Birth date: August 30, 1797. This internal division in Israel is reflected in the person of Samuel, who stood with most Israelites on both sides of the question. In Poland, birth counts were steady or increasing in the first years of this century, but declined steadily after 2016. 8. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. Father Augustine Washington (1694-1743) Mother Mary Ball Washington (1708-1789) Brothers Samuel Washington (1734-1781) John Augustine Polzin, Samuel, 39, contrasts the rather neutral narrative language of the beginning of the Samuel story with the highly judgmental language on this middle portion, preparing readers for the curse of the house of Eli and corresponding rise of Samuel. Once Hannah becomes a mother in fact, her role vis--vis Samuel is considerably more profound. 49. While the appearance of the man of God is motivated by the scathing accounts of gluttony and promiscuity that immediately precede it, the man of God himself shows up spontaneously and unannounced. Thus, as crafted, the exposition implies that while the story is of central significance to all Israel (see 1 Sam. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. Berlin, Parallelism, 2; see also the extensive and insightful treatment of the use of repetition in Sternberg, Poetics, 365440), which range in scope from the lexical (correspondences between individual words and phrases) to the structural (correspondences between major segments of the text). Thus, Samuel is rightly considered to be one of the preeminent personalities of the Hebrew Bible, and his remarkable ministry makes the brief narrative of his birth, childhood, and divine calling worthy of serious examination.3, The present study argues that the literary craftsmanship of the text is as expressive of its meaning as are its descriptive contents. The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. Alan Heimert, Religion and the American Mind: From the Great Awakening to the Revolution (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966), 11. Stephanie Holland. The traditional Hebrew proverb, hearing is not the same as seeing, weighs heavily on the account of Elis sensory deficiencies, cited in Alter, Moses, 497 n.19. For example, Alter (Art, 84) and Simon (Prophetic Narratives, 15) offer astute comments on eating and drinking in 1Samuel1. Because of his education he was respected by other slaves, and he was a well known preacher and leader. Structuring Devices: Play of Perspectives. Prior sections of the Samuel story are devoted to contents that are primarily narrative or primarily dialogue. and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) is one of the most severe mental health issues from parental neglect or abuse during childhood. Characterization: Husband and Wife. Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the Lord God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. Born in Virginia on March 2, 1793, Houston moved to Tennessee with his mother and eight siblings after his father died when he was 13. While admittedly ambiguous, the narrators introduction of the priest creates an interpretive gap as to Elis true character, which demands filling as the story unfolds. 5. 1. In gratitude she dedicated Birth City: London, England. After Samuel is born but before he is weaned, Elkanah invites Hannah to accompany him to Shiloh for the annual observance. The man of God begins his condemnation with the terse authoritative declaration, Thus saith the Lord. He then repeats verbatim every word of the divine message, including the repeated use of first person singular pronouns, as though he speaks precisely in the place of the Lord. As a child, Samuel, heard from God that he was going to be a prophet and judge in Israel. 67. Characterization: Father and Sons. The story is also at the root of the priestly role imposed on Samuel at a later date in 1 Chronicles 6; but this is an effort to explain in terms of the later priesthood the sacred functions performed by Samuel. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. Structuring Devices: Play of Perspectives. This section of the story consists entirely of dialogue, in large measure because it is the storys dramatic fulcrum.60 While both messages condemn Eli in similar ways, they are not interchangeable. The barren hath born seven and she that hath many children is waxed feeble (2:5) alludes to the contrast between Hannah, who miraculously bore Samuel and several other children, and her perpetual provocateur Peninnah, who had children but whose lineage is worthy of no further mention in the Hebrew Bible.49. (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 5:52829. The paradigm serves as a frame of reference that allows us to examine each component in the context of the expectations aroused by its parallels in the other stories. While Elkanahs traditional devotion preserves the identity of an obscure nuclear family, Hannahs singular devotion eventually blesses all Israel. As crafted, the interpretive focus of the Samuel story is clearly the long-term effects of Hannahs spiritual initiative. He publishes widely in the fields of Mormon studies and museum studies and frequently presents at scholarly and professional conferences. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. 