Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

HANNAH

(Heb. ḥannâ)

Mother of Samuel (1 Sam. 1:20) and wife of Elkanah the Ephraimite from Ramathaim (v. 1). Hannah, the first of Elkanah’s two wives, was barren. Although Elkanah favored Hannah (he gave her a double portion each year at the Shiloh sacrifice), Peninnah (his second wife and mother of his children) made Hannah’s life miserable (1 Sam. 1:6-8). One year, Hannah went before the Lord at Shiloh and vowed that if God would give her a son, she would dedicate him as a Nazarite (1:9-11). While she prayed, the Shiloh priest Eli mistakenly thought she was drunk, but she reassured him of her sobriety and pious intent (1:12-18). Upon the family’s return to Ramathaim, Hannah became pregnant and bore a son whom she named Samuel (“I have asked him from the Lord,” 1:19-20). Only after Samuel’s weaning did Hannah finally return to Shiloh. Bringing a sacrifice of a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, she presented Samuel to the Lord (1:21-28) and sang a song (2:1-10). While Samuel remained with the priests at Shiloh (2:11), Hannah returned home and later bore five other children (three sons and two daughters; v. 21). Each year, Hannah returned to Shiloh and brought clothing for Samuel, who remained ministering with the priests (2:19-20).

Hannah’s story contains several common literary themes: the barren wife (cf. Sarah, Gen. 11:30; Rebekah, Gen. 25:21; Rachel, Gen. 29:31; and Manoah’s wife, Judg. 13:2); the rivalry between barren wives and fruitful ones (e.g., Sarah/Hagar, Gen. 16:4; Rachel/Leah, 30:1-24), and the dedication of formerly barren women’s unborn sons as Nazarites (Manoah’s wife, Judg. 13). What distinguishes Hannah’s account from others is its ritual dimensions. Only Hannah confronts the Lord, makes a vow, and subsequently sacrifices to God at the vow’s fulfillment. Moreover, Hannah’s prayer is unique in the OT; rarely are we told of women’s prayers, and at no other time are we given such detail as to their content. Hannah’s song of praise (1 Sam. 2) is sometimes thought to be secondary to the account of Samuel’s birth; its influence on Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) is widely recognized.

Recent treatments of Hannah’s story emphasize her characterization as “victim and redeemer” (Lillian Klein) and her sacrifice as an example of women’s religion (Carol Meyers).

Bibliography. L. R. Klein, “Hannah: Marginalized Victim and Social Redeemer,” in A Feminist Companion to Samuel and Kings, ed. A. Brenner (Sheffield, 1994), 77-92; C. Meyers, “The Hannah Narrative in Feminist Perspective,” in Go to the Land I Will Show You, ed. J. E. Colesin and V. H. Matthews (Winona Lake, 1996), 117-26.

Linda S. Schearing

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

HANNAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)