A Passionate Hope--Hannah's Story

by Jill Eileen Smith

  Hannah simply leaned her head against his chest and sighed. This was a good day.

  11

  Elkanah held the reins of the donkey and walked beside Hannah as they made their way to Shiloh the following month. Several male cousins followed behind them, all of them of the Kohathite clan, taking their turn to serve at the tabernacle. Uneasiness crept through him that Hannah was the only woman among them, and more than once he had jerked awake in the night with the horrible thought that he would not be able to keep her safe from Hophni or Phinehas. Was he a complete fool to have suggested she come?

  But his mother had been positively difficult with Hannah during their entire three months of marriage, and he was growing restless as to how to help the situation.

  “Are you sorry to have me along, since your cousins did not bring their wives? Will they think it strange?” She stepped closer to him as she walked, having refused to ride the donkey, which carried their supplies.

  “Of course not.” He glanced at her. “My cousins may tease us for being newly wed, but that is the nature of men. They know the way it can be in our household, and most of them have small children who cannot come.” He leaned in and kissed her nose. “Whereas we are still free to enjoy each other before you are too busy with our own children to be bothered with me.”

  “I look forward to that day,” she said, touching his cheek. “But I could never grow tired of or bothered with you.” She released a sigh and kicked a stone out of the path as they walked, and he wondered what thoughts went through her mind. “I truly want to help you,” she said. “I want to be safe, but is the only way to do that to stay with the priests’ wives? Surely the priests do not bother all of the serving women.”

  They had discussed her options and the duties she could perform during their month of preparation for the trip, but he had discarded most of them. He stroked his beard a moment, thinking.

  “I don’t suppose I can help you with your duties?” Her tone was hopeful, but by the look on her face, she knew the answer.

  He shook his head. “But don’t fear. I will make certain that Eli knows why you are there, and I am certain Raziela will appreciate your help with her four sons and infant daughter.”

  Hannah’s hand moved to her middle, and he wondered for the briefest moment if she could already be expecting their first child. They’d been married long enough . . . but dare he ask her?

  Her look held acceptance. “It is enough to be with you. I will be happy with whatever you decide,” she said, taking his free hand. “If you would like me to lead the donkey for a while, I could give you a break.”

  He met her gaze. “It’s fine. The donkey is not so stubborn, thankfully. He follows with the slightest tug of the reins.”

  She reached into the sack strapped to her side. “Then, if you don’t mind, I will spin as we walk.”

  He always wondered how a woman could walk and work at the same time. Spinning always made him dizzy and took greater skill than he possessed. Give him an outdoor task or the carefully detailed duties of the tabernacle and he could handle it fine. Shearing the sheep he could do. Even combing the wool was something his mother had tasked him with when he was a young boy. But he could never get the spindle and distaff to work together. He chuckled. His mother had given up in frustration, which was fine with him, as it was considered woman’s work, after all.

  “What’s so funny?”

  He hadn’t realized his thoughts had caused him to laugh outright. “I was just recalling the time as a boy that my mother tried to teach me to spin.” He grinned. “Some tasks were just not made for my clumsy hands.”

  She looked at him sideways, a twinkle in her eye. “I’m fairly certain that a man who can handle the articles of silver and gold in the tabernacle and take such care with the sheep could learn something as simple as spinning.” She laughed with him. “Unless that boy was trying to get away from his mother and out into the fields. Now, that I could understand.”

  How he loved the sound of her laughter. He could not wait for the day when she carried his child. How they would celebrate!

  He glanced at her again. Was it possible? Already? But he looked away as heat flushed his face. It was not his place to ask her. When the time came, she would tell him. Until then, he would wait.

  Hannah’s heart skipped a beat as they approached Shiloh’s gates. The city was set in a valley with mountains in the distance. Priestly and Levitical families from the sons of Aaron, along with other Shilonites and temple servants, lived and worked in the area surrounding the tabernacle, which took the center focus of not only the town but also the valley. A wide swath of empty land circled the tented tabernacle, the place where the Israelites camped every time they came to one of the prescribed feasts of the Lord.

