What is the meaning of 1 Samuel 1:16?

Do not take your servant

Hannah begins with courtesy. “Servant” is her chosen title, placing herself beneath Eli’s authority and, ultimately, beneath God’s (1 Samuel 1:15).

• This posture echoes Mary’s “I am the Lord’s servant” (Luke 1:38), David’s “your servant” before Saul (1 Samuel 17:32), and the call to humble submission in 1 Peter 5:5–6.

• By asking, “Do not take,” she politely corrects Eli’s misjudgment while maintaining respect for his priestly office—reminding us of Proverbs 15:1: “A gentle answer turns away wrath.”

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for a wicked woman

Eli had mistaken Hannah’s silent, emotional prayer for drunkenness (1 Samuel 1:13–14). “Wicked” (literally “worthless” in other passages) describes those who openly despise God’s ways—like the “worthless men” in 1 Samuel 2:12.

• Hannah contrasts herself with such behavior, aligning more with Ruth, “a woman of noble character” (Ruth 3:11).

• Proverbs 31:10–11 portrays the opposite of a “wicked woman,” and Hannah implicitly identifies with that godly ideal.

• Her defense shows that appearances can deceive (John 7:24), so we must judge kindly and carefully.

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for all this time I have been praying

Rather than indulging in sin, Hannah has been engaged in prolonged, persistent prayer.

• Like the widow of Luke 18:1–8, she refuses to quit until God answers.

• Psalm 55:17 models prayers “evening, morning, and noon,” affirming that God welcomes continual requests (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

• Her steady communion reminds us that length of prayer can reveal depth of burden but also faith that God hears (James 5:16).

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out of the depth of my anguish and grief

Hannah’s sorrow is real. She is childless in a culture where barrenness felt like a curse (Genesis 30:1). Yet she turns pain into prayer.

• Psalm 34:18 promises, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted”; Hannah experiences that nearness now.

• Her tears mirror those of David in Psalm 6:6 and Jesus in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:38).

• 1 Peter 5:7 urges believers to cast every anxiety on God because He cares—Hannah practices exactly that.

• God uses her anguish not to crush her but to set the stage for Samuel’s miraculous birth, proving Romans 8:28 true.

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summary

Hannah respectfully corrects Eli, affirms her innocence, and reveals the true source of her intense, extended prayer: deep anguish poured out before a compassionate God. Her words teach that humble submission, persistent petition, and honest lament all belong in the life of faith.