1 Samuel 1:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb.

NIV: Because the LORD had closed Hannah's womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.

NASB: Her rival, moreover, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb.

CSB: Her rival would taunt her severely just to provoke her, because the Lord had kept Hannah from conceiving.

NLT: So Peninnah would taunt Hannah and make fun of her because the Lord had kept her from having children.

KJV: And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.

NKJV: And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb.

Polygamy was common in Israel during this era (1 Samuel 1:1–2), but popularity does not make something right, or easy. Sarah gave her servant Hagar to Abraham to bear children on her behalf. After Hagar conceived, she looked with contempt on Sarah, and Sarah came to resent Hagar and treated her harshly (Genesis 16:1–6). Rachel desperately envied her sister for giving Jacob children while she could not. She even named one of her surrogate children something like "mighty wrestlings" because of her intense rivalry with her sister (Genesis 30:1–8). Of course, deep resentment also comes when one wife is more favored by the husband. That was very much the case with Jacob, Rachel, and Leah (Genesis 29:30–31).

In this case, Peninnah is remembered only as the adversary or even tormentor of Hannah. Hannah cannot have children (1 Samuel 1:2, 5). Elkanah's second wife may have given him sons, but she apparently couldn't steal his heart from Hannah (1 Samuel 1:5). She would have noticed Elkanah giving Hannah the double portion of the meat at the festival. Perhaps as a response to favoritism (Genesis 37:3–4), Peninnah was cruel about Hannah's infertility. She might have constantly provoked Hannah to irritate her. Or she may have been especially spiteful. She became Hannah's tormentor, exploiting her grief to cause her more pain.

Here, again, the text emphasizes that God had prevented Hannah from conceiving. Even without direct divine intervention, infertility is hardly rare. Neither Hannah nor Elkanah is said to be responsible in any way for their childlessness (John 9:1–3).

First Samuel 1:1–20 describes how Samuel the prophet came to be born. His mother Hannah was barren and mocked by her husband's other wife, who had many children. During a family feast at Shiloh, Hannah prayed out of her deep despair. She vowed to give her son back to God if He would allow her to conceive. Once Eli, the priest, understood that Hannah was not drunk, he told her the Lord would grant her request. Satisfied, she returned home and soon gave birth to a boy. She named him Samuel.

Elkanah lives in Ephraim with two wives. Hannah is barren, while his other wife has many children. At the annual family sacrifice and feast in Shiloh, Hannah weeps and pours out her grief before the Lord. She vows to give a son to Him for lifelong service if the Lord gives her a boy. After confronting Hannah for drunkenness and then seeing that she was praying from her depth of emotion, Eli the priest blesses Hannah and affirms her prayer. Elkanah and Hannah conceive, and she gives birth to a son that she names Samuel. Once he is weaned, she presents him to Eli at the temple and gives him over to the Lord as long as he lives.

First Samuel 1 begins the story of Samuel with the account of his unlikely-seeming birth. Samuel's mother Hannah is barren. During a family trip to temple of the Lord in Shiloh, she weeps bitterly before the Lord and pours out her grief. She vows to give a son back to the Lord if He will allow her to bear one. Eli the priest blesses her and affirms her prayer. Before long, Samuel is conceived and born. Once he is weaned, Hannah brings the boy and a large sacrifice to the temple. She gives Samuel over to the Lord.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.