55. As part of her poignant vow, Hannah promises that if the Lord will give her a man child, then she will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. In both instances, the verb give is translated from the Hebrew nathan. This perspective does acknowledge, however, that biblical portraits are focused, even in their depth and complexity, and include few extraneous details. JPS Tanakh 1917 In a literary approach to scripture, sacred texts are seen as a complex, intentional creation by whose patterns and intricacies readers gain insights into the imaginative universe78 of the prophets, scribes, and other holy people who crafted them. Trust vs. Mistrust: This stage occurs between the ages of birth and 1.5 years and is centered on developing a sense of trust in caregivers and the world. By contrast, Hannahs firstborn achieves the rare and noble quality of knowing the Lord at the time of his divine call, even though the lad is not yet ordained. This tradition has two questionable features: Samuel is the only judge who is a permanent magistrate as well as a military leader, and his conclusive victory over the Philistines in chapter 7 cannot be historical, since it is contradicted by the subsequent military exploits of Saul and David. The fundamental bond of mutual remembrance that united God and man leads further to the observation that the covenant idea is obviously also important in this context: G.Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, eds., Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, trans. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt: This stage takes place between the ages of 18 months and 3 years If so, why is he not introduced as such at the outset and why does he play such a passive role in the services at Shiloh? Elkanah has only two direct speeches in the entire story. 2. 2. Possible extrinsic reasons for the placement of Hannahs song within the narrative are found in Weitzman, Song, 11415. As a boy Samuel received a divine oracle in which the fall of the house of Eli was predicted (1 Samuel 13). 61. Ancient Eli is almost a tragicomic figure. 11. International Standard Version The LORD took note of Hannah, and she became pregnant and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The first story (1 Samuel 13) describes Samuels action as motivated by Sauls assumption of the prerogatives of the priesthood. And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. Indications are that they were a group of fanatical religious and national conservatives. 26. He spent his adolescence across the country, removed from all hed known as a child, raised by a stepfather who he felt no connection to. . 60. In the second story (chapter 15), Samuel is motivated by the failure of Saul to observe the ethic of the holy war. See Alter, Moses, 77 n.2; 131 nn. 3:21), it begins in virtual obscurity, making its outcome all the more miraculous. See Alter, Art, 6387. Political Accomplishments of Samuel Adams. The possibility of a covenant perspective, however, cannot be denied and may be profoundly appreciated as we seek to plumb the depths of this remarkable text. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Hannah declines, preferring instead to attend to her sons continuing needs. Following Samuels birth, Hannah nurses her baby until she weaned him, even though doing so means that she has to forego the annual pilgrimage to Shiloh and the (implied) customary worthy portion of the offering.40 When Hannah resumes the annual pilgrimage and prepares to lend her firstborn to the Lord, she takes three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine as her own alimentary offering, a portion of which would be customarily consumed by the priest and his family.41, Characterization: Husband and Wife. Information about Samuel is contained in The First Book of Samuel (called in the Roman Catholic canon The First Book of Kings). See Alter, Art, 88113, for an insightful discussion of Leitwrter. (3:110, 1921; 4:1a). This is his leadership of the sons of the prophets, a group of young men organized for ecstatic worship. Born into slavery around 1723, Attucks was believed to be the son of Prince Yonger, a enslaved person shipped to America from Africa, and Nancy Attucks, a Natick Indian. 39. 73. While the transition details the woes of Elis house, it also contains five separate references to Samuels progressively faithful service to the Lordat the beginning and end of the transition and periodically throughout (2:11, 18, 21, 26; 3:1a). The contrast in meaning between the spiritual condition of the sons of Eli and that of Samuel in relation to this verb is revealed in the respective tenses. Hannah bears and nurtures Samuel, after which she lends him to God and continues to bless him, without any expectation of divine recompense. His greatest distinction was his role in the establishment of the monarchy in Israel. 1113. and why eatest thou not? My great indebtedness to these studies becomes very apparent in the following pages; however, I alone remain responsible for the perspective and conclusions of this study, including any errors or oversights. While the abundant use of this tiny word in the Hebrew Bible may cause some readers to infer a lack of literary sophistication, Alter observes that biblical narrators used waw to great rhetorical effect: [Biblical] narratives were composed to be heard, not merely to be decoded by a readers eye. The narrative does not indicate, however, that she takes offense at her husbands gesture. The pathways involved in the development of metabolic dysfunction across generations in the context of childhood Simon, Prophetic Narratives, 3637, 43, systematically compares the miraculous birth narratives of the Hebrew Bible and summarizes this biblical scene type. And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife, and said, The Lord give thee seed of this woman for the loan which is lent to the Lord. The key points relevant to the present study are that (1)type scenes are a common literary convention of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, (2)1Samuel 13 shows abundant evidence of the likely intentional use of this convention, and (3)type scenes enhance considerably the spiritual significance of the Samuel account. As portrayed in the text, Elkanah believes that Hannah should be more consoled by his worthy portion than had she born him ten sons.. . The antimonarchic account presents a different picture of the kingship and of Saul and Samuel. WebBetter known as Sam Sharpe, Samuel Sharpe, a Creole slave, was born in Montego Bay, Jamaicain 1801. However, Sternberg, Poetics, 32528, eloquently qualifies Alters perspective. 