Hannah's Story - lectio divina reflections

 This week I have been reflecting on Hannah's story in 1 Samuel 1,2, and Elkanah's words to Hannah in verse 8 have been bothering me. "Am I not worth more to you than ten sons?" The text does not say how Hannah responded, and maybe she didn't. But the very next thing recorded is that Hannah was deeply destressed and weeping bitterly (v. 10). Whether she said anything or not, I can imagine Hannah thinking, "If you love and value me so much, why do you keep having sex with Peninnah so she can keep having babies with which to taunt me?"

As I came to Hannah's story in today's lectio divina, The second step (Meditatio) ask how I identify with any of the characters in the text. This is so much Hannah's story that identifying with her seems natural, which is what I supposed prompted my reflections on 1 Samuel 1:8 that I wrote on Thursday. Today I recognized another awareness has been emerging through the week in response to "In due time Hannah conceived" (v. 20). 

This brought me to consider verse 18 which says that after her conversation with Eli, she returned to her quarters to eat and drink and was no longer sad. Not all ancient manuscripts include "with her husband." Verse 19 suggests that Elkanah "knew" (a common shorthand for had sex) Hannah when they returned home to Ramah (which isn't to say they were not intimate in Shiloh). I actually rather like including "with her husband" while still in Shiloh linked with no longer being sad, imaging that they took the necessary step for fulfilling Hannah's prayer immediately before returning home. 

The line in verse 20 "in due time;" however, suggests to me that Samuel was not conceived in Shiloh but after they had been back in Ramah for a while. Even though Eli's assurance to Hannah were not specific and may have been a generically pastoral response, She took them as assurance that God would answer her prayer. So I have been wondering, how long was "in due time," and how did Hannah's faith fare as she waited? 

I have really been probing the dynamics of the story from Hannah's perspective, but am prompted to consider what assurances God gives when I am struggling and how does my faith fare when waiting for "due time?"

I am very aware that polygamy was practiced, often without moral comment, in the Old Testament. However, as in this incident, the pains that come with it are clear, but I am not suggesting this is some sort of moral regulation for modern marriage practices, one way or another. I am mostly interested here in the realities of human relationships and living in faith.