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1 Samuel, Language, Teaching

1 Samuel 1:4-20 – A double portion of love offering

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On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord, and wept bitterly. She made this vow: “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.”

As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” But Hannah answered, “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.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.

They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.”

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This is an optional Old Testament selection from the Episcopal Lectionary for the Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Year B 2018. In the numbering system that lists each Sunday in an ordinal fashion, this Sunday is referred to as Proper 28. If chosen, it will next be read aloud in an Episcopal church by a reader on Sunday November 18, 2018. It is important because the story of Samuel’s birth to a barren mother, as the answer to prayers to God, shows that Salvation is possible to all who swear devotion to God.

When we read, “On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah he gave a double portion,” the “portions” given are animals sacrificed. The sacrifices were made yearly in Shiloh, where a Levite priest would perform the ritual of sin offerings. This implies that all had sinned, but because Hannah was barren, her sins were worth double portions being sacrificed. Elkanah was willing to offer those extra animals “because he loved [Hannah].”

When we read, “she used to provoke her,” this was Peninnah pointing out to Hannah that her sins, which caused her barrenness, were why their husband Elkanah had to sacrifice more than customary. Peninnah had given birth to multiple “sons and daughters,” which she would point out to Hannah as proof that she was viewed by God as the better wife. These bitter words “provoked [Hannah] severely.” Thus, as time went on, Elkanah came to find Hannah weeping, not eating, and with a heart full of sorrow.

When we read, “After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh,” several deductions can be made here, with some important information missing from verses one through three being omitted from this reading.

One is the family traveled to Shiloh yearly. The Passover was not commanded to be observed at any specific location, but the eating and drinking could be an indication of that timing of travel. Even though 2 Kings 23:22 states, “Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed,” that truth leaves open the possibility of Levites honoring it yearly, while reminding the local Israelites to do so, family-by-family. It was not a pilgrimage event to a Temple of brick and mortar, but a private observance in each home. Still, Levite priests might have originated that concept informally.

Second, verse nineteen says “to their house at Ramah,” but verse one states this clearly as being Ramathaim Zophim. This is a distance of roughly twelve miles west of Shiloh, or about a day’s journey [with lambs]. Both places were in the area set aside for the tribe of Ephraim.

Third, it can seem as if Elkanah did the sacrificing. He was a prominent Levite of Ephraim, thus a priest who was capable of offering sacrifices; but verse three says that the sons of Eli – Hophni and Phinehas – made the offerings to God that Elkanah brought. Eli and his sons were priests of the tabernacle in Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, and all were Aaronites [Levites directly descended from Aaron]. Eli was both the judge of Israel [following Samson] and the high priest of the tabernacle.

Eli’s sons would later be exposed as bad priests, who kept the best portions for themselves, meaning what Elkanah’s family ate and drank quite possibly was part of the of their sacrificed lambs. This would have been eaten with wine, which might not have been the ceremonial Seder cups later established, but the act of getting drunk on wine into the evening could be what led Eli to think Hannah was drunk.

Seeing the depth of reality that this reading places one amidst, we then read that after eating and drinking, “Hannah rose and presented herself before the Lord.” She went to the tabernacle to pray to the Lord, because “she was deeply distressed.” Eli was sitting outside the entrance to the tabernacle, in a seat next to a support pole for the tent of meeting. In the dark, Hannah must not have seen Eli, but Eli saw her come up, as she would have been lit into visibility by the fire still glowing from the altar of burnt offerings.

We are told the prayer of Hannah, which was silently communicated as she “wept bitterly.” In the vow Hannah made to God, she asked God to “remember me, and not forget your servant.” In the Epistle reading from Hebrews 10, Paul quoted Jeremiah 31:34, such that Yahweh said the time would come when “I will remember their sins no more.” That echoes back to the times of Hannah and Eli, when God remembered the sins of His people, expecting them to remember the connection a judge had with the Lord.  The high priest made sin offerings to God, in remembrance of past sins.  This method of atonement pleased God, so His judges were anointed to lead the people.

Seeing this expectation each Israelite shared, Hannah knew she had lived a life of devotion – to her husband, to her family [which included her husband’s other wife and children], and to her God. She should then be seen in the light of Job, who also was without sin and punished unjustly. Just as Job cried as he tried to get God to rescue him from a punishment he did not deserve, Hannah cried [silently], “O Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death.”

