Hannah Prays and Samuel Is Born

Elkanah lived in the hill country of Ephraim and went each year to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord. His household was painful for Hannah. Peninnah had sons and daughters, but Hannah had no children. Year after year Peninnah provoked her, and Hannah wept and could not eat.

At Shiloh, after the meal, Hannah went to pray at the Lord’s house. She was bitter with grief and cried as she prayed. She vowed that if the Lord gave her a son, she would give him to the Lord all his life, and no razor would touch his head. Eli saw her lips moving and thought she was drunk.

Hannah answered respectfully that she had not been drinking. She said she was pouring out her soul to the Lord because of her deep sorrow and trouble. Eli then told her to go in peace and said that the God of Israel grant her request. After that, Hannah ate, and her face was no longer sad.

The next morning the family worshipped and returned home to Ramah. The Lord remembered Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel because she had asked for him from the Lord. When the family went up again for the yearly sacrifice, Hannah stayed home until the child was weaned.

When Samuel was weaned, Hannah took him to Shiloh with offerings and brought him to Eli. She reminded Eli that she was the woman who had stood there praying. Hannah said that the Lord had given her the child she had asked for, so she was now giving him to the Lord for all his life. There, at Shiloh, worship was given to the Lord.