic defense of Saul, David appears to value Jonathan more. David is "distressed for you, my brother Jonathan," a sentiment that involves himself personally with Saul's son. On the other hand, David has the "daughters of Israel" "weep over Saul." As much as he supported King Saul, it was with Jonathan that David shared the truest friendship: "greatly beloved were you to me; / your love to me was wonderful, / passing the love of women." [For more on this type of friendship, read "Of Friendship" by Montaigne.]

Christian Interpretation of 2 Samuel 7
Christian interpretation of the bible is something I have steered away from thus far, but I just finished reading Hal Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth and feel the need to speak out if only a little on this phenomenon.

David has built a house for himself and expresses a desire to build one for the Lord as well. The Lord's response, given to the prophet Nathan in a dream, explores the literal and figurative meanings of house and place. His speech is excerpted below:

Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?...I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 

And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. 

Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 

I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

The Lord's speech represents a new iteration of the covenant of land and progeny, the patriarchal covenant that stretches back to Abraham. The old iteration of that covenant has been fulfilled: the land promised - Canaan - is now inhabited by the progeny - the Israelites. God's newly designated land will be Jerusalem, where the ark of the covenant will be kept. the promise of progeny is still "a great name," but that comes through one person: David's son Solomon. The old covenant being fulfilled, a new one is established. The spirit of both is the same, while the terms change. Of course, the Israelites are also still bound to the covenant of faithfulness to God established under Joshua.

God's emphasis on location is fitting in a conversation that centers around a house. David builds for himself a house without building a resting place for God. Yet God insists that he does not have to settle down just yet; David's progeny will take care of the house and its location. Not only will David not need to build a temple/house (literal) for God; God will in fact build a (metaphorical) house for David! What wordplay! [Does anyone speak Hebrew? Are the roots similar? Do both connote house?] The house the Lord will "build" for David is part of the promise of progeny. A great kingdom will be established through David's offspring. The new king will be a great man, his relationship with God like that between father and son. But God will not punish this man on his own. Instead, humans will inflict blows on him for his iniquity. Nevertheless, David's kingdom will be eternal.

That sounds like Solomon, right? David's progeny, iniquity, establishing God's house...The only place where the whole thing breaks down is at the very end, the establishment of the throne forever. The United Monarchy only lasted 5 generations.

Were you able to read that passage without thinking of Jesus? I wasn't. [Those two preceding sentences mimic the style of Hal Lindsey's book. You should check it out if you're still interested. Fair warning, though, it's a bit outdated.] Read enough prophecy and you will see Jesus everywhere. Who established an eternal kingdom on earth? Jesus! Who is an ancestor of David? Jesus! Who endured the blows of human beings? Jesus!

Despite these rather *ahem* remarkable findings, it is highly improbably that this section refers to Jesus. On its own, this is merely the story of God's promise to David of Solomon and a temple in Jerusalem. The problem is that the people who believe that the passage does point to Jesus are drawing from a number of different sources. Two interpretation issues come into play: Biblical inerrancy and metaphor.

God creates metaphor in this section by making the tangible idea of David's house intangible in the sense of the "house of David" - his line of successors. To a degree this gives the reader a license to interpret other things as metaphorical as well, such as the kingdom, which is taken by some Christian readers to mean the so-called "kingdom of heaven" that Jesus ushers in. The biblical inerrantist also has license to assume that the time of David's kingdom has not come yet because, well, the throne clearly was not established forever. By this reading the throne must be established in the future.

The biblical inerrantist has some problems to deal with as well, such as Saul's actions fulfilling most of God's promise. Also, God specifically states that David's son will be punished for his "iniquity" with "blows inflicted by human beings." Certainly Jesus was brutalized, but it definitely was not on account of any iniquity!

Occam's Razor, the idea that the simplest explanation for a quandary is the most likely choice, would seem to apply here. Why jump through hoops to prove Jesus when Solomon is a simpler explanation? Why forecast so far into the future when Solomon is a few years away?

If I haven't confused you enough, let me make one last attempt.

Context is key here. Suppose I was traveling along X road at Y speed in a car with mass Z. According to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, I would only be able to know either my momentum or my location at any given moment. In fact, this is not true. My momentum is given by the equation ZY and my location by X. So what happened?