A “nazarite” is defined as, “An Israelite consecrated to the service of God, under vows to abstain from alcohol, let the hair grow, and avoid defilement by contact with corpses (Num. 6).” This was Hannah then saying her greatest sorrow was not from the hurtful things people thought, which her sister wife Peninnah said openly, but that she had failed God as a Levite wife. It was the duty of a Levite’s wife to give birth to a firstborn son, who would be dedicated to a lifetime of service in the temple – a nazarite. Because Peninnah was not Elkanah’s first wife, her firstborn son was probably exempt from that rule. Therefore, Hannah could not reward the love Elkanah showered upon his first wife by honoring his love with the redemption of the firstborn son [Pidyon haben], as commanded by God [Exodus 13:2].

Seeing Hannah’s lips moving as she wept bitterly, Eli’s first thought was she had drunk too much wine. When Eli said to Hannah, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine,” he was quite possibly making reference to ritual red wine being consumed as symbolic of sacrificial blood. Remembering God passing over the Israelites because the blood of firstborn male lambs was painted one the thresholds of their homes, would then have been done with wine. Consumed, it would mark them within as those who served the Lord as His priests. That event of memory would then explain why she cried to God, “remember me, and not forget your servant.”

We then read Hannah’s response to Eli presuming her to be drunk on wine, saying: “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.” She did not pour out red wine that would artificially intoxicate her and separate her from her grief. Instead, she poured out her soul. Her soul was the blood of the innocent that was painted over her flesh for the Angel of Death to see.

When Hannah then said to Eli, “Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time,” Eli immediately knew in his heart that the Angel of Death, sent by God to judge the worthless and spare the innocent, had spared Hannah. Hannah had been passed over.  Because Eli was a judge and high priest of Israel, he was able to discern God’s Will. It was then from that holy connection that Eli did not speak for himself, but for God, when he said to Hannah, “Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.”

For as holy a man as Eli was, his brain made errors of deduction. His faulty abilities to think what was going on, proved he was in no way capable to know what Hannah meant when she said to him [a stranger, basically], “I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” Eli did not have permission to speak blessings for God, as if he felt being judge and high priest made him a powerful dude. Eli was, however, sacrificed of self so the Lord had total permission to use Eli’s voice to speak His Will through him.  Whereas a high priest had specific rules and regulations to follow, in order to maintain the dignity of the tabernacle, a judge had the freedom to speak without dogmatic procedure being a hindrance.

We do not read that Hanna jumped with joy after she heard Eli’s promise that God had granted her prayer and vow. We read she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” She was not a servant of Eli, which means she was responding to God, recognizing it was His voice that came from His servant Eli – a nameless figure in robes, sitting on a holy throne of the temple. Eli served the Lord as a judge.  Hannah then thanked God by asking Him to show her thanks for Eli, for the role he played as medium to her petition.

The joy that Hannah felt was then stated as, “Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.” Hannah was a changed person after having been assured her prayer would be answered. She was not praying for a baby, but a son who would be given to God out of devotion. She knew she could live a loved life without children of her own to raise. However, her heart was raised by knowing she could fulfill her role in maintaining the lineage of God’s servants in His tabernacle.

The real happy ending to this story is then stated as: “They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of the Lord.” That happiness came from the rise of a new day, when the glory of the Lord shone brightly on Shiloh AND “they worshipped before the Lord.”

The naming of the baby Samuel says, “Heard Of God.”  He was the fulfillment of a prayer that was heard by God.  The name Elkanah was then lived up to: “God Has Redeemed” through a firstborn son kohen (priest).  The redemption of Pidyon haben had occurred.  The truth spoke by God through Eli was the fulfillment of his name: “God Is Me.”  Eli did not grant a prayer would be answered; it was God.  Hannah had been blessed as she prayed to be, living up to her name: “Gratuitous Gift.”  Her gift of a nazarite was God’s gift to her, as both gifts were of “Graciousness.”  Yahweh remembers His people for their service, more than for their sins.

As a final note, the Passover is always recognized on the 15th of Nisan, which is the first full moon of spring, with spring being when the Sun reaches the Vernal Equinox [a Northern Hemisphere event of rebirth]. Supposing Elkanan and Hannah went home to Ramathaim Zophim and “knew” each other on 17 Nisan, then the birth of Samuel would have been around 17 Tevet (nine months later, in the tenth month of the Hebrew calendar). That would have been around January 9th (Julian calendar), or the dead of winter. That would be symbolic of Samuel being a seed planted in Israel, to sprout, grow, and become a mighty oak tree in Israel’s history, when the judges would be replaced by kings.

