Hannah
“I give this child back to the Lord.”
The tears of a mother who waited long, and the most honest obedience of giving back the child she had received.
Hannah was one of Elkanah's two wives. The other wife, Peninnah, had sons and daughters, but Hannah had no children. Every year when they went up to Shiloh to offer sacrifice, Peninnah provoked her, and Hannah wept and could not eat. Even when her husband comforted her, saying, 'Am I not worth more to you than ten sons?', her sorrow would not settle.
One year, before the temple, she prayed from the deepest place within her — so deeply that only her lips moved and no sound came out. The priest Eli, thinking she was drunk, rebuked her. But she answered, 'No, my lord... I am a woman deeply troubled. I have poured out my soul to the Lord.' That day she made a vow: 'If the Lord gives me a son, I will give him back to you for all the days of his life.'
The following year Samuel was born. But what Hannah did was not to hold the child close — it was to bring him to Shiloh as promised, once he was weaned, and leave him with Eli. The child she had waited a lifetime to receive, she could not keep beside her for a lifetime. And there she sang: 'My heart rejoices in the Lord...' That song would echo again, later, in Mary's Magnificat. The deepest praise, one that only someone who can give back what she has received can sing.
She prayed silently for years of barrenness. The prayer that moved only her lips changed an era.
Defining Moments
The events that made this person who they were
Weeping at the Temple, Her Lips Moving Silently
Going up to Shiloh every year to pray for a child, one year she weeps so deeply before the temple that only her lips move. The priest Eli thinks she is drunk.
Vowing to Give Her Child Back for Life
'If the Lord gives me a son, I will give him back to you for all the days of his life.' A promise to let go, first, of the very thing she most wants. Her hands were already open before the answer came.
Bringing the Weaned Child to the Temple
As soon as Samuel is weaned, she brings him to Shiloh as promised and leaves him with Eli. The most honest obedience of a mother who could not keep, for herself, the child she had waited a lifetime to receive.
Personality
The colors revealed through their story
One Who Honestly Pours Out the Depths of Her Heart
Even when misunderstood, she does not dress up her sorrow. Even mistaken for a drunk, she lays her true heart bare exactly as it is.
Hands That Let Go Before They Receive
She does not bargain to receive an answer. The heart of a vow that gives away, first, the very thing she wants most.
Faithfulness That Remembers and Keeps a Promise to the End
She truly brings the weaned child, just as she said. Even after the emotion has settled, she lives out her original promise exactly as made.
★ Strengths
- Depth that does not waver in long waiting
◐ Shadow
- Wounded deeply by others' eyes
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