It seems I have misapplied the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, which is applicable only at the quantum level. Context changes everything. If I am looking for a way to support my argument for Jesus, that is what I see. It might not be correct, and the way I apply laws may not yield a proper solution, but I can do it.

And because we are talking about something that no one can definitively prove either way [even if the author were alive, some would say the text could not be proven either way!] I am liable to believe whatever I like.

What do I believe? That a literary reading of the bible should acknowledge religious influences both inside and outside of the text. And so you have today's entry.

1 Samuel 16-2 Samuel 1: From Saul to David

1 Samuel 16: David's Story in Contrast to Saul's
After Saul's kingship is revoked due to his disobedience of Samuel and general incompetence as a follower of the Lord, the search begins for a new king, one that will not make the Lord and Samuel so "sorry" about the whole affair of kingship. The man chosen is David, a young man that contrasts Saul in many ways. These contrasts are highlighted in our introduction to the boy, which parallels the proclaiming of Saul as king.

1 Samuel 9 informs us that Saul is "a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else." The phrase "head and shoulders" is not a figure of speech; Saul is literally a tall man. Samuel's discovery of Saul is a highly public affair. All the tribes are brought together and are narrowed down by tribe, then family, then individual men. But when Saul is chosen by lot, he cannot be found. Samuel has to ask the Lord as to Saul's location; the future king is discovered among the baggage. Saul is off in his own world, a trait that will typify him throughout his reign.

When David is anointed king, he is chosen specifically from among the sons of Jesse, a Bethlehemite. This makes the anointing a private affair, lessening the publicity that might occur from the choice of a second king in so short a time.

Saul's choosing is contrasted (and undermined) in other ways as well. It is not the oldest son, Eliab, that will be anointed. Indeed, the Lord explains, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature. Eliab is like Saul: tall and handsome. The Lord warns against judging by appearances, advice that surely extends to Israel as a whole. Israel may not be the biggest nation, and is bereft of iron weapons.* Israel is an underdog group. Likewise, David is the youngest of Jesse's sons. In biblical times this was an unfavorable position, but frequently in the biblical narrative it is the youngest son that is favored.

Like Saul, David must be called for. However, he is called under less public circumstances, and his calling serves to defy the normative expectation that the youngest would not be chosen as king. David is young and ruddy and handsome, with beautiful eyes. Yet he is small, an underdog, the youngest son of a Bethlehemite. This mismatched sense will follow David throughout his narrative, perhaps most strikingly displayed in the tale of David and Goliath.

*[The bible informs us that the Philistines control the metalworking process]

Evidence of the Documentary Hypothesis in the Davidic Narrative
A strong piece of evidence supporting the multiple authorship of the bible comes in the Davidic narrative. 1 Samuel 16 has him anointed by Samuel, after which time he goes to play the lyre for Saul in order to relieve him of his evil spirits. However, for the rest of the narrative, David does not seem to have ever been anointed, indicating the tale of David may actually be comprised of two or more traditions. Twice he abstains from killing Saul because Saul is "the Lord's anointed." David's anointing would seemingly override this, so perhaps David in that version of the story was not anointed at that time. If the multiple authorship hypothesis is correct, one of these traditions would have David anointed upon his introduction, while the other would have him anointed after the death of Saul. Indeed, there are three anointing scenes, one before and two after Samuel's death. Perhaps the biblical author wanted David to be anointed by Samuel, and so that tradition was added to the other anointing that occurs in 2 Samuel 2 and 2 Samuel 5

1 Samuel 17: David and Goliath
The story of David and Goliath is a classic in the biblical canon - as well as in art:


[Thanks David Gaya at Wikipedia!]

The setting: The Israelites and the Philistines are battling. A huge Philistine warrior by the name of Goliath offers a challenge of hand-to-hand combat, him agaisnt an Israelite. The winner's people will rule over the loser's. It is a simple wager, but no Israelite takes it - until the young David shows up. David is no soldier; he is simply delivering food to his three brothers who are in combat. However, David takes up the challenge, perhaps tempted by the promise of Saul's daughter and tax-free living in Israel. The young shepherd eschews Saul's armor and sword for a simple sling and five stones. The rest, as they say, is historicized fiction.

