Who was Hannah in the Bible?

A pious woman, the wife of Elkanah. She deeply lamented that she had no child, and was on that account provoked by Peninnah, the other wife of Elkanah. She represented the feeble condition of Israel at that time, and in that condition prayer was her resource. In pouring out her soul before the Lord, she vowed that if God would hear her prayer and give her a man-child, she would give him unto Jehovah all the days of his life, and no razor should come upon his head. God heard her prayer, and she became the mother of Samuel (which means 'asked of God'), who, when he had been weaned, was given to be servant of Eli the priest. He was 'lent' or 'returned' to the Lord who gave him: see 1 Sam. 1:28, margin.

We find then, in the beginning of this book, priesthood existing before God in the original form we have mentioned. Eli, pious himself, and fearing God, maintained no order in the priestly family. The priesthood, instead of binding the people to God, morally separated them. Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, were at Shiloh; but their conduct made the offering of the Lord to be abhorred of the people. Such was the state of things in Israel. At the same time, in the family of Elkanah, Hannah, chosen of Jehovah for blessing, was in trial; the desires of her natural heart were not satisfied, and the adversary tormented her by means of the prosperous Peninnah. But He, whose strength is perfected in weakness, having made manifest (as ever in such a case) the powerlessness of nature, gives blessing according to His own will, against all hope, in order that that which was of Him should be evidently wrought by His own power. Hannah has a son according to her petition, a son devoted to the Lord. His family was of the tribe of Levi (1 Chron. 6).

Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, was barren, for the Lord had shut up her womb. As they went to the yearly temple sacrifice, her deeply felt sorrow would find relief in tears and silent prayer to God for a son. Eli, the high priest, took note of her attitude in the temple, mistaking it for one of drunkenness. In reply to his word of rebuke, he heard from her own lips the deep sorrow of her heart, and her outpouring unto the Lord. Thereupon he gave a parting blessing, asking the God of Israel to grant her the petitions asked of Him, Immediately the sadness was lifted, and with a spirit of worship she and her husband returned to Ramah (1 Sam. 1:19).

God, delighting to answer the prayer of faith, manifests His favour towards Hannah in the birth of a child, whom she calls Samuel, which means, ‘Asked of God’. Her vow to give him back to God for His service was a severe test of motherly love; yet we see at the end of the weaning period a ready fulfilling of that which she had promised. Going up to the temple with the young child, she took also sacrificial gifts — ‘three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine’. In this we see her spirit of thankfulness, for she had received much from the good hand of God, and was prepared to give Him much in return (1 Sam. 1:24).

Her confession to Eli is very touching as she speaks of her prayers, of the Lord’s answer in giving her a son, and now the giving back of the son to the Lord, as long as he should live. It is a scene of worship, and Hannah rejoices in the Lord who had caused her to triumph over all her distress and deep searchings of heart. She magnifies His power toward the humble, and His judgments upon His enemies (1 Sam. 2:8–10).

But no, there were godly souls who clung to what stood for and what represented Jehovah in the land. Away in Mount Ephraim a man named Elkanah lived with his wife Hannah. Happy in a deep attachment to each other, the only domestic drawback was that Hannah was childless. And in the hidden and bitter exercises of soul that this godly, unknown woman went through lay the beginning of revival for Israel. A praying woman brought in, in the ways of God, a new era. She named her son Samuel, which means “Asked of God.” What a deep joy to the happy mother’s heart when her infant son nestled in her bosom, and found shelter, food, warmth, and love there!

"Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: and he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there. And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: but unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion: for he loved Hannah: but the Lord had shut up her womb. And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb. And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons?" (1 Sam. 1:1-8)

"Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: and he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other was Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there" (1 Sam. 1:1-8).

The priest of the Lord, Eli, was quietly sitting “upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord: and lo, a woman named Hannah, came near. She was the wife of Elkanah, a godly Israelite, who had come up to Shiloh with his household “to worship and to sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts.” “And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.” She was indeed full of sorrow, for she had no child, and so she prayed very earnestly unto the Lord, and she vowed a vow—If the Lord would but grant her her heart’s desire, and give to her a son, then she would “give him unto the Lord all the days of his life.”

The Lord heard and answered her petition. He gave her a son; and she called his name Samuel, which means, asked of God. Surely Hannah loved the little boy that the Lord had given her, but when Samuel was weaned, she took him up with her to Shiloh; and there she left her darling son, because, as she told Eli, “I have lent him to the Lord.”

Thus we have in the domestic circle of this Ephrathite the early scenes of Sarah and Hagar enacted over again. Hannah was the barren woman — and she was made to feel it deeply, for "her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb."

"So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid, and remember me, and forget not thy handmaid, but wilt give unto thy handmaid a man child, then will I give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

Alone then, and her voice not heard, Hannah pleaded with the Lord; and we may gather from her vow much of what was exercising her soul. There was the absence of self, a most blessed thing in prayer (James 4:3). Her whole concern was for the glory of the Lord and the service of His people. She longed for a son, that she might give him to the Lord to be a means of blessing to Israel when those who had been given for that end were serving themselves. Her husband being of the tribe of Levi, this desire was in full accord with the spirit of the law (Num. 3); yet there is something exceedingly touching in her prayer, that she pleaded for only one son — "O Lord of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Thine handmaid, but wilt give unto Thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head."