Barrenness had added meaning in Old Testament Israel. The promise of a Saviour to Adam (Genesis 3:15) and offspring to Abraham (Genesis 22:17–18) meant people were looking for a Saviour from within Israel. Every new birth raised the question: Is this the one? Without children there was no future for God’s people and ultimately no hope for the world. So barrenness was a personal tragedy, just as it is today. But it also carried a sense of exclusion from the purposes of God’s people. That Hannah’s