As an Old Testament reading selection for the twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for the LORD should be underway – one should have made a vow to God of self-sacrifice and service if God will allow one to give birth to Jesus Christ, the high priest “Heard Of God” – the message here is to feel the distress and “great anxiety and vexation” for not having yet delivered one’s soul into God’s hands. One needs to pour out one’s soul before the Lord.

The aspect of Elkanah giving twice as many animals to sacrifice for the sins of his wife Hannah has to be seen as him doing his priestly duty to bring a woman he loved dearly into favor with God. While it is not stated as why God answered Hannah’s prayer that specific time, knowing that verse three said this was a yearly time of sacrifice, Elkanah had sacrificed double portions each year. This has to be seen as the value of prayer for loved ones. All we can do is love one another and pray for the best for those we love, leaving everything in God’s hands and trusting He knows best.

The aspect of Eli sitting on a seat of honor outside the doorway to the tent of meeting makes him seem to be guarding the doorway, as only approved priests were allowed inside. That exclusion of common Israelites from the holy place, while positioned to watch anyone who entered the outer walls of canvas, into the outer courtyard, projects Eli as the Christian Church of today. He reflects all priests (ministers, pastors, or preachers), including bishops and others of hierarchical ranking, as he was the high priest of Israel.

The Church welcomes visitors (as Hannah was to Eli), but there is a line drawn that separates how far a priest can venture beyond the rules and bylaws of the Church, and how close the laity can get to a priest. Eli was an Aaronite, which means he was directly descended from Aaron and dedicated as a priest (even high priest) by birth. Such family connection to the institution of the tabernacle (the same with the Church) makes a high priest seem to be too high to associate with the commoners. As such, neither the tabernacle nor the Church [both holy buildings that attract God’s children to Him] can offer those institutions as substitutes to God. They are not allowed to be anything more than a place to offer sacrifices and prayers to the Lord.  A building cannot replace each heart’s need to connect to God directly.

It should be understood that the Israelites officially offered prayers three times a day: Morning; Afternoon; and Evening. Because Hannah showed up later than the evening prayer time, Eli thought a strange woman was not following normal visiting hours. Again, if drinking wine was a ritual practice during the ritual recognition of the Passover, as I have already stated, then Eli was led to think that a devoted Israelite had consumed her limit of wine, so he advised her: “Put away your wine.”  Wine acted as a false link to spirituality, which would have been the motivation Eli saw in a strange woman coming at a strange time to pray at the alter of burnt offerings.

That is how a Church that is not linked directly to God, through the Holy Spirit, makes poor decisions. It cannot know every woman’s heart that comes in crying and moving her lips. Instead, an institution becomes protective of its procedures, rules, and behaviors … because the public does not fully understand all that its own has to learn  and comply thereof.

Without the ability to cross the line that trusts only God and sees common humanity in more of a negative light (for self-preservation reasons), Eli was probably worried that a drunk woman might do some damage to herself or the altar of burnt offerings. That failure of a Church to hold every one of its members equally, as all being priests with full access to an order of brothers and sisters, will always (invariably) reject well-meaning people.  Some of the people are written off as the casualties of doing business for God.

That was the high priest Eli. However, Eli was also a judge. He had replaced Samson. The role of a judge of Israel was different than a high priest. It was not a position determined by birth or heredity. A judge was one within Israel who was anointed by God.

Samson, for example, was from the Tribe of Dan, close to where Israel bordered Philistia. Samson was also a nazirite, such that when Hannah promised God, “He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head,” Samson’s downfall was due to losing his strength from Delilah cutting his hair. Still, a judge was told by an angel of the Lord, “You’re it!” and they all had an ability to speak to God and know they were heard.

When the judge Eli spoke to Hannah it was not the same as the high priest Eli. He spoke to her as God having heard her vow, he was Eli the judge. Eli the high priest could only see her lips moving.

This has to be seen in terms of Elkanah double portion sacrificed. The reward sent by God was a double portion of Eli. If there had only been one portion set aside for Hannah’s need for fulfillment, Eli would have run her off as just another drunk woman that wandered into the tabernacle’s outer courtyard.  A single portion Eli would sacrifice one lamb to God and give an edible portion to Elkanah.  No more would be expected in return.  A double portion of Eli would be to call upon him as the judge.  The double portion was returned by the voice of the Lord being heard.

