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Hannah Dedicates Samuel
c.1 Samuel 1:22 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls always. I have dedicated him as a Nazirite—all the days of his life.”
d.1 Samuel 1:23 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac your
e.1 Samuel 1:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; Masoretic Text with three bulls
f.1 Samuel 1:24 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
So how old was Samuel when Hannah left him at the Temple?
I always put the Bible in my terms... or how things work in my life today.... based on that, weaning a breastfed child would have Hannah leaving the child when he was in the terrible twos at the latest.
That made sense too if you go back to when Sarah weaned Isaac, she sent Hagar packing.... I always figured Isaac hit the terrible twos and Hagar got blamed in a way. Here's the verse.
But I did some research and it turns out that back then, weaning a child was not taken so lightly. Babies died when they weren't properly nursed. They were nursed much longer than we do now. When a child got sick, they had to stay with the mother even longer to build back up the immune system.
Here's a link.
And to be fair.... Sarah had to put up with Hagar's bigheadedness for years before she threw her out too. Hagar had no business laughing over Isaac reaching a safe age. So maybe Sarah had every right to throw her out.
And it turns out Hannah had her baby, Samuel, with her constantly until he was between two and four years old, when he went to live at the Temple with Eli. It would have been a real sacrifice in Hannah's part to give up a child you had grown so attached to.
Head Start....Boarding School.... Jewish Academy....
1 Samuel 1:21 When her husband Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, 22 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always.”[c]
23 “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his[d] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,[e] an ephah[f] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
23 “Do what seems best to you,” her husband Elkanah told her. “Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his[d] word.” So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.
24 After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,[e] an ephah[f] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
c.1 Samuel 1:22 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls always. I have dedicated him as a Nazirite—all the days of his life.”
d.1 Samuel 1:23 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac your
e.1 Samuel 1:24 Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint and Syriac; Masoretic Text with three bulls
f.1 Samuel 1:24 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
So how old was Samuel when Hannah left him at the Temple?
I always put the Bible in my terms... or how things work in my life today.... based on that, weaning a breastfed child would have Hannah leaving the child when he was in the terrible twos at the latest.
That made sense too if you go back to when Sarah weaned Isaac, she sent Hagar packing.... I always figured Isaac hit the terrible twos and Hagar got blamed in a way. Here's the verse.
Genesis 21:8The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. 9 But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, 10 and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”
But I did some research and it turns out that back then, weaning a child was not taken so lightly. Babies died when they weren't properly nursed. They were nursed much longer than we do now. When a child got sick, they had to stay with the mother even longer to build back up the immune system.
According to Jewish rabbinical traditions, weaning could take place anywhere between 18 months and 5 years of age. In one important biblical parallel, Samuel was weaned prior to being taken to Eli the priest to serve the Lord. First Samuel 1:24 says, “And when she had weaned him . . . she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And the child was young.” No exact age is given, but the weaning is mentioned, and Samuel’s youth is emphasized, so he was likely between 2 and 4 years old.
Here's a link.
And to be fair.... Sarah had to put up with Hagar's bigheadedness for years before she threw her out too. Hagar had no business laughing over Isaac reaching a safe age. So maybe Sarah had every right to throw her out.
And it turns out Hannah had her baby, Samuel, with her constantly until he was between two and four years old, when he went to live at the Temple with Eli. It would have been a real sacrifice in Hannah's part to give up a child you had grown so attached to.
Head Start....Boarding School.... Jewish Academy....