Why Does Hannah Starve Herself in Chapter 1 of the Book of Samuel?

By Jessica

The question I posed was: why did Hannah starve herself in chapter 1 of the Book of Samuel? My thesis is that she wanted to repent for her sins. One of the sins she could have committed was that she was jealous of Penninah for having ten sons and not being grateful for what she had: a loving husband.

In the picture above Hanna is beating her hand over her heart. Beating your hand over your heart is one way to symbolically show that you are repenting for your sins. We do this on Yom Kippur because it is a day of forgiveness. This is a form of praying and later on in Samuel she prays again for child. Also, before she can ask God for a child, she needed to fix her mistakes.

Why Did Hannah Not Eat?

By Sophie

The question I asked is, “Why did Hannah not eat in chapter one?” My thesis is that Hannah did not eat to make God feel bad, hoping that it would make God give her a child.

I took all of the photographs above, and each represents a part of my answer.

• The women praying is Hannah praying for a child. 
• The clouds are a representation of God.
• The baby’s hands and feet represent what Hannah desires.
• Images of Israel show where this takes place and God’s presence.
• The women walking into the sun show Hannah is in God’s light/presence.
• The olives show that Hannah would not eat.
• The notes in the wall show Hannah takes time for God to understand that she wants a child.

Why Did Hannah Pray Silently?

By Gabi

The first chapter in the book of Samuel is about a woman named Hannah who is married to a man named Elkanah who also has another wife, Peninnah.  In it, Hannah desperately wants a child and prays for one often.  But she is unable to have any and, because of this, is tormented a lot by Peninnah who has many children.  Elkanah loves Hannah more than Peninnah, though, and about halfway through the chapter, when Hannah is crying and not eating because she is so upset that she can’t have children, he tries to comfort her and asks her if he isn’t better or more important to her than children.  Hannah then acted as if she was feeling better, and she ate.  Then the whole family went to the Temple where they make sacrifices and pray, and Hannah prayed for a child.  She prayed silently, though, and since at the time of this story no had ever prayed silently the priest, Eli, thought she was drunk and told her to stop drinking and leave.  She replied that she wasn’t drunk and was praying silently.  He understood and told her that he would ask Gd to hear her prayer.  At the end of the chapter Hannah’s prayer was heard and she had a son, Samuel.  My question is: Why did Hannah pray silently?  She prayed silently for two reasons: one is that it was so important to her that she thought if she prayed differently Gd would answer her prayer, and the second is that she didn’t want to offend Elkanah.

Hannah prayed silently because having a child was so important to her that she felt like she had to pray in a more personal way.  My support for this is Samuel 1:13 and 1:16.  In 1:13 the text says that Hannah was “speaking in her heart”, which shows how special the prayer was to her.  In Samuel 1:16 Hannah says that because of how important her prayer was, and how worried she was, she had to pray silently.  Again, this shows how because of how much Hannah wanted Gd to answer her prayer she felt that it had to be said silently.

The second reason why Hannah prayed silently is that she didn’t want to hurt or offend Elkanah.  After Hannah stopped eating and drinking because of how sad she was that she didn’t have children Elkanah asks her, in Samuel 1:8, why she is so sad, and isn’t he “better to her than ten sons?”  I interpreted what Elkanah said as him trying to cheer her up.  This along with Samuel 1:5, which is about how Elkanah loved Hannah more than his other wife, Peninnah, shows that Hannah must have known Elkanah loved her a lot and wanted her to feel better even though she didn’t have a child.  So she didn’t want to hurt him by having him know that she was still praying for a child and that he hadn’t made her feel better.

Hannah prayed silently for those two reasons:  She thought her request was so important and special that she wanted to pray in a more personal way, and she didn’t want to hurt Elkanah.  My evidence from the text really supports this because I have two verses from Samuel for each of my answers.  The section in Samuel that is about Hannah praying silently is important because it has such important lessons in it.  One lesson is when Eli thought Hannah was drunk because her lips were moving but she wasn’t praying aloud.  This teaches you that appearances can be deceiving and not to judge a book by its cover.

Why Did Hannah Pray Verbally?

By Abigail

The question I considered from the Book of Samuel, chapter 1, is: why did Hannah pray out of her mouth instead of sacrificing? I think that she was too weak and needed to talk to God. In the text it says she poured out her soul to God, and I interpreted that as meaning that she had to tell God what was happening to her, why she was starving herself, and why she was sad. She could not just pray to him/her, she had to talk to him/her.