This reading should be seen by the reader as a test of one’s character. One does not get to choose only one of the characters that is closest to how one ordinarily acts or wants to be though of by others. Instead, one should see how all of the characters fit oneself. Do we set aside double portions of sacrifices for the special people in our lives? Do we cause anger in those who are less fortunate than us? Do we have anguish because we fail to serve God as much as we wish, feeling we are not giving as much as we should? Do we see strangers and think they are having a breakdown, when they are merely praying to God for help?

The most important characteristic we all should pray for is to speak the truth of the Lord as a judge. When that happens, we get a double portion of a priest and a judge. Jesus is the high priest that guards the tabernacle in our hearts. Jesus Christ is the voice of God that speaks through our lips.  Jesus Christ is the firstborn son we want born into us, so we can dedicate ourselves into God’s service forevermore.

That is when the Church and the people become equal and love flows eternal.

#1Samuel1420 #2Kings2322 #Exodus132 #Jeremiah3134

1 Samuel, Language, Teaching

1 Samuel 1:4-20 – Hannah prayed and Eli made fun of her; but Yahweh answered

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On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; but to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though Yahweh had closed her womb. Her rival used to provoke her severely, to irritate her, because Yahweh had closed her womb. So it went on year by year; as often as she went up to the house of Yahweh, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? Why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

After they had eaten and drunk at Shiloh, Hannah rose and presented herself before Yahweh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. She was deeply distressed and prayed to Yahweh, and wept bitterly. She made this vow: “Yahweh of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male child, then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death give him to Yahweh all the days of his life. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.”

As she continued praying before Yahweh, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore Eli thought she was drunk. So Eli said to her, “How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.” But Hannah answered, “No, adonai, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before Yahweh. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.” Then Eli answered, “Go in peace; welohe of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.

They rose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and Yahweh remembered her. In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have asked him of Yahweh.”

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This is the Track 1 Old Testament selection to be read aloud in churches following the Track 1 course in Year B, on the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost [Proper 28], according to the lectionary for the Episcopal Church. If read, then it will be followed by an additional reading from First Samuel, which is the song of Hannah, including the verse: “My heart exults in Yahweh; my horn is exalted in Yahweh.” That set will precede the Epistle reading from Hebrews, where Paul wrote, “since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus … let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” All will accompany the Gospel reading from Mark, where it is written: “As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

I wrote about this reading selection the last time it came up in the lectionary cycle (2018) and I posted those views on my website at that time. A copy of that commentary can be read by searching this site. I welcome all to read what I wrote then, as everything presented is still valid as instructional today. I will state that in 2018 I was more trusting of the text read aloud in Episcopal churches, than I am now. I see a need to correct the translations so the truth can be known. In that endeavor, one will note how eleven times in this reading the proper name Yahweh was translated as (thus to be read aloud) “the Lord.” This reduces the value of the name Yahweh and should not be done. Additionally, verse eleven has been presented as the true Word, when it is a paraphrase. In that paraphrase the proper name of Yahweh is eliminated altogether, while adding the word “nazarite,” along with words that imply Hanna promised no consuming of alcohol. I have stricken out the false text and replaced it with a true translation into English. Finally, the words “adonai” and “elohim” have been obliterated in translation; so, I have restored the Hebrew text.

I will address these changes first. Then, I will add new insight into this reading selection, before showing how it fits into a theme established by the other reading selections for this Sunday. By reading my 2018 commentary and comparing it to todays, a better view of Scripture should be gained.

In my 2018 observations, I did not place focus on the names that appear in these selected verses. The names are always important to understand, as they add depth to the story. My primary reference for name meaning from the Holy Bible is Abarim Publications. The first name is “Elkanah” [or “El-kanah”], which means, “God Of Jealousy, God Of Zeal.” Strong’s translates this as meaning “God has created” or “God has taken possession.” Elkanah is the husband of Peninnah and Hannah. The name “Peninnah” means “Curler, Coral, Pearl.” The name “Hannah” means “Graciousness.” Then there is the name of Eli, who was the high priest of Shiloh; and, his name means “My God, (Yah is) High.” The name of the child that would be born is Samuel, whose name means “Name Of God.” The names of the places mentioned: Shiloh and Ramah, respectively mean: “Tranquility Town” and “Lofty Place.” In these name, I want to place focus on the three men, all of whom contain “el” in their names, which ordinarily translates into English as “God,” in some form.

