Neville Goddard on 1 Samuel 1:2-7 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read 1 Samuel 1 in context

Scripture Focus

2And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

3And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.

4And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions:

5But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.

6And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

7And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.

1 Samuel 1:2-7

Biblical Context

Hannah, beloved but barren, is provoked by Peninnah while Elkanah loves her; they go yearly to worship at Shiloh, and the Lord has shut Hannah's womb. The scene sets a struggle between lack and love, inner worship, and the potential for birth within consciousness.

Neville's Inner Vision

Hannah represents the state of consciousness that longs for its own birth in experience. Peninnah’s provocation mirrors the mind’s restless thoughts that repeat, 'you lack.' Elkanah’s tender care signifies the higher self that recognizes you as valued, even as outward conditions press. The yearly journey to the Lord’s house is the inward ascent to the temple of awareness, where attention is turned from outward survival to inner recognition. The statement that the Lord had shut up her womb is not judgment but a signal: birth happens when faith moves, not when one merely desires. In this moment, the offer of a worthy portion to Hannah symbolizes the abundance available to the renewed state of consciousness when alignment with the I AM is achieved. The adversarial voice invites quiet trust; the true birth occurs as a felt realization that you are already blessed, and your desire is real in the heart that hosts it. The scene invites you to release fret and trust that inner birth is possible here and now, within the sanctuary of your own mind.

Practice This Now

Assume the feeling of being the beloved of God in this moment; revise any sense of lack as already fulfilled; imagine your desired state as present now, felt deeply within your heart.