Book contents
- Why the Bible Began
- Why the Bible Began
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- Introduction
- Part I The Rise and Fall
- Part II Admitting Defeat
- Part III A New Narrative
- 15 Jeremiah and Baruch
- 16 Isaac and Rebekah
- 17 Moses and Joshua
- 18 Hannah and Samuel
- 19 Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
- 20 Jonah and the Whale
- 21 Yhwh and His People
- Part IV A People of Protest
- Subject Index
- Scholars Cited
- Biblical References
- References
18 - Hannah and Samuel
The Palace History
from Part III - A New Narrative
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 July 2023
Book contents
- Why the Bible Began
- Why the Bible Began
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Acknowledgments
- Prologue
- Introduction
- Part I The Rise and Fall
- Part II Admitting Defeat
- Part III A New Narrative
- 15 Jeremiah and Baruch
- 16 Isaac and Rebekah
- 17 Moses and Joshua
- 18 Hannah and Samuel
- 19 Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
- 20 Jonah and the Whale
- 21 Yhwh and His People
- Part IV A People of Protest
- Subject Index
- Scholars Cited
- Biblical References
- References
Summary
Hannah is married to man who has a second wife. She is also barren, and the second wife cruelly taunts her for it. Her husband, who loves her more than her rival, tries to comfort her: “Am I not more to you than ten sons?” Hannah does not agree, and she fervently prays for a child. Her plea is answered, a boy is born, and she names him Samuel (a name that plays on the deity “hearing” her entreaty). Celebrating her triumph, she intones a lengthy hymn, which begins.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Why the Bible BeganAn Alternative History of Scripture and its Origins, pp. 286 - 301Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023
References
Further Reading
Bodner, Keith and Johnson, Benjamin J. M. (eds.), Characters and Characterization in the Book of Samuel, T&T Clark, 2019.Google Scholar
Brisch, Nicole (ed.), Religion and Power: Divine Kingship in the Ancient World and Beyond, The Oriental Institute, 2012.Google Scholar
Edenburg, Cynthia, “A King Who Reads Torah: What Was Kingship Like in the ANE?,” TheTorah.com, 2017, www.thetorah.com/article/a-king-who-reads-torah.Google Scholar
Halbertal, Moshe and Holmes, Stephen, The Beginnings of Politics: Power in the Biblical Book of Samuel, Princeton University Press, 2017.Google Scholar
Hamilton, Mark W., A Kingdom for a Stage: Political and Theological Reflection in the Hebrew Bible, Mohr Siebeck, 2018.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joseph, Alison, Portrait of the Kings: The Davidic Prototype in Deuteronomistic Poetics, Fortress, 2015.Google Scholar
Kipfer, Sara and Hutton, Jeremy M. (eds.), The Book of Samuel and Its Response to Monarchy, Kohlhammer, 2021.Google Scholar
Wagner-Durand, Elisabeth and Linke, Julia (eds.), Tales of Royalty: Notions of Kingship in Visual and Textual Narration in the Ancient Near East, De Gruyter, 2020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, Ian D., Kingship and Memory in Ancient Judah, Oxford University Press, 2017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar