This broader, national significance of the passage is apparent from its location at the beginning of 1 Samuel. The book of Judges had concluded with accounts of brutal intertribal warfare and cruel acts of cultic and moral disobedience. The birth of Samuel is cast against this shocking backdrop. Israel is barren like Hannah; each has a desperate need that only God can satisfy. The chapter opens with the account of God’s intervening on behalf of both Hannah and Israel. He delivers Hannah from her