1A certain man from Ramathaim in the hill country of Ephraim was named Elkanah. He was the son of Jeroham. Jeroham was the son of Elihu. Elihu was the son of Tohu. Tohu was the son of Zuph. Elkanah belonged to the family line of Zuph. Elkanah lived in the territory of Ephraim.

²Elkanah had two wives. One was named Hannah. The other was named Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah didn’t.

³Year after year Elkanah went up from his town to Shiloh. He went there to worship and sacrifice to the Lord who rules over all. Hophni and Phinehas served as priests of the Lord at Shiloh. They were the two sons of Eli.

⁴Every time the day came for Elkanah to offer a sacrifice, he would give a share of the meat to his wife Peninnah. He would also give a share to each of her sons and daughters. ⁵But he would give two shares of meat to Hannah. That’s because he loved her. He also gave her two shares because the Lord had kept her from having children.

⁶Peninnah teased Hannah to make her angry. She did it because the Lord had kept Hannah from having children. ⁷Peninnah teased Hannah year after year. Every time Hannah would go up to the house of the Lord, Elkanah’s other wife would tease her. She would keep doing it until Hannah cried and wouldn’t eat.

⁸Her husband Elkanah would speak to her. He would say, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why don’t you eat? Why are you so angry and unhappy? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?”

⁹One time when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. The priest Eli was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. ¹⁰Hannah was very bitter. She sobbed and sobbed. She prayed to the Lord. ¹¹She made a promise to him. She said, “Lord, you rule over all. Please see how I’m suffering! Show concern for me! Don’t forget about me! Please give me a son! If you do, I’ll give him back to you. Then he will serve you all the days of his life. He’ll never use a razor on his head. He’ll never cut his hair.”

¹²As Hannah kept on praying to the Lord, Eli watched her lips. ¹³She was praying in her heart. Her lips were moving. But she wasn’t making a sound.

Eli thought Hannah was drunk. ¹⁴He said to her, “How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine.”

¹⁵“That’s not true, sir,” Hannah replied. “I’m a woman who is deeply troubled. I haven’t been drinking wine or beer. I was telling the Lord all of my troubles. ¹⁶Don’t think of me as an evil woman. I’ve been praying here because I’m very sad. My pain is so great.”

¹⁷Eli answered, “Go in peace. May the God of Israel give you what you have asked him for.”

¹⁸She said, “May you be pleased with me.” Then she left and had something to eat. Her face wasn’t sad anymore.

¹⁹Early the next morning Elkanah and his family got up. They worshiped the Lord. Then they went back to their home in Ramah.

Elkanah made love to his wife Hannah. And the Lord showed concern for her. ²⁰After some time, Hannah became pregnant. She had a baby boy. She said, “I asked the Lord for him.” So she named him Samuel.

Read in Logos