Another reason is that Hannah was really weak. She had been starving herself, so she did not have a lot of energy. I do not think she could make a sacrifice, and she had to communicate with God.
In my painting I am showing how I interpreted the question, “Why did Hannah start praying to God with her mouth instead of sacrificing?” In the top left-hand corner I painted some lips to show all of the viewers how Hannah was praying. I also show Hannah reaching up towards God to show that Hannah had to rely on God, and she had to get to him somehow. I also show how weak Hannah was by showing some bones through her dress.

Why Does Hannah Finally Decide to Eat?

By Noah

In the first chapter of the Book of Samuel, we are told that Elkanah has two wives, Hannah and Penninah. Penninah has ten children with Elkanah, while Hannah is barren. Therefore, she is not able to have a child and she believes that a woman has no worth if she is not able to bear a child. Thinking this, she starves herself in order to either commit suicide, or protest to God to “open her womb,” as it says in Samuel 1:11-13. There are mixed commentaries for her motives, and we are not really sure what the reason is. Eventually Hannah decides to eat. Again, we are not sure why, but there are multiple views. She could have come to her senses, and realized that children do not prove a woman’s worth, Elkanah could have persuaded her to eat, or she could have just simply been starving. However, I think that Elkanah convinced Hannah to eat. There are two ways he could have possibly convinced her.

In Samuel 1:8 Elkanah asks Hannah, “Am I not better to you than ten sons?” He asks this while Hannah is fasting. The clues after that clearly show that Hannah was convince to eat by this question, because soon after, Hannah decides to eat again. Elkanah causes Hannah to realize that there is more to life than just having children. There are people like Elkanah who love her, and he is a huge reason to live because he could not live without her.

Also, Hannah realizes that just because she cannot have children, it does not make her inferior to other women. She wants Elkanah to love and appreciate her more than Penninah. Hannah is really jealous of Penninah and aspires to do everything the same as her to impress Elkanah. This is why Elkanah pitied her and convinced her to eat so she would not starve.

Overall, the main reason Hannah finally ate is because she was easily persuaded by Elkanah. She notices that Elkanah really loves and appreciates her, just as much, or more than Penninah. It actually says “And when it was the day, and Elkanah slaughtered (peace offerings), and he would give to Penninah his wife and to all her ten sons and daughters portions. And to Hannah he would give one choice portion, for he loved Hannah, and the Lord had shut up her womb” (Samuel 1:4-5). This clearly proves that Elkanah loves Hannah more than Penninah even though Hannah was barren. If she killed or starved herself, Elkanah would be crushed and he would miss the old Hannah. Elkanah does an excellent job of making sure that Hannah knows that she has worth and that he loves her just as much, or even greater than Penninah.

On Hannah Being Broken

 

Above are photographs of things which are broken or have become useless. I believe that when Hannah refused to eat in chapter 1 of the Book of Samuel, she was trying to commit suicide after falling into a depression over not having children. This makes sense because in her time period a woman’s self-worth came from giving her husband children.

Love Through Pity

By Kate

In the Book of Samuel, the story of Elkanah, Peninah and Hannah many different things occur.   During this time period it was acceptable to have more than one wife.  Peninah, one of Elkanah’s wives, had 10 children.  Hannah, Elkanah’s other wife, had none.  From the text we see how much Elkanah truly loves Hannah although she doesn’t have any children.  What I want to focus in on is the relationship between Elkanah and Hannah, and the reason why he pities her and how he shows his love for her through pity.

One of the most obvious reasons he pitied her is the fact that Hannah couldn’t conceive and Peninah could.  With the situation of Elkanah having two wives, there had to be some underlying competition between the two of them; who could cook better, clean, care for Elkanah more.  It was easy for Hannah to become jealous of Peninah, she could give Elkanah something that Hannah couldn’t: the ability to have children.  Having children back then was something that was extremely important, it meant that the family name would live on for generations to come.  So it was understandable for Hannah to be upset or jealous of Peninah.

The inability for Hannah to conceive caused her to take things to the extreme.  She didn’t eat she didn’t drink.  She not only felt pressure to have children but she also wanted to provide a child for not only Elkanah but for herself as well.  She tried everything she could but when nothing worked Elkanah couldn’t help but pity her even more.    