The tale of David and Goliath reinforces the underdog mentality of David and the Israelites as a whole. David is physically smaller and younger than Goliath, but that means he is light and agile. He is confident in his boast to Goliath:

"You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled. This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head;"

David then turns Goliath's promise back on him:

"and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand."

David invokes the Lord as divine warrior as champion of the Israelites. The Israelites only figure nominally into the battle, for "the battle is the Lord's." It was the Lord, David told Saul earlier, that saved him from lions and bears and allowed him to defeat them bare-handed. Battles are not won through sword and spear, but by what seem like fantastic actions resulting from trust in the Lord. David defeats Goliath with a mere stone. His boast that "the Lord does not save by sword and spear" has a peculiar resonance here, as 1 Samuel 13.19 informs the reader, "Now there was no smith to be found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, 'The Hebrews must not make swords or spears for themselves.'" [It would therefore seem anachronistic that the Israelites "put X to the sword." But this is a matter for another time.] Only Saul and Jonathan have swords, and even these are not necessary to defeat the Philistines. Instead, Goliath is killed rather poetically by his own sword. Everything David promised is fulfilled, and the Philistines are defeated because of the Lord's actions.

Family Matters
There is an ever-so-brief period in which Saul is not jealous of David. It spans a whole five verses: 1 Samuel 18.1-5. In addition to Saul's adoration of his military prowess, Saul's son Jonathan develops an intense love for David, offering him many gifts to demonstrate his adoration. Jonathan's admiration of David saves the future king a number of times, while it simultaneously puts a wedge between Jonathan and his father.

Saul's jealousy stems from a legitimate source, though this source differs depending on what account we follow. If all the stories of David assume at this point that Saul's kingship has been revoked by Samuel, then Saul's fear might be that the new anointed has come. However, the Documentary Hypothesis allows the assumption that Saul's kingship was not revoked at all, and that the king is fending off a young upstart. It is a subtle difference, but knowing the reason could help us to better understand Saul's psychology.

Saul's jealousy is set off by a song that is sung as he and David return victorious from battle. The refrain haunts Saul, and he hears it repeated three times before his death:

"Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his ten thousands."
(1 Sam. 18.7, 21.11, 29.5)

With this jealousy as a basis, the rest of the narrative sees Saul hunting down David, and even when Saul concedes David's greatness and promises to stop hunting him, he resumes the hunt within a chapter. In classic laconic style we are never told the reason Saul's pursuit resumes. This fact is taken for granted, but again, understanding the reason would give us a greater insight into Saul's psychology. Multiple authorship makes it seem as though Saul reneges on his promise a number of times. And while this may have always been the intention of the story, there is a small chance that perhaps it was not.

In any case, David does not kill Saul when he gets the chance, an inaction that contrasts well with Saul's active pursuit of David. David refuses to kill the Lord's anointed - which would seem to indicate he has not yet been anointed himself.

Meanwhile, David is off making a name for himself, while Saul and his son Jonathan battle the enemies of Israel. Finally, the Philistines overcome the Israelites, and Saul, his armor bearer, and Jonathan all die. An injured Saul in fact kills himself rather than being killed by the Philistines - his armor bearer is refuses to kill him, and ultimately slays himself the same way.

David learns of Saul's death from an Amalekite that stumbles into his camp. carrying Saul's crown and armlet The news evokes genuine sorrow in David, and he demands to know the conditions. The Amalekite claims that Saul asked him to deliver his death blow because he is mortally wounded. Probably the Amalekite is lying, and probably stripped Saul of his jewelry before realizing it might be more valuable for him to give it to David. The tale prior to this one supports this idea. It does not even matter to David whether the man is lying or not - though he takes him at face value. In David's mind, the man has killed the Lord's anointed, and the punishment for that is death.

In the wake of this bloodbath David comes to power.

1 Samuel 10-15: Saul's ineptitude

Despite details foreshadowing Saul's inevitable failure, his reign as king seems to start out well - he is even victorious in battle against the Ammonites. But as Samuel pulls away from his function as leader, Saul's ineptness as king becomes more and more apparent, until it becomes so atrocious that his kingship is revoked. The message seems to be that kingship is a lousy form of governance. Once Samuel - God's chosen man - fades away from leadership, things go south. The kings of Israel remove Israel from its natural leader, God. This throws things quite out of whack.