  They started down the hill toward the buildings where the Kohathites and other Levites lived when they came to serve, but Hannah stopped midway, her gaze taking it all in.

  Elkanah halted the donkey and came up beside her. She could feel his gaze on her, and she smiled into his dark eyes. “Without the crowds with us, it is even more beautiful.” A sigh escaped, and she let the spindle wind to a stop.

  Elkanah gave her a curious look. “Even from a distance you see Adonai.” Wonder filled his voice.

  “Is it not grace that He called Israel to be His people and gave us the exact instructions to build this structure? Even from here it shines like gold in sunlight.” She tucked the spindle and distaff into her leather sack and started walking again.

  He fell into step with her. “I wish the beauty of the place carried to the people within its walls.”

  The reminder made her pause to look at him once more. She searched his furrowed brow, his concerned gaze. “Despite your assurances, you are worried, aren’t you?”

  Elkanah stroked his beard. “It is a husband’s job to worry.”

  “I thought that job belonged to a mother.”

  His expression changed and a smile touched the corners of his mouth. “Fair enough. But sometimes a husband worries too. It is my job to protect you no matter where we are.” He took her hand. “You will always be safe with me, beloved.”

  “There was never any doubt,” she said.

  They continued on and reached the housing for the Levites. Elkanah settled the donkey into the nearby stables, then found an open room for them to stay. Hannah set the things they had brought on a shelf and spread their pallets on the dirt floor.

  “Come,” Elkanah said once she had finished. He took her hand and led her across the compound. They entered the tent where the Levites took their meals.

  She let her gaze take in the place. “Lital cooked here,” she said softly, glancing his way. “Perhaps if I worked here, I could learn something from the women about her.”

  “No.” His abrupt comment did not surprise her, despite its slight sting. She should have known he would be against her trying to find answers that the men had already attempted to discover. To continue asking, especially as a woman, could cause consequences, even dangerous ones.

  She released a sigh and settled beside him to eat a light meal, then walked outside with him again as the sun began to set beyond the hills. The priests’ homes with their gold-plated doorposts shone in the fading light.

  “This is where Hophni lives.” Elkanah spoke without inflection. “Phinehas lives next door.” He pointed to the other elaborate home. “But your father would have pointed them out when you were here with him.”

  She nodded. “Yes. I remember how impressed I was.”

  “The priests are giving the evening sacrifice now, but Raziela will be here with their children. I will introduce you. You will like her better than Irit.”

  He knocked on the door before Hannah could ask why. She leaned close to his side without actually touching him. Her pulse quickened with the thought of meeting these women whom she had only seen from a distance in her youth, women who knew the rumors about their husbands and yet lived with the situation. They could no
t possibly approve.

  The door opened and a servant ushered them into the waiting area. “We are here to see Raziela,” Elkanah said. “I want her to meet my wife. She is here with me during my week of service.”

  The servant nodded and called a young boy, who appeared as though he’d been standing nearby. The boy bent with a water basin and washed their feet. Elkanah and Hannah waited in silence until at last they were ushered into a large sitting room. A woman dressed in fine robes and jeweled sandals strode like a queen into the room, a babe on her hip. The image seemed so out of place. Shouldn’t a woman so wealthy have a servant caring for her child?

  “Raziela, thank you for meeting with us.” Elkanah nodded in her direction as though addressing someone of royal status, and for a moment Hannah wondered if he would bend his knee.

  “Of course, Elkanah. You know you and your family are always welcome in our home.” She smiled, and Hannah thought her one of the prettiest women she had ever seen. Why on earth would her husband be unfaithful to her?