According to the Wikipedia article entitle “Elkanah” the following is stated [under the heading: Lineage], “According to the Priestly Code/Deuteronomic Code only Aaronic priests/Levites (depending on the underling tradition) were permitted to perform these actions, and simply being a nazarite or prophet was insufficient.” This means that Elkanah was a Levite and a priest, able to make sacrifices in the Tabernacle in Shiloh. Eli was the high priest at that Tabernacle; and, Samuel would be left by Hannah with Eli to be trained to be a priest of that Tabernacle. As such, the inclusion of “el” in their names is not coincidence or happenstance. All three men must be considered to be “elohim” of Yahweh, which means His priestly servants, with all being Levitical obligations of their parents to be submitted into service to Yahweh. thus, they were given those names with divine purpose.

As for Elkanah, when “God” is retranslated to say “an el of Yahweh,” or “one of Yahweh’s elohim,” this makes the name say he took this service to Yahweh with fervor. The Strong’s translation that says his name means “God has taken possession” clearly becomes a statement of his soul having married with the Spirit of Yahweh, so that Spirit is the possessing factor that leads Elkanah’s life. He was without a doubt a most holy man. This would be why each year he traveled to Shiloh with his family and sacrificial animals, to offer blood to Yahweh as a sin offering. One could see this as a Passover observance, so the angel of death would not take their souls away from Yahweh. One can presume that Elkanah was the firstborn son of his parents. The Wikipedia article says the Talmud lists Elkanah as a prophet, making him be on the same list with Moses.

When this is realized here, the name from the last two Sunday’s readings from Ruth say that Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, was a priest of the Tabernacle, as a first born male son, who left Judah because he could be a high priest wherever he went, not wishing to serve wayward peoples as one who would offer sacrifices to redeem their sins. His name would then say he was one of Yahweh’s elohim, to whom his whole body and soul was a nation unto Yahweh, with Yahweh his King. Additionally, it shows the first born son of Adam was named “Ab-el,”* a name that means an el born to serve the Father (Yahweh, not Adam). Thus, Abel offered animal sacrifices (blood to Yahweh), which pleases Yahweh and Cain was not allowed to do the same.

In the name Eli, we can also see the root in Elijah, showing that both men were designated by their parents to serve Yahweh. The name “Elijah” means “My God Is He” or “God Is Yahu” (where “Yahu” is “Jehu,” meaning “Yah Is He”) thus, “Elijah” means “I am possessed by Yahweh as one of His elohim.” The same is implied in the name Eli, as “I am a possessed elohim (of Yahweh).” This means Eli was a true high priest, as he was not just holding down a day job (like so many priests in Christian churches today), so when he heard what Hannah said about her prayer, he was not just sprinkling some holy water on her and handing her a wafer to eat when he said, “Go in peace; welohe of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.” Those words were Yahweh speaking through His servant Eli.

In the use of “welohe,” which is a combined form that adds “and” to “elohim,” Eli said, “and I say “Go in peace” as one of Yahweh’s official hands on the earth, one of His elohim, who Retains Yahweh as His elohim [the meaning of “Israel”]. This was Yahweh telling Hannah her silent prayer was heard; and, after Eli had spoken as a human guard of the Tabernacle in Shiloh, insulting Hannah by using his human brain, Yahweh is now apologizing for him, to you. This change in demeanor needs to be seen as an elohim not always being the best representative of Yahweh as could be; but it shows Yahweh will access His servants in times of need.

In the naming of Samuel, having previously in Year B read about his role with David and Saul, we realize he was a more attentive elohim of Yahweh. The name Samuel also means “Heard Of God,” which is why we read Hannah saying the reason for the name given is “I have asked him of Yahweh.” That specifically names “Yahweh,” while saying “Samuel” means “Heard Dedication to Yahweh, to be one of His elohim.” Samuel was able to hear the voice of Yahweh, unlike Eli. Eli had Yahweh speak through his lips, but his inability to hear Hannah’s prayer, only seeing her lips move, he was unable to hear divine communications. Samuel was able to hear Yahweh’s voice, therefore able to convey Yahweh’s messages, just as was Jesus [a name meaning “Yah[weh] Will Save]. It should be realized that Samuel would be the last judge of the Israelite people, before David. Eli would fail Yahweh because he could not punish his mortal sons (both priests); and, Samuel also had sons who were not able to be divine as was his soul.

