Let’s look at Samuel’s father for a minute. Elkanah took his family to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices during his annual pilgrimage to worship and offer sacrifices. Without commending his bigamy, it’s interesting to note that the love of his life was Hannah. Peninnah, his second wife, was taken because Hannah was barren. It was important to have sons and daughters, and God blessed Peninnah with those. 1 Samuel 1:4-5 tells us, “On the day Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah, his wife, and all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah, he gave a double portion because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.” The Lord had blessed Elkanah with children through his second wife, and the “Lord” had closed the womb of Hannah. This situation was part of God’s plan to bring Samuel into the world and, through him, to anoint David as king of Israel. He was referred to earlier as “a certain man.” That’s not a very prominent endorsement. He was from the region around Bethlehem, and being of the line of Levi; he was from the priestly line. Samuel’s father, Elkanah, appears to be the subject of these verses. But as Phillips points out, “The primary focus in Samuel’s birth is not on his father, however, but on his mother, Hannah. We can often trace the faith of remarkable children to their remarkable mothers. So it is with this woman who presents one of the most striking feminine characters in the Bible.”[1]
The normal translation of this passage tells that Elkanah favored the wife of his youth over his child-bearing wife. He would give Hannah a double portion even though she had no children. But even the footnote in the English Standard Version acknowledges that the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) says, “And, although he loved Hannah, he would give Hannah only one portion because the Lord had closed her womb.” But regardless of the proper translation, the storyline implies that there is a contrast in Elkanah’s affection for his wives. He definitely favored Hannah. Further, he didn’t blame Hannah for being childless. He recognized it as the will of God. It was God who “closed her womb.” Mackay says, “Not only is Hannah childless, but this condition is explicitly attributed to divine action. God kept Hannah from having children so that his sovereign purposes might be achieved by marking Samuel as a special child. Hannah’s trial also brings her closer to God by strengthening her faith and highlighting his gracious response to her plea for a child.”[2]
Greear explains Hannah’s circumstances well. He writes, “Women who bore a lot of children were, therefore, treated with honor. They were heroes. Women who were unable to bear children felt useless; they experienced shame rather than honor and were looked on with pity rather than respect. In biblical narratives, this theme comes up a lot. Barrenness ‘is an effective metaphor of hopelessness. There is no foreseeable future. There is no human power to invent a future’ (Brueggemann, Genesis, 116). Not many people think about children in this way today. We tend to put more value on the kind of job a person has, where a person went to school, or how a person looks. But think of this from Hannah’s perspective: in a culture that puts all of a woman’s significance and security in her children, she can’t have kids! Practically speaking, she has no significance, no life, and no hope!”[3] But our God is the God of the HOPELESS. He has the final say, just as He had at the grave of Lazarus.
[1] Phillips, Richard D. 2012. 1 Samuel. Edited by Philip Graham Ryken and Richard D. Phillips, Duguid Iain M. 1st ed. Reformed Expository Commentary. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.
[2] Mackay, John L. 2019. “1-2 Samuel.” In 1 Samuel–2 Chronicles, edited by Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, III:40. ESV Expository Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.
[3] Greear, J. D., and Heath A. Thomas. 2016. Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Samuel. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference.