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.
No comments:
Post a Comment