In the translation that I have stricken through, as it is not written in the Hebrew text [checking multiple Hebrew references], the words written as “then I will set him before you as a nazirite until the day of his death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head,” they are a paraphrase. What is written is a promise to “give a male son to Yahweh [not written in translation as “the Lord”] for as long as he lives. The aspect of “He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants” is also not written. These are the translators assuming Hanna promised her son to be dedicated to a “nazarite” life, where these traits are stated in Deuteronomy 6. As the Wikipedia article on Elkanah states, relative to being “a nazarite,” that is merely a physical expression of one’s beliefs, not a guarantor of one’s soul in marriage to Yahweh. So, lots of Jewish priests can not trim their beards or heads and abstain from drinking alcohol, while not being able to do blood sacrifices in the Temple. That alone does not make them Yahweh elohim.

In this reading from First Samuel, the element of being able to hear the voice of Yahweh is missing. Eli could speak for Yahweh, through divine possession of his soul by Yahweh. He therefore offered a prophecy that would come true. The reading from Daniel, as the Track 2 Old Testament offering, tells of Yahweh speaking to Daniel in a dream. Coming from Daniel’s twelfth (and last) chapter, Daniel was no longer the young prophet who won the trust of Nebuchadnezzar, as he was old in years. His dream vision with audio matches the prophecy of Joel, who said, “Your old men will dream dreams.” The point is one who is an “el” of Yahweh [“Daniel” means “Judge Of God” or “God Is My Judge”] is a conduit of prophecy, due to the marriage of one’s soul to Yahweh and a commitment in marriage to serve Yahweh wholly.

The prophecy spoken to Daniel by Yahweh is seen as an “End Times” prophecy, such that the theme stated in that reading is related to a them stated in John’s Apocalypse. In the same way, when Paul writes in Hebrews about a “second coming,” people who do not have their souls married to Yahweh see lips moving, but cannot hear the truth. Christians who wait until the End Times for Jesus to return are missing the fact that Jesus has already returned in Apostles and Saints for two thousand years. The prophecy of Daniel is them speaking of their ignorance to hear the truth and let Yahweh speak through those silent lips.

In the Hebrews reading that accompanies this reading from First Samuel, Paul quoted Jeremiah 31:33, where the Hebrew that would have been written by Paul [the letter is named “Hebrews”] would have said in an English translation: “But this covenant that I will make with the house of Israel [“He Who Retains Yahweh as one of His elohim”] after days, those speaking as Yahweh, “I will put my law in their mind and written on their hearts, and they will be My elohim and they will be My people.” The English translation from a Greek reproduction of the Hebrew written by Paul becomes translators trying to read the lips of Paul, thinking whoever wrote this Hebrews epistle must have been drunk on new wine. They totally miss the truth that was told and set before them.

In the Gospel reading from Mark, where Jesus told his disciples of major changes to come to the Temple of Jerusalem and those who called themselves believers, Christians today read those English translations and think of the End Times, making this Gospel selection be more in-line with the reading from Daniel. They fail to see the misunderstanding of divine text, in the same way Eli did not hear what prayer Hannah was speaking to Yahweh. The lesson to be learned from Eli is he let Hannah speak, after he ridiculed her wrongly. When he heard what she said, Yahweh flowed through his being and gave a blessing to Hannah. Certainly, Eli learned from his mistake. Hopefully modern Christians can do the same.

As a reading to be read aloud on the twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost, when one’s own personal ministry for Yahweh should already be well underway, the lesson is to pray to Yahweh and offer one’s soul up in marriage to Him. Then, one needs to look for the sings and listen to the voice of Yahweh coming to oneself [a “self” equals a “soul”] and hear Yahweh answering prayers. One is not put into the worldly realm to be given special privilege over others. Hannah was mistreated for years because she was barren. She prayed to be fertile, where the symbolism for a reader today is to stop crossing your legs [proverbially], asking Yahweh [“the Lord” to fake Christians] for everything in the Wish Book, while doing nothing to help anyone other than oneself. Until one becomes a Yahweh elohim, one is refusing to hear the voice of Yahweh and have faith in Yahweh. One cannot enter ministry as less than a Yahweh elohim, as only Yahweh can lead one to do His Will and bring others to do the same.

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* The name “Abel” is not read in this manner. It is instead translated as “Habel” or “Abel,” as one word, either meaning “Vanity, Breath” or “Stream.” The first two are stated to be the meaning of the son of Adam.