Hannah

Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah. Though Elkanah loved Hannah especially, she was barren while his other wife Peninnah had children and constantly provoked Hannah about her childlessness. Year after year, this torment continued, and Hannah wept and would not eat.

At the tabernacle in Shiloh, Hannah poured out her heart to God in silent, anguished prayer, her lips moving without sound. The priest Eli, seeing this, assumed she was drunk and rebuked her. Hannah explained that she was praying from deep bitterness and sorrow, not from wine. Eli blessed her, saying, "Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition."

Hannah returned home and conceived. When Samuel was born, she named him to mean "heard by God," saying, "Because I have asked him of the Lord." True to her vow, after Samuel was weaned, Hannah brought him to the tabernacle, dedicating him to serve God all his life. Her song of praise in 1 Samuel 2 celebrates God's power to reverse human situations—raising the poor, humbling the proud, and giving strength to His anointed.

Hannah continued to visit Samuel yearly, bringing him a new coat she had made. God blessed her with three more sons and two daughters. Her faithfulness in giving Samuel to God resulted in one of Israel's greatest prophets—the man who would anoint both Saul and David as kings.