“Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned again to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her. It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, ‘Because I have asked him of the LORD'” (1 Sam 1:19-20).
There is a rule of thumb in biblical interpretation: key themes and compositional strategies of whole books appear in the introductions of books. When we find a narrative analogy to a certain figure at the beginning of a book, we ought to expect, and look for, more analogies to that same figure throughout the rest of the book.
The conflict between Elkanah’s two wives, the barren yet beloved Hannah and Peninnah, has unmistakable echoes to the rivalry between Jacob’s wives, Rachel and Leah (compare 1 Sam 1:4-6 with Gen 29:31 — 30:24). By alluding to the story of Jacob, the author of 1-2 Samuel wants us to read his book in the context of God’s promises to the patriarchs in Genesis. The remembering of Hannah and the opening of her womb, therefore, finds a direct (and intentional) parallel to the opening of Rachel’s womb: “Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. So she conceived and bore a son and said, ‘God has taken away my reproach.’ She named him Joseph, saying, ‘May the LORD give me another son'” (Gen 30:22-24; compare 1 Sam 1:19-20).
This analogy, moreover, draws a parallel between the birth of the prophet Samuel and the birth of Joseph; and this, in the very first chapter of the book. This means we should relate to Joseph as a key figure in the compositional strategy of the entire book (1-2 Samuel). And lo and behold, analogies to Joseph appear in very key places, particularly in the narratives about David.
And now the “So what?” Years ago, C. S. Lewis complained that readers of the Bible had become experts in reading between the lines of Scripture, but had forgotten how to read it as a book. As an expert in literature, Lewis was able to see the storyline of Scripture and to connect the dots. The book of 1-2 Samuel is not a random collection of nice children’s stories to be tacked onto a flannel board. This book is part and parcel of the drama of world redemption which begins in Genesis, namely, God’s plan to bless all nations through the chosen seed of the woman, the chosen seed of Abraham. If ever we will be able to see the meaning of Samuel’s and David’s lives from the perspective of the inspired author of 1-2 Samuel, therefore, we must heed Lewis’ challenge and start learning to read the Bible as a book!
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15).
