What happensPermalink
Elkanah and his wives, Peninnah (who has children) and Hannah (who does not), go yearly to worship at the tent of meeting in Shiloh. Though Elkanah favors Hannah, she is deeply grieved by her barrenness. One year she prays with anguish, vowing that if God gives her a son, she will dedicate him to lifelong service. In time, Hannah gives birth to Samuel. When he is weaned, she brings him with a generous offering to the tent of meeting and entrusts him to the Lord.
Why it mattersPermalink
The story begins not in a palace, but in the quiet desperation of a woman’s prayer. God’s kingdom advances through ordinary lives. Hannah’s humility and faith become a pattern for God’s work—and the origin of Israel’s prophet, Samuel. Hannah is the first in Scripture to call on “the Lord of hosts,” a title evoking God’s rule over heavenly armies—an appropriate introduction to a book about national leadership.
Key versePermalink
And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”