24. By contrast, on the night of Samuels divine call, Eli specifically and emphatically directs the lad on how to respond to the voice of the Lord, thus setting the expectation of a follow-up report to the priest. WebShe praised God when He answered her prayer and gave her a child. And the word of Samuel came to allIsrael.. See Robert Alter, Ancient Israel: The Former Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, A Translation with Commentary (New York: W.W. Norton, 2013), 257; Robert Polzin, Samuel and the Deuteronomist: A Literary Study of the Deuteronomic History, Part Two: 1Samuel (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993), 1954; Uriel Simon, Reading Prophetic Narratives, trans. "Great is the reverence due to children." 58. Samuels prophecy reinforces much of what the man of God earlier says to Eli but does not repeat any of his specific words and phrases or hint at Samuels awareness of his existence or message. 1 and 2 Samuel form one book in the ancient Hebrew manuscripts. The first consists of a set of rapid-fire rhetorical questions ostensibly intended to comfort his then-barren and bereft wife, Why weepest thou? Thus, Samuels dual descent may have qualified him, in terms of his lineage, to serve as priest as well as prophet and judge during his ministry. Examination discloses that this is still another account of Sauls rise without an anointing story; Saul is chosen king as the judgesthe leaders of the Israelites during their conquest of the land of Canaanwere chosen, by a charismatic display of military courage and leadership. See Alter, Art, 8386, for an insightful discussion of this interchange between Hannah and Eli. While more than one priest could easily officiate at the temple, the fact that the story initially identifies Elis sons as priests of the Lord creates dramatic tensions that become central to the unfolding of the Samuel story. On the art of gap-filling by biblical narrators, see Sternberg, Poetics, 186229. Characterization: Priest and Suppliant. In order to deliver on its analytical promise, this study must now demonstrate how the contents and literary conventions used to craft this brief narrative can be understood in terms of a unified interpretive whole. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. Attempting to cover his error of judgment, Eli offers a hastily constructed blessing for her to receive her petition, to which she simply responds, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. The text then observes that Hannah went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.. All other crucial actions in the storythe emergence of Elkanah and Hannah into the epic Hebrew narrative from a position of complete obscurity, the miracles of Hannahs conception and Samuels birth, the rise of Samuel and the fall of the house of Eli, and the establishment of Samuel as prophet to all Israelare all orchestrated by God from offstage.. While this general biblical pattern exhibits innumerable complexities, variations, nuances, and ambiguities, its consistency spans centuries of the recorded dealings of JHWH with covenant Israel.76 A covenant focus thus seems to be essential to the pious tradition77 that occupied biblical writers and commanded their literary craftsmanship. From the present perspective, 1 Samuel 13 is an account of more than the birth of a remarkable prophet and the beginning of a radical transformation of Israels polity. . . It also serves the broader narrative as the renewal of an ancient and sacred covenant with God, with Samuel serving as its object and agent.71 Such a perspective allows readers to see 1 Samuel 13 as an integrated, focused, and crucial contribution to Gods perpetual effort to fulfill sacred promises and renew an enduring relationship with his covenant people. The same examination reveals that none of the material in its present form was contemporary with the events; if one source is taken as controlling, then the other materials lose all historical value. 21. Polzin, Samuel, 19. This story is related to the account of Samuel as judge in chapters 7 and 12, and he is clearly presented as the last of the judges; it is indicated that the system of the judges was rejected by the Israelites not because of its failure but because of their worldliness. Samuel, the son of Elkanah (of Ephraim) and Hannah, was born in answer to the prayer of his previously childless mother. Sternberg recognizes that biblical narratives are distinguished by the dynamic interplay of competing and complementary perspectives: Insofar as the Bible has a poetics as well as a genesis of composition, it establishes a set of norms by which we not only interpret the action but also evaluate the actors by reference to the narrators perspective as artist. Sternberg, Poetics, 155. . WebThe boy Samuel grew up in the service of the LORD. Shakab implies that Samuel is simply lying prone in bed when the Lord first calls and eventually appears to him. And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? WebSamuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer.He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced", and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature". The reiterated and, then, plays an important role in creating the rhythm of the story, in phonetically punctuating the forward driving movement of the prose. Samuel, Hebrew Shmuel, (flourished 11th century bc, Israel), religious hero in the history of Israel, represented in the Old Testament in every role of leadership open to a Jewish man of his dayseer, priest, judge, prophet, and military leader. Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the Lord. 16. 4. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. William F. Albright and David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1980), 6366. That Samuels divine calling and first prophecy follow the blanket condemnation of Eli by the man of God (2:2736) and the narrators strong indictment of Gods covenant people in those days (3:1) renders Samuels ascendance all the more essential, dramatic, and spiritually significant to the larger story of covenant Israel. english literature timeline. Because the verb tenses connected with these events indicate their repetitive nature, Elkanahs customary ritual routine defines his familys traditional identity. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread (2:5) anticipates Gods curse of Elis house, discussed below, in part because Elis sons and perhaps Eli himself had abused the sacrificial offering to satisfy their gluttony. . 76. However, nearly every specific detail of introduction is marginal to the larger history of Israel in the Holy Land. Although Samuel Sharpe was a slave throughout his life, he was allowed to become well-educated. For example, is Eli, the father, the chief priest in the hereditary office? The same verb also concludes the narrative, signaling the enduring covenant between Samuel and the Lord, on the one hand, and between Samuel and Gods covenant people, on the other: And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. As a result, identifying the literary conventions of a given text and imagining their interpretive significance enable readers to approximate the intent(s) of its author(s), especially if the conventions can be shown to combine with one another in order to fashion of the text a coherent and meaningful whole.8. Acknowledging that the meaning of a particular text is enhanced by a legacy of readers does not necessarily mean that its authors original literary intentions are therefore irrelevant to the hermeneutical quest. Lenn J. Schramm (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997), 5172. Structuring Devices: Play of Perspectives. Reflecting the intimacy of Samuels first encounter with God and its profound effect, this segment of the story is recounted primarily as dialogue. My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. Thus, faithfulness to God seems to be more central to the Bibles theological interpretation of history75 than the particular political or social forms of human societies. She neither retreats from nor attempts to renegotiate the terms of her sacred vow. This pattern indicates that Eli had become so disconnected from his sons lives that he learns about their promiscuity only secondhand and then deals with it ineffectively: Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel. And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. In Portugal, the pan-European report noted a decline in January-February 2022, compared to the trend in previous years. (2:2736; 3:1118). . Flashbacks of the Almost all knowledge of him is derived from the books of the Prophets and Writings: Samuel I and II, Kings I and Chronicles I. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord revealed unto him. The phrase were there identifies only that they are present at the temple, not that they are functioning worthily. And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. This contrast does not mean that biblical characters are shallow. Our differences are complementary, not contrastive in nature. As a result, Elis extended family are cursed to beg for their sustenance in the future (2:1217, 36). And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. 12. 1 Chronicles 6:27 identifies Jeroham, Samuels paternal grandfather, as a Levite. Rising from humble beginnings, Adams played frontline roles in sparking the Revolutionary Wars against the Please select which sections you would like to print: Professor of Theology, DePaul University, Chicago, 197078. Alter, Ancient Israel, 247 n.0 suggests that Hannahs song and Davids victory psalm echo each other and act as formal bookends to the extended narrative sequence that includes the stories of Samuel, Saul, and David., 51. And the child did minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest. Chapters 13 of 1 Samuel1 describe the miraculous origins and auspicious upbringing of the first major Hebrew prophet since Joshua, who by all measures lived centuries before Samuel.2 The biblical account of Samuels beginnings forecasts the exceptional ministry of the man who served as Israels last complete sovereign. Zakhor carries strong connotations of spiritual identity and covenant commitment, not simply cognitive awareness.30 Thus, when Hannah pleads to the Lord, remember me, and the narrator acknowledges that the Lord indeed remembered her, the resulting blessing of a man child becomes not only the sign of a divine covenant with an individual Hebrew woman but also a source of spiritual development and deliverance for all Israel.31. In Portugal, the exposition implies that while the story is clearly long-term..., as crafted, the chief priest in the Holy Land her husbands gesture william Albright... Becomes a mother in fact, her role vis -- vis Samuel is considerably more.! Nor attempts to renegotiate the terms of her sacred vow the placement of song! Said, Here am I ; for thou didst call me eventually blesses all Israel ( see 1 Sam 131... Prerogatives of the Lord, neither was the word of the prophets, a group of young men organized ecstatic! 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