Unless you’re reading in the NKJV or ESV you won’t catch it . . . the “double-take” won’t happen . . . the nuance probably won’t be contemplated. In other versions you might applaud Hannah as she “gives” (NIV, NLT) her baby boy, Samuel, to God’s service . . . in other versions you might be in awe to the degree to which this once barren mom “dedicates” (NASB, MSG) her son as God’s child . . . but in the NKJV and ESV you might scratch your head in a bit of confusion when you read Hannah’s words, “Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord, as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord” (1Sam. 1:28). Lent? Yup, lent!

That kind of caught my attention this morning. Hannah lent Samuel to the Lord. You read that, and on the surface, it comes across at first that Hannah’s consecration of her son was less than 100% . . . that she was retaining some “rights” to her son. But she “lends” him to the Lord for “as long as he lives”, so you know there’s no sense of retained ownership here. Then you dive a bit deeper and check out the use of the original language and your respect for this lady just grows.

The word translated “lent” or “give” or “dedicated” is really the same word already used three times in this chapter, each time translated “asked”. In his first meeting with her, Eli blesses Hannah, asking that the God of Israel would “grant your petition which you asked of Him” (1:17). When Hannah conceived and bore the little boy, she named him Samuel (literally “Heard by God”) because “I have asked for him from the Lord” (1:20). And as she worships and dedicates her son to the Lord at the temple she brings the child to Eli informing him, “For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition when I asked of Him” (1:27).

And so a literal translation of verse 28 would be something like, “I have caused him to be asked for Jehovah, all the days that he hath lived — he is asked for Jehovah.” She didn’t lend him to God as we think of lending. She asked for a son as evidence that His favor was upon her, she in turn promised that she would give this son of her asking to the Lord all the days of his life (1:11). So her prayer was for the Lord. Her giving of her son was what she prayed for. She asked for Jehovah . . . she gave to Jehovah.

Asking for Jehovah . . . praying for His benefit . . . supplicating for His glory.

It’s not that Hannah didn’t bring before the Lord the desires of her heart. She went to the Lord in “bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.” She asked Him to look upon her barrenness, to remember her in her affliction, to show her that He had not forgotten her — and she would know that He knew her if she conceived a child (1:11). But it wasn’t all about her . . . she asked of God . . . but she also asked for God. As important as a child was to her, more important was knowing God’s active presence in her life . . . and so her petition was blessing for her, and a man of God for the Lord. And so, fulfilling her vow, Hannah left her young son at the temple in service to God because she asked for Jehovah.

And this little “rabbit trail” sparked by the word “lent” in my NKJV has me thinking about the degree to which I ask for Jehovah . . . maybe if was asking more for Jehovah, I’d be giving more to Jehovah. Not just material stuff . . . but talents, . . . time, . . . my family, . . . myself. I’m not talking about making vows I can’t fulfill . . . but I guess I’m thinking in lines of Paul’s exhortation “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1Cor. 10:31). Ask for it all . . . enjoy it all . . . but ask for Jehovah, that it all might be given back to Jehovah . . . that, at the end of the day, it really is all about Him and all for Him.

I need to be “lending” more to the Lord, I think . . . . for His glory . . . amen!