Bible Character Explorer
Period of the Judges • c. 1100 BC
Hannah
The Praying MotherThe barren woman whose fervent prayer and vow gave Israel its prophet Samuel
"For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him."
1 Samuel 1:27 (KJV)
Overview
Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah, deeply loved by her husband but tormented year after year by her rival Peninnah because she was barren. At the tabernacle in Shiloh she poured out her soul to the Lord in prayer so intense that the priest Eli mistook her for drunk. She vowed that if God gave her a son, she would give him back to the Lord's service, and her prayer of praise after Samuel's birth is one of the great songs of Scripture, foreshadowing Mary's Magnificat.
Gospel Connection
Hannah's song of praise, celebrating a God who exalts the humble, provides for the barren, and will one day exalt his anointed king, is directly echoed centuries later by Mary in the Magnificat after the angel announced that she would bear the Messiah. Both songs celebrate the same God who works through unlikely, humble people to accomplish his covenant purposes, culminating in the birth of Jesus Christ, the ultimate anointed king Hannah's song anticipated.
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See how this life points to Christ in the Gospel Connection section above.
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