In the story we saw how much Elkanah loved Hannah.  Although she was barren, he still loved her just as much if not more than he did Peninah.  He tried convincing her that he is better to her than 10 sons and that his love for her meant more than children.  We are told that Elkanah always brought Hannah the best portions from the sacrifice, showing his affection for her.  Some may see this as more evidence of his pity for her; his way of trying to make up for Hannah being barren.  Elkanah would only pity Hannah if he loved and cared for, her which he does.  

We can conclude from the text that there are many different reasons Elkanah pities Hannah.  Her inability to conceive, her jealousy of Peninah, risking her life.  But we can also conclude that it’s out of love and that although Hannah couldn’t give Elkanah something Peninah could, Elkanah loved Hannah unconditionally.  

On Hannah’s Childlessness

By Ilana

In chapter 1 of Samuel, we learn that Elkanah has two wives, Hannah and Penninah. Hannah is unable to have kids while Penninah has many. Hannah is constantly upset and feels worthless. She will do anything to get a child and always asks God for one. She needs a child to feel self worth, otherwise she feels worthless. God hears her, but won’t he give her a child when she first asks! Why? He won’t give her a child at first because of her behavior and actions, because he might’ve just not wanted to give her one, or to teach her a lesson.

One of the reasons God didn’t give her a child is because she was not eating. In Samuel 1:7 it says, “…she wept and would not eat.” This is as an attempt at suicide. Hannah feels that her life is worthless unless she has a baby. Perhaps God didn’t want her to have a baby because He couldn’t trust her with another life and she needed to work on hers first. This shows one of the actions that may have prevented her from receiving a child sooner.

Another reason God didn’t give her a child is because she was too desperate. Samuel 1:15 shows how she feels when she doesn’t have a baby. Hannah was just requesting to have a child, but maybe God wanted her to show Him that she was capable of having a child. God may have thought she wasn’t responsible enough to have a child. This is another reason that Hannah may have not gotten a child.

Another reason that God may have not given her a child was because he might have just not wanted to. I noticed that only after Hannah made the vow did He give her a child. The vow stated that she would give Him the child once he was of age. God may have only given her a child so He could have him later. God could have also wanted to teach her a lesson: just because you are a woman doesn’t mean you have to have a child. Today, not all women feel the need to have children. This lesson took a while to develop throughout time.

God didn’t give her a child sooner because of her behavior and actions, because he might’ve just not wanted to give her a child, or to teach her a lesson. Throughout the chapter Hannah shows some irresponsible traits that God may have taken into consideration while determining whether or not to have a child. From this chapter we learn to not be too desperate, and if you truly want something, you must show that you deserve it because actions speak louder than words.

In Chapter One, What Does it Mean that Eli Thought Hannah Was Drunk?

By Eitan for The Scrappy Cocos

Why Does Eli Think Hannah Is Drunk?

By Ellie for The Thunderbolts

How my brain works when I read, is as I am reading my brain acts out what is happening. I picture in my head the events as I read them, without even noticing I’m doing it. When we were reading the story of Elkanah, Hannah, and Eli, I pictured them going up the temple to sacrifice. I don’t know why, but I imagined the temple on the top of a mountain. To explain my painting, I made Hannah sitting on the edge of a cliff, because I imagined Hannah being upset and wanted to just get away. She wanted to be by herself and be away from the pack to pray to God alone. Then, I pictured Eli seeing that she was alone, and going over to see if she was ok (because he was already “guarding her mouth”). He would then see what she was doing (praying with her mouth), and he thought she was drunk. In my opinion, I think he thought this because she was praying instead of sacrificing and back then it was so unheard of for her to ask God for something not by sacrificing. I painted Hannah in all shades of purple, like the color of wine, because he thought she was drunk. Also, I made her on the edge off a cliff pondering her thoughts, like I said before. She is looking up at music notes and wine bottles floating above her, because she was singing, silently. I wanted it to look like the effect of, when cartoon characters get hit really hard in the head, and there are those little pictures circling above their head. I also painted Eli very vaguely there because I feel like God almost sent Eli to watch over her, and protect her. I made him up in the corner in the sky, because it is like he is watching her but not literally standing next to her. My brain reads with pictures and I wanted to express what I imagined.