Hannah

[1 Sam. 1:11] And she vowed a vow, and said, 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 rasor come upon his head.
A man named Elkanah, a Levite, lived with his two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. “Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless”. Despite her condition, Hannah was the more beloved of the two, just as Rachel was in the eyes of Jacob. Like Sarah, it was only upon Hannah’s instigation that her husband took a second wife, having lived together for ten years and being unsuccessful in their efforts to bear a child. Hannah’s name means graciousness or favor. Locked inside her many unhappy days as a taunted, barren woman, she did not know that she would go down in the rabbinic annals as one of the seven named prophetesses of the Scriptures.
Barrenness for women in Eastern countries is seen as a great misfortune even today. In time, she would bear a son who would lead the Israelites towards the establishment of the first Jewish kingdom, a child who would hear the word of G-d in an age when, Scripture tells, vision and prophecy was extremely rare.
Hannah means grace, and Peninnah means woman with rich hair. Because of the social stigma of barrenness, Elkanah was not able to give full expression of his love to his wife, Hannah. Her adversary also provoked her sore for the conduct of Peninnah was most unbecoming. But domestic fights in the houses of polygamists are of frequent occurrence, and the most fruitful cause of them has always been jealousy of the husband's superior affection, as in this case of Hannah. When this second wife conceives, she, like Hagar, treats the childless woman with derision, ceaselessly reminding her of her infertility. Hannah felt abandoned and so was bitterly distressed.
9-18 is Hannah’s prayer. Elkanah’s empty words of consolation did not help Hannah in any way. Words without corresponding actions have no value. She seeks her refuge in the L-rd. From the day that G-d created His world, there was no one who called the Holy One, blessed be He, “L-rd of Hosts,” until Hannah came….Said Hannah before the Holy One, blessed be He: Sovereign of the Universe, of all the hosts and hosts that Thou hast created in Thy world, is it so hard to give me one son? Of all the things that Thou hast created in a woman, Thou hast not created one without a purpose, eyes to see, ears to hear, a nose to smell, a mouth to speak, hands to do work, legs to walk with, breasts to give suck. These breasts that Thou hast put on my heart, are they not to give suck? Give me a son, so that I may suckle with them.”
We seldom find devotion to G-d which does not expect personal gains. It is worth noting that Hannah, instead of praying for a child, prays particularly for a son. Her purpose of dedicating him to the Tabernacle service the circumstance of his birth bound him to this; but his residence within the boundaries of the Sanctuary would have to commence at an earlier age than usual, in consequence of the Nazarite vow. Even her prayer is conditioned by the society in which she lives. Discrimination against women seems still to be deeply rooted in the psyche of many human communities.
For the first time in Scripture we meet with the idea of praying silently, not for the ears of other men. Eli, witnessing this strange activity, accused Hannah of being intoxicated. The intensity of Hannah’s emotional distress is indicated by the fact that her thoughts were internalized and her mind was fixed on G-d, so that her lips moved without sound. Eli mistook this for drunkenness and admonished her to abstain from wine. The suspicion of the aged priest seems to indicate that the vice of intemperance was neither uncommon nor confined to one sex in those times of disorder. Hannah denied the charge and explained that she was only speaking to G-d out of her anxiety and vexation.
Eli stands corrected, and in place of his chiding, he offers his own blessing to support Hannah’s urgent pleas. “May the G-d of Israel grant you what you have ask of Him” (v. 17). The peace oracle from the priest was the assurance Hannah needed that G-d would grant her prayer; and so this faith relieved her from her anxiety and made her happy. Scripture tells us that after her discourse with the Father and the priest’s additional blessing, Hannah’s demeanor completely changed.
This mistaken impression was immediately removed, and, in the words, "G-d grant," or rather, "will grant," was followed by an invocation which, as Hannah regarded it in the light of a prophecy pointing to the accomplishment of her earnest desire, dispelled her sadness, and filled her with confident hope (1:18). The character and services of the expected child were sufficiently important to make his birth a fit subject for prophecy.
Hannah, according to the Scalars, was tried for nineteen years….there were the ten years that she lived with Elkanah when she did not bear any children; then he took Peninnah who bore him ten sons…Now if you allow eight years for the times Peninnah was pregnant, and allow one year for the time Hannah was pregnant with Samuel, you have a total of nineteen years that G-d tried Hannah. And after that, He remembered her.