1 Samuel 1 opens with a brokenhearted woman named Hannah, agonizing over her inability to have a child with her husband, Elkanah. Elkanah resided in the hill country of Ephraim and possessed an impressive four-generation genealogy. The narrative explains, “He had two wives; the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children” (1:2). Elkanah must have been a man of means because multiple wives were usually reserved for royal houses, while commoners were monogamous. Most likely, Elkanah took a second wife because Hannah, his first wife, could not have children. Abraham had done something similar when he could not produce an heir with Sarah, turning instead to their maidservant Hagar.
In both cases, bigamy created rivalry between the wives, as it did with Sarah and Hagar and with Rachel and Leah. In all three households, the husband favored the barren wife while the rival wife bore the children, creating an obvious cause for mutual jealousy.
Twice, the narrator attributes Hannah’s closed womb to God. Just as the nation of Israel had lost all hope at this time, Hannah’s childlessness left her feeling alone and desperate. However, God allowed this affliction for a higher and unseen purpose, just as he had with Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel.
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