  “I want you to meet my wife, Hannah.” He put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him, something he never did in public. “She came with me to serve you and perhaps serve some in the tabernacle while I am on duty there. She is also of Kohathite blood and could assist in certain responsibilities, but I thought perhaps she would enjoy spending time with you and your children first.”

  A wide smile spread over Raziela’s face. “How very thoughtful of you!” She looked at Hannah, kindness twinkling in her dark eyes. She glanced at her daughter, who was swinging her head this way and that and bouncing on Raziela’s hip. “I would love some help with this one.” She smiled into her daughter’s eyes. “She is a handful for everyone. The boys were easy in comparison to this little one.”

  Hannah felt an instant kinship with this woman, a desire to get to know her better. “I would be most happy to help you.” She looked at Elkanah and squeezed his arm, then met Raziela’s gaze. “When do we get started?”

  12

  Hannah woke early the following morning to help Elkanah dress in his Levitical garb. Together they went to the tents where the workers were fed, then to Raziela’s house. The servant greeted Hannah, and Elkanah paused only a moment to take a glance about the house, then turned and promised to return for her before the evening meal.

  Hannah watched him leave, her nerves on edge. She looked about the large sitting room, listening to the sounds of servants hustling here and there while she waited for Raziela. At last the woman appeared, this time without her daughter on her hip.

  “Hannah, how good of you to come.” She looked less elegant in her dress this morning, which put Hannah more at ease.

  “It is my pleasure. I hope I can be of service to you.” Hannah smiled as Raziela took a seat near her.

  “Yes, with the children when they awaken. The baby still keeps me up nights, so I let all of them sleep later than I should.” Raziela stifled a yawn and released a deep sigh. “Besides seeing Hophni off to tend to the morning sacrifices, I have Eli to help as well. Ever since Eli’s wife passed away, we often have him over for meals.” She glanced at Hannah. “Irit and I take turns.”

  Hannah nodded, not sure what to say. “It must be hard for him to have lost his wife.” She had heard rumors a few years ago, but not much was told of Eli’s wife.

  “Hila was a kind woman,” Raziela said, her eyes taking on a distant expression. “But she doted too much on her sons.” Her tone turned slightly irritated. “If she had insisted on more discipline, encouraged Eli not to look the other way . . .” She paused and glanced about her, then lowered her voice. “The truth is, it is not safe here for most women. Hila helped keep some of them safe, but . . . she couldn’t help them all, and Eli did little more than tell his sons they should behave better. Hila did not push him to say more.”

  “Did Hila really have much influence over them? It would seem that Eli would be most responsible.” Hannah studied her host, hoping the question was not beyond the bounds of propriety.

  Raziela simply nodded her understanding without censure and waited as a servant brought them silver cups of herbal tea and small date cakes. She motioned for Hannah to eat, while she lifted the cup to her lips and drank. “You probably wonder the same thing about Irit and me.” She looked at Hannah over the rim of her cup. “Why don’t we exert influence to stop our husbands from sleeping with the women who serve at the tabernacle? Tell me you aren’t thinking this.”

  “I wasn’t thinking it exactly.” Hannah set the cup aside and folded her hands in her lap. “I know what it is like to live in a household where you have no control. I rather doubt your husbands give you any choice in the matter.” She drew in a breath and searched Raziela’s gaze. “Tell me . . . are you in danger?” Were Hophni and Phinehas abusing their wives?

  Raziela did not speak for a lengthy moment. “As long as we say nothing and give them what they ask when they ask for it, they treat us well.” She looked beyond Hannah. “They lavish us with gifts and give us children, and we are well protected behind these walls.”

  Hannah glanced at the elaborate carvings on some of the walls and the intricate stonework that had gone into building this house. “Your home is beautiful.” A moment later she had a sudden, horrifying thought. “Are you ever allowed to leave these rooms?” She studied Raziela, surprising herself at her boldness.

  Raziela’s gaze clouded. She touched a date cake but did not eat it. A child screamed from the back of the house, making both women jump.

