"Scenes 3 [vv. 19-20] and 4 [vv. 21-28a] are a pair, not unlike the pairing of 1 [vv. 3-8] and 2 [vv. 9-19]. They are the two scenes of resolution. . . . These two scenes are concerned not with the birth, but with Hannah coming to terms with the reality of Yahweh. She is portrayed as the one who is needy, trustful, submissive, and grateful. She is a model of fidelity."25
The Mosaic Law required an offering to God when He granted a vow (Lev. 27:1-8). Elkanah went to the central sanctuary to make this offering shortly after Samuel's birth (v. 21). The text refers to Hannah's vow as Elkanah's (v. 21). It was his vow in this sense: since he did not cancel it when he heard about it, he became responsible for it as Hannah's husband (cf. Num. 30:1-8).
Samuel may have been as old as three years before Hannah weaned him and brought him to the sanctuary (v. 23; cf. 2 Maccabees 7:27). The three-year-old bull and the flour (v. 24) were evidently for a burnt offering (an offering that represented the worshipper's total dedication to God, Lev. 1) and for food respectively.26Hannah could have offered a less expensive animal sacrifice (Lev. 12:6), but she was very grateful.
