I know what you’re thinking: No, we are not yet in 1 Samuel, but the story applies to what’s happening in Leviticus 27.
This chapter acts as an appendix of sorts on the end of a book that is almost one-hundred percent about laws. Sacrifices and feasts and vows have all been a part of the conversation, but what are the practical applications involved?
Leviticus 27 specifically handles the nature of vows—more specifically, how you show thankfulness to God for a specific blessing. Hannah is a prime example of this: “If You will give your maidservant a son, I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.” She asks God for something specific, then vows to give something to God in return.
Since you can’t offer human sacrifices, Leviticus 27:2-8 puts a valuation amount on humans. Men and women between certain ages are valued differently (monetarily), with the idea that a person can pay the amount instead of offering the person themselves as a sacrifice, which would be a sin.
(Some argue this is what Jephthah did in Judges 11 instead of literally offering his daughter as a human sacrifice, but it seems unlikely to me.)
When you look at Hannah’s actions in 1 Samuel though, she doesn’t take the Leviticus 27 route. According to the following chapters, she literally gives Samuel to the Tabernacle under the tutelage of Eli.
But why does she give up her son if she had an option to redeem him and raise him in her own household?
Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer. One could argue that Hannah’s request wasn’t related to Leviticus 27 at all, and that Hannah’s vow was a one-way commitment that’s more akin to a gratitude offering.
To me, that’s splitting hairs. Hannah clearly vowed something to God in exchange for His kindness. She could have framed it as a vow/redemption situation, but chose not.
The real story with Hannah is that she so desperately wanted a child that she was willing to give God anything up to and including that child in order to get it. As a barren woman, being a mother meant having a child, even if it didn’t grow up in her house.
But Hannah stayed in Samuel’s life far longer than we sometimes remember. 1 Samuel 2:18-20 shows that she made return trips ever year to bring him gifts and visit with him. He may have been a student of Eli and (eventually) a prophet of God, but he was still her son.
The faith and dedication of Hannah bled into her son. The same type of devotion that she had to God in begging for His kindness and then following through with her vow, was the same type of dedication that Samuel had as well. When everyone else fell through, Samuel remained firm. Just like his mother.
