Hannah
She poured out her soul to God, and gave back the child she prayed for.
Old Testament · c. 1100 BC · 1 Samuel · Also known as Mother of Samuel
About Hannah
Hannah was one of the two wives of Elkanah. She had no children, while the other wife, Peninnah, provoked her year after year. At the tabernacle in Shiloh she prayed so intensely that the priest Eli thought she was drunk. She vowed that if God gave her a son, she would give him to the LORD. Samuel was born, Hannah kept her promise, and then she sang a song of praise that echoes through Scripture.
Shiloh was where the tabernacle stood before Jerusalem became the centre of worship. Hannah’s song (1 Samuel 2:1-10) celebrates God lifting up the lowly, a theme many readers hear again in Mary’s song in Luke 1.
The story
Year after year
Every year the family went up to Shiloh to worship, and every year Peninnah "provoked her sore." Hannah wept and would not eat. Her husband asked, "Am not I better to thee than ten sons?"
1 Samuel 1:1-8
Bitterness of soul
"She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore." Her lips moved but no sound came out, so Eli thought she was drunk. "I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit… but have poured out my soul before the LORD," she said. Eli answered, "Go in peace."
1 Samuel 1:9-18
For this child I prayed
God remembered Hannah, and she named her son Samuel. When he was weaned, she brought him to Eli: "For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition… therefore also I have lent him to the LORD."
1 Samuel 1:19-28
My heart rejoiceth
Hannah prayed: "My heart rejoiceth in the LORD… There is none holy as the LORD… neither is there any rock like our God." She sang of a God who lifts the poor from the dust.
1 Samuel 2:1-10
Key moments
- Her vow: A son given back to the LORD. (1 Samuel 1:11)
- Eli’s blessing: "Go in peace." (1 Samuel 1:17)
- Samuel is born: "I have asked him of the LORD." (1 Samuel 1:20)
- Hannah’s song: "None holy as the LORD." (1 Samuel 2:1-2)
- More children: Three sons and two daughters. (1 Samuel 2:21)
Questions about Hannah
In meetBible these answers are given in Hannah’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
Why did Eli think you were drunk?
I was praying silently: "Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken." I told him I had "poured out my soul before the LORD." When he understood, he blessed me: "Go in peace."
How could you give Samuel away?
I had vowed that if God gave me a son, "I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life." Scripture doesn’t record what it cost me to keep that promise. It does record that every year I made him a little coat and brought it to him at Shiloh.
Did you have more children?
Yes. Scripture says the LORD visited me, "so that she conceived, and bare three sons and two daughters." Meanwhile Samuel "grew before the LORD."
Connected people
Read it yourself
Start with 1 Samuel 1–2.