  Raziela settled back into the seat. “A servant will tend to him.” Obviously she knew her children and her staff well. “We are allowed to leave to go to market with a servant—sometimes. But you have guessed correctly in that it is rare that we can leave these houses our husbands have built for us. If we did, we might come upon them with the other women or discover something they do not wish us to know. We hear the rumors from the servants, but there is nothing we can do. If we try . . . if we say anything or were to leave and walk about Shiloh without permission . . .” She did not finish the sentence, but Hannah could guess what would happen if she disobeyed her corrupt husband.

  Raziela released a sigh. “I have said too much, and I barely know you.”

  “Your words are safe with me. You need not fear.” Hannah stood as Raziela did.

  “Thank you,” Raziela said. “I do not usually trust anyone with the truth unless they work for me. But you are a guest and a willing helper, so let us go and see what can be done today to fill the hours for both of us.”

  Hannah followed her down a hallway that led to the sleeping rooms and the place where a Levite tutored her boys. “If you are up to it,” Raziela said, “I am working on a new weaving project to hang from the wall in our oldest son’s room. I would enjoy working with someone to take turns with the warp and weft.”

  Hannah smiled. Weaving was something she enjoyed, though she had never thought to use such work on a wall hanging. She was used to weaving coats and tunics and rugs—practical items. But Raziela was used to more gold than Hannah could imagine. The wealthy lived in palaces that needed decorating. How much better it would be if that gold could be put to use to feed the poor or help the orphan or widow. But she would never say so.

  Instead she took her place at Raziela’s side and began the work.

  The sun set over Shiloh in blazing colors, brilliant beauty after a tiring day. Elkanah took Hannah’s hand and walked along the perimeter of the tabernacle’s tented fence. Their week of service had gone so quickly, with only two days left.

  “We’ll be heading home soon,” he said.

  “Yes.” Her tone held hesitance, and he sensed she dreaded the return to his father’s house. “It’s been a nice break from the normal routine.”

  He nodded. He did enjoy serving here. But he would not miss running into Hophni and Phinehas and seeing the smirks they gave him or hearing the comments about Hannah he would not repeat to her.

  “Beautiful wife yo
u have there, Kohathite. Seems like a man would leave such a woman behind to wait for him rather than expose her to so much debauchery.” Phinehas had laughed long and hard at his own statement, and it was all Elkanah could do to keep from putting both hands about the man’s thick throat and knocking some sense into a body bulging with meat from stolen sacrifices. But Hophni was standing near, and strong as he was, Elkanah was in no mood to take on both men.

  “My wife has seen no debauchery in Hophni’s home, I assure you. Nor in yours when you are not there.” He met Phinehas’s scowl with one of his own. “If you think this tabernacle is a place for debauchery, as you call it, then you do not deserve to be priest.”

  He’d turned then and stomped off before Phinehas could reply. While Phinehas might threaten to stop him from coming or threaten his sacrifices on feast days, Elkanah had had enough. He didn’t care what they did. Besides, God would surely protect him.

  “Your thoughts are deep tonight.” Hannah’s words interrupted his concerns, things he could not even share with her. There was no sense in troubling her with a situation that was not likely to come to pass.

  “This place always gives me cause to worry,” he said, squeezing her hand. “Phinehas and Hophni just get more vile every time I see them. If only Eli would stand up to them.”

  “Perhaps it is not as easy as it seems.” She looked at him as the sun faded in the distance. The moon rose brighter and stars began to dot the heavens.

  “Tell me what you mean.” He faced her where they stood on the west side of the tabernacle. They still had to circle the tent to reach the housing for the Levites.

  “It’s just something Raziela said that first day. When Eli’s wife was alive, Raziela said she doted too much on her sons, and even then Eli looked the other way when they started taking other women to their beds. He is so passive, and Hila did nothing to convince him to do something harsh, like go to his brother’s family and offer the priesthood over to them.”