1 Samuel 1:22
“But Hannah didn’t go up; for she said to her husband, “Not until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before Yahweh, and stay there forever.””
What does 1 Samuel 1:22 mean?
Hannah had made a vow to God that if he gave her a son, she would dedicate that child to serve him at the temple for life. Now that Samuel was born, she's explaining to her husband Elkanah why she won't make the yearly trip to worship at Shiloh with the rest of the family: she's waiting until Samuel is old enough to be weaned and eat solid food. Once he can survive without nursing, she'll bring him to the priest Eli and leave him there in God's service, fulfilling her promise. What makes this moment so tender is that Hannah is willingly letting go of her longed-for son, not out of obligation or reluctance, but because her gratitude to God runs deeper than her desire to keep him close. She understood that the greatest gift she could give back was the very thing she'd prayed for.