Saul's Success
Saul enjoys a small measure of success before he fails. He is able to defeat his the Ammonites, whose King Nahash has been gouging out the right eye of all the Israelites across the Jordan. In fact, the "spirit of God" comes upon Saul, just as it came upon Samson in times of need. This spirit even gives Saul the strength to chop up a yoke of oxen and send the pieces throughout the territory to call people to battle. Interestingly, this is the same method by which the Levite calls the Israelites to battle in retaliation for his murdered concubine. In that story a Levite calls Israel to battles the Benjaminites; in this one a Benjaminite calls the Israelites to face an outside threat.

After Saul proves himself a competent ruler by defeating the Ammonites, the people call for Saul's detractors to be murdered, and Saul proves his benevolence by pardoning those who spoke ill of him.

Saul's Failure
It is after these displays of goodness that things begin to go south for Saul. Samuel backs out of leadership of Israel, in effect pulling out the rug from under Saul. He invokes the dialectical tensions between God and Israel, warning that the Israelites will be punished if they do not obey the Lord: "If you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, you and your king" (1 Sam. 12.25). This is a warning against wickedness in the future only; their wickedness in demanding a king is explicitly forgiven.

In 1 Samuel 10, Samuel advises Saul to wait for him seven days at Gilgal so that he may come to make a sacrifice. Saul, waits seven days, and when Samuel does not show up he makes a sacrifice to gain the favor of the Lord in battle against the Philistines. This story parallel's Samuel's similar sacrifice, and in so doing shows how Saul fails where Samuel succeeds. Samuel arrives after the sacrifice has been completed. He is furious with Saul, who explains that Samuel was late and the army needed the favor of the Lord for protection. Apparently Samuel still outranks Saul, as the former judge informs the king that his kingdom will not be established, but will rather be established by another Israelite.

In the tale that follows, Saul's son Jonathan is set up as a foil to his father's inability. Jonathan and his armor-bearer kill 20 men and cause a panic among the Philistines. Though he does not know the cause of the panic (and it is his own son!) Saul takes advantage of it and routs the Philistines.

In a victory that is not really even his doing, Saul makes another mistake by swearing an oath that any soldier that eats food shall die. Of course Jonathan, who has been off turning the tide of battle in the Israelites' favor, does not get the message and eats some honey. When he discovers that his son has violated the oath, Saul is ready to kill his own son. Jonathan is saved by the people, who ransom the brave warrior.

Then we hear of all the good Saul does in war: fighting Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, Zobah, and the Philistines. "He did valiantly, and struck down the Amalekites, and rescued Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them" (1 Sam. 14.48). But in this last action comes Saul's downfall.

God commands Saul (through Samuel) to spare not man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, or donkey of the Amalekites. So of course Saul and the people spare Agag (the King) and the best sheep and cattle, and lambs and valuables.

It is at this point that the Lord confides in Samuel his regret of making Saul king. Saul has been an awful king - not carrying out God's commands explicitly as he was charged. And where is he? Building a monument to himself at Carmel. When Samuel confronts Saul the king explains that he spared Agag's life and that the people took the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to God. Even if this were true, it willfully ignores the fact that God commanded for every living thing to be destroyed. Saul has failed as a leader. For his sin against the Lord, Saul's kingship is revoked.

In the third instance of this bloody ceremony, an angry and violent Saul does the Lord's work to Agag, hewing him into pieces before the Lord. Israel is now without a leader.

1 Samuel 7-10

Under the head priest Eli and his wicked sons, Israel has trouble against the Philistines. In last week's reading the Philistines even captured the Ark! Fortunately, the Lord plagues the Philistines and the Ark is returned. However, the Israelites still are wont to behave badly. They will live righteously for a short time under Samuel, but afterwards will reject God and demand a king for themselves. The first king of Israel, Saul, seems to serve as a rejection of Israel's choice. He is inept, incompetent. Later we will see that David is not perfect either. However, Israel in a very real sense seems to be punished by the Lord under Saul.

