symbolizes birth. God “opens”the doorway of the womb so that a child can enter the world. Hannah’s child would eventually stand in the same doorway as the “gatekeeper” of Israel (1 Sam. 3:15). Hannah vowed she would dedicate her son to the Lord forever, as a permanent Nazirite (1:11). According to Numbers 6, the Nazirite separated himself from wine, from grapes, from cutting his hair, and from the dead. In several details, the Nazirite resembled a priest, especially the high priest. Nazirites were