Eli announced another blessing on Hannah, and she conceived 3 more sons and 2 daughters, making six in total.
Hannah's Legacy
Not only did God remember Hannah with the birth of Samuel, he also gave her three more sons and two daughters.
The Bible does not specify how long Hannah was barren, a period that, according to the. midrash, extended for nineteen years. Why was this righteous woman forced to suffer so many years of childlessness?
God had foreordained Samuel to be a substitute for Eli and also to be born through Hannah. However, God would not open Hannah's womb to conceive Samuel until God was certain that Hannah would be willing to release Samuel for His purpose, service and glory.
Childless as one of the two wives of Elkanah, she prayed for a son, promising to dedicate him to God. Her prayers were answered, and she brought forth Samuel and took the child to Shiloh for religious training.
To Shiloh, Hannah brought Samuel and consecrated him to the Lord's service. 1 Samuel 1:24–28: And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh.
2:21 attests that the Lord took note of Hannah and “she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters.” The midrash tells that when Hannah bore her children, Peninnah was punished: Hannah would give birth to one child, and Peninnah would bury two; Hannah bore four, and Peninnah buried eight.
She prayed to God, reminding God that she was God's servant and wanted but one thing only. Then she made a promise. She said: "Oh, God Almighty, if you will only see my misery and remember me by giving me a son, then I will give my son to serve you, God, for all the days of his life."
Hannah is the second and barren yet preferred wife of Elkanah. She suffers silently in this predicament but eventually goes to a temple and prays fervently. She promises to return her child to YHWH if she is able to have a male baby, showing that she is most focused on securing her position in the community.
And God, who is rich in mercy, did not disappoint her.. Hannah was burdened with grief and sorrow: she longed to be a mother yet was childless (1 Samuel 1:2). Her infertility was a source of anguish and misery. Deeply distressed, Hannah was so spent with crying that she couldn't even eat (1:7).
Yahweh then told Abraham that Sarah would give to him a son. Sarah, then ninety years old, laughed at this idea. But, as prophesied, she became pregnant with Isaac and she nursed him herself.
Isaac and Rebekah were the first generations of Abraham's decedents to experience infertility. Rebekah's son Jacob and his two wives, Leah and Rachel, would be the second generation of Abraham's decedents to experienced infertility.
Eli announced another blessing on Hannah, and she conceived 3 more sons and 2 daughters, making six in total.
Hannah demonstrates her faith through obedience, even when it means an extreme personal sacrifice. She has longed for this child, and she loves him as only a mother can love a child. But her love for God is greater and she shows it by letting go of Samuel.
Hannah's story is a powerful one of strength, courage, persistent prayer, and unwavering commitment to seeking God's face. She faced challenging circumstances, felt discouraged and angry with God. Despite her challenges, feelings of rejection and abandonment, she did not stop praying.
Every year she would go with her husband to a place called Shiloh. While they were there, there would be a big festival and everyone would celebrate all that God did for them. They would thank God for their crops and everything God gave them, and give sacrifices or presents to God to show how thankful they were.
Hannah's specific request for a male child is therefore a reflection of the preference for sons in ancient Israel, which derived principally from the fact that, in that society, male children were greatly desired for the purpose of the perpetuation of the husband's lineage, as well as for land inheritance.
On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb.
Hannah asked the Lord for a son. She promised God that she would give this son to Him to serve God all of his days. God heard and answered Hannah's prayer and she kept her promise to Him and took Samuel to the tabernacle to serve the Lord all his days. Read 2 Samuel 2:1-10.
There are six barren women in the Bible: three of the four matriarchs (Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel) in Genesis; Hannah, mother of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 1-2); the anonymous wife of Manoah, mother of Samson (Judges 13); and the “great woman of Shunem,” also called the Shunammite, an acolyte of the prophet Elisha (2 ...
Many Bibles and older commentaries state that she was 84 years old. The Greek text states καὶ αὐτὴ χήρα ὡς ἐτῶν ὀγδοηκοντατεσσάρων, generally translated as "she was a widow of eighty four years".
At the beginning of the series, 17-year-old schoolgirl Hannah Baker took her own life by cutting her wrists. Her school locker becomes a memorial adorned with students' letters and her pictures.
6 Because the LORD had closed Hannah's womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. 8 Her husband Elkanah would say to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping?
The biblical account of her story in 1 Samuel 1-2 explicitly reveals, “The LORD had closed her womb.” It also says that “her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb.” Hannah's rival was her husband's second wife who “had children.” And the yearly taunting filled Hannah ...