Samuel as Judge
Though the description of his life as judge is brief, Samuel is nevertheless a highly effective leader, and clearly one with divine support. Samuel is able to focus the Israelites' worship on God alone, which actually lasts through the tenure of his judgment. Samuel is also an excellent (nonviolent) commander in war. When the Philistines, who have caused Israel so much trouble, attempt an invasion, Samuel holds them off by offering burnt offering, at which time the Lord throws the Philistines into confusion and the Israelites pursue them. Under Samuel, Israel regains all the territory it lost - and Samuel judges on a circuit, travelling from town to town to administer justice.

Unfortunately, Samuel's sons are as bad as Eli's sons, which is perhaps the biblical author's attempt to tell us something about rebellious children as a way to preemptively reject a dynastic monarchy. in any case, it fits into the apostasy cycle, which seems to last roughly two generations. In the cycle one generation is faithful to the Lord, the next unfaithful, the one after that faithful, and so forth. The biblical author seems to be reacting to his source materials: If the sons of the high priest and judge of Israel cannot live up to their father's name, what will happen when the king - supreme overlord of Israel - has a son?

The elders of Israel use Samuel's rebellious sons as the prime example for why they need a king (and this is exactly what the biblical author is railing against - the Ignorance of Israel). Samuel (the mouthpiece of good sense) is not pleased. A king, he knows, will ultimately be very bad for Israel. But the people respond as a whole:

"No! but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like the other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles."
(1 Sam. 8.19-20)

In effect this is a rejection of holiness - the separateness that differentiates the Israelites from the surrounding peoples. The Israelites are holy because they have no human king - because God is their "king." It is God as YHWH Sabaoththat leads them and fights for them in war and governs them through intermediaries on earth.

Even with Samuel's warning in 1 Samuel 8.11-18, the Israelites still desire a king. God knew this, of course, but Samuel is livid.

The man chosen to lead Israel as ing is a tall young wealthy Benjaminite named Saul. He is a man of Gibeah (AKA Benjamin), which seems to be a rather odd choice for a king. Gibeah was singled out in Judges 19-20 as a heinous town whose sins are not unlike those of Sodom. God's choice in the first king of Israel, however, is very suitable. Saul, who is tall, rich, and handsome, and from a militaristic tribe, only displays signs of outward greatness. (Plus he is a member of the tribe of Benjamin, the youngest son of Israel. [The youngest is generally the favorite in the biblical narrative]). What we don't see at first is that he is just as depraved and incompetent as anyone else. Saul will stand in stark contrast to the shorter lyre-playing Judahite David, who will become the second King of Israel.

God engineers a very complex method for establishing Saul's kingship, which will also stand in stark contrast to the ease of David's appointment. David will have to fight for the throne, but God's favor will be bestowed on his quickly and simply.

In the narrative of Saul's rise to power, what would normally be the extraordinary event of the choosing of a king is cloaked in a folkloric tale about lost donkeys and a seer (Samuel). Saul is drawn away from the donkeys and finds the seer, who proclaims him king and anoints him, before giving him specific instructions involving meeting different groups of people, gathering items, and going into a prophetic frenzy. Saul is also to wait seven days for Samuel once he gets to Gilgal. Samuel then comes to choose by lot a king from the tribe of Benjamin. In the earliest display of Saul's incompetence, he is nowhere to be found at the ceremony of his choosing - until we discover - oh, wait - he's actually over there in the baggage. It's a rather embarassing start to his tenure as king.

1 Samuel 1-7: Feminine Mystique, Samuel, the Ark

1 Samuel 1: The Bible's Feminine Mystique

The biblical author favors the underdogs - widows, orphans, the barren. The last of these in particular is very important in the history of Israel as it is the barren women that are made fertile by the Lord and in turn give birth to the great men of Israel (such as Rachel and Sarah)

1 Samuel 1, like the Book of Ruth, can be read as a genealogical tale, recounting the life of a great woman and in essence demonstrating why the woman is a suitable mother for the male patriarch. This reading may seem a bit harsh in its characterization of the male/female dynamic of the bible, but really what is important to the biblical author is the male character of any given story. Woman are characterized as mothers and daughters not only in language, but in their actions. They give birth or are married off. In addition, women are only mentioned in reference to a man of particular prestige. This is evident even in 1 Samuel 1, in which the only important male character is Samuel, the child. The story of a female both in 1 Samuel 1 and in the Book of Ruth is bookended by males, so that both women's presence must be understood in the context of the males they are tied to.

