1 Samuel 1 · WEB
Hannah's Prayer and Samuel's Birth
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Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.
2He had two wives. The name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3This man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh of Armies in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to Yahweh there.
4When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he gave portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters;
5but to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but Yahweh had shut up her womb.
6Her rival provoked her severely, to make her fret, because Yahweh had shut up her womb.
7So it was done year by year. When she went up to Yahweh's house, her rival provoked her; therefore she wept and didn't eat.
8Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? Why don't you eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"
9So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of Yahweh's temple.
10She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to Yahweh, and wept bitterly.
11She vowed a vow, and said, "Yahweh of Armies, if you will indeed look at the affliction of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a boy, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and no razor shall come on his head."
12As she continued praying before Yahweh, Eli noticed her mouth.
13Now Hannah spoke in her heart. Only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.
14Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine from you."
15Hannah answered, "No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before Yahweh.
16Don't count your servant as a wicked woman; for I have been speaking out of the abundance of my complaint and my provocation."
17Then Eli answered, "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of him."
18She said, "Let your servant find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way and ate; and her facial expression was no more sad.
19They rose up in the morning early and worshiped before Yahweh, and returned and came to their house to Ramah. Then Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and Yahweh remembered her.
20When the year had come around, Hannah conceived and bore a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked him of Yahweh."
21The man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer to Yahweh the yearly sacrifice and his vow.
22But Hannah didn't go up; for she said to her husband, "Not until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before Yahweh and stay there forever."
23Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems good to you. Wait until you have weaned him; only may Yahweh establish his word." So the woman waited and nursed her son until she weaned him.
24When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of meal, and a container of wine, and brought him to Yahweh's house in Shiloh. The child was young.
25They killed the bull and brought the child to Eli.
26She said, "Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to Yahweh.
27I prayed for this child, and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of him.
28Therefore I have also given him to Yahweh. As long as he lives he is given to Yahweh." He worshiped Yahweh there.
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Summary
Elkanah's wife Hannah is barren and deeply grieved, especially as her rival Peninnah taunts her. In anguish, Hannah prays fervently at the Tabernacle in Shiloh, vowing to dedicate any son she bears to God for life. God answers her prayer, and she conceives and bears Samuel. True to her vow, Hannah brings the young boy to Shiloh and presents him to Eli the priest to serve Yahweh all his days.
Themes
- God's sovereignty over life and barrenness
- Fervent, persistent prayer
- Faithful fulfillment of vows
- God's compassion for the brokenhearted
Key verses
- 1 Sam 1:11 — “Yahweh of Armies, if you will indeed look at the affliction of your servant, and remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a boy, then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life.”
- 1 Sam 1:20 — “When the year had come around, Hannah conceived and bore a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, 'Because I have asked him of Yahweh.'”
- 1 Sam 1:27 — “I prayed for this child, and Yahweh has given me my petition which I asked of him.”
Context & background
The story opens during the period of the judges, roughly 1100 BC, when the Tabernacle was housed at Shiloh (modern Khirbet Seilun, located in the West Bank approximately 30 miles north of Jerusalem). Elkanah's hometown, Ramah (modern er-Ram, West Bank), was about 5 miles north of Jerusalem. Polygamy, though practiced, frequently produced domestic tension as illustrated here. Hannah's silent prayer was unusual enough that Eli mistook it for drunkenness, suggesting that vocal prayer was the norm in that era.
Cross-references
- Gen 25:21 — Rebekah was also barren, and Isaac prayed for her; God opened her womb.
- Gen 30:1-2 — Rachel's anguish over barrenness echoes Hannah's distress.
- Luke 1:13 — The angel tells Zechariah his prayer for a child has been heard, mirroring Hannah's answered prayer.
- Num 6:5 — The Nazirite vow, which Hannah applies to Samuel, requiring no razor on the head.
- Ps 113:9 — "He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother of children."