Hannah's Prayer and Vow

Hannah, wife of Elkanah, was barren and deeply grieved by the taunts of her rival wife Peninnah. At the tabernacle in Shiloh, she prayed in bitter anguish, vowing that if God gave her a son, she would dedicate him to the Lord’s service for life.

The priest Eli, initially thinking her drunk, blessed her after learning of her prayer. God answered, and Hannah conceived Samuel. True to her vow, after weaning him she brought him to Shiloh, dedicating him to serve in the tabernacle. Her prayer of thanksgiving (1 Samuel 2:1-10) praising God who raises the lowly later influenced Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).