As in the Book of Ruth, the Narrator first introduces the male figure, an Ephraimite named Elkanah. And, as in the Book of Ruth, the man quickly melts away, having served his purpose of introducing the feminine element. [Like the Book of Ruth as well, this chapter ends with the birth of a son, namely Samuel.] The females of this story are the wives of Elkanah: the fertile and jealous Peninnah, and the barren Hannah, who nevertheless is loved and receives a double portion of all from Elkaah.

The two woman are with Elkanah at Shiloh for their annual sacrifice. Like usual, Hannah is needled by Peninnah and is distressed despite her husband's attempts at comforting her. Hannah weeps bitterly as she prays before the Lord, mouthing the words of her prayer, promising if the Lord grants her a child that it shall be consecrated a nazirite.

Eli the head priest ironically assumes that the women muttering under her breath [offering a nazirite] is drunk. She answers in turn, completing the wine/drunkeness metaphor with imagery of her own: "No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time" (1 Sam. 1.15-16).

Eli tells her to go, and asks that the God of Israel grant her petition. She returns to her husband merry enough to eat and drink. Soon the Lord "remembers her" and she conceives and bears Samuel (meaning "he who is from God"). The child is consecrated a nazirite once he is weaned. There the story ends, with our focus on the closing male bookend Samuel.

A Poetic Interlude
It was established in 1 Samuel 1 that Hannah is an eloquent speaker. The poem that opens 1 Samuel 2 establishes Hannah as a poet as well.
A brief analysis of the poem:
Verses 1-3 praise God and establish his greatness.
Verses 4-5 deal with the power of the Lord to deal in antithesis: "The bows of the mighty are broken/but the feeble gird on strength." The full become starved, the starving are satiated. The barren bear and the fertile become forlorn.
Verses 6-8 deal with the divine power to create and destroy.
The poem concludes with a testament that God's omnipotence is used for good to "cut off" the wicked and shatter his adversaries, All three sections have applications for Hannah and her relationship with the Lord. A barren woman, she bears a son. She has been raised up and made great by the hand of the Lord. In fact, as a result of her carrying a nazirite and continuing to show affection, she is blessed even further with three sons and two daughters.

Prophecy
The era we are entering is the era of the prophets, which Samuel helps to usher in both directly and indirectly. When Eli receives word from God that his two disrespectful sons have provoked the anger of the Lord, it is Samuel that confirms the vision in the famous scene of his calling.

Samuel represents a convenient figure for the Lord to take advantage of, and one that the Lord has rarely taken advantage of in the history of Israel. Unlike Moses or Abraham, Samuel comes pre-devoted to the Lord. There is no need to convince him and he is less likely to doubt the Lord, as Moses did. The Lord must still "choose" him to a degree, but the faith - the literal "dedication" is already established there in the nazirite.

Ark Narrative
The narrative of the ark is a folkloric tale that simultaneously reveals the power of the Lord through the device of the ark and fulfills the prophecy of the slaughter of Eli's family.

Having already lost 4,000 men against the Philistines, the Israelites revert to an older form of warfare, in which the ark of the Lord accompanies the Israelites into battle. Apparently this doesn't work anymore; the Israelites are defeated in spite of the ark's presence and the Philistines capture the ark. Israel suffers the loss of 30,000 foot soldiers, including Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas. The defeat sets off a chain reaction of deaths. When Eli hears of the capture of the ark (not the death of his sons) he falls and breaks his neck. When Phinehas' wife hears of the capture of the ark and deaths of her father-in-law and husband, she gives birth painfully and begins to fade. Before she passes she names her newborn son Ichabod, meaning "Alas for the Glory!" Even as she faces the loss of her husband and father-in-law, the most distressing aspect of the whole affair is the loss of the ark. The ark trumps all human life. The explanation she gives for Ichabood's name is "The glory has departed from Israel, for the Ark of God has been captured."

But it doesn't seem that the Philistines are able to live with the ark; exposure results in a plague of tumors. And their idol Dagon seem to worship at the ark. So they return it along with a guilt offering of gold-cast tumors and mice in a cart drawn by two cows. It is a self-containted sacrifice-mobile. And so the ark returns to Israel. Some of the Israelites do not respect it and are destroyed - which bit harsher than tumors - but that is part of the bargain of being God's chosen people.