Shmuel Alef 1:16

16 Take not thine amah (handmaid, servant) for a bat Beliyaal; for out of the abundance of my anguish and ka’as (grief) have I davened hitherto.

Shmuel Alef 1:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 1:16

Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial
A yokeless, a lawless, impudent, and abandoned creature; one of the most wicked, vilest, and most profligate wretches; as she must be to come drunk into the sanctuary of God; see ( 1 Samuel 25:17 1 Samuel 25:25 ) . Drunkenness in man is au abominable crime, but much more in a woman. The Romans ^F1 forbad wine to women, and drunkenness in them was a capital crime, as adultery, or any other; and indeed a drunken woman is liable to all manner of sin:

for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken
hitherto;
out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak, whether it is matter of trouble or of joy; the heart of Hannah was full of grief, and her mouth full of complaints, on which she long dwelt, in order to give vent thereunto, and ease herself.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 14. c. 13.

Shmuel Alef 1:16 In-Context

14 And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunk? Put away thy yayin from thee.

15 And Channah answered and said, No, adoni, I am an isha of a keshat ruach (oppressed spirit); I have drunk neither yayin nor strong drink, but have poured out my nefesh before Hashem.

16 Take not thine amah (handmaid, servant) for a bat Beliyaal; for out of the abundance of my anguish and ka’as (grief) have I davened hitherto.

17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in shalom; and Elohei Yisroel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of Him.

18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find chen (grace, favor) in thy sight. So the isha went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.