As one of the two wives of Elkanah, Hannah lived in a household where there was unhappiness and tension. Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah, mocked Hannah because of Hannah’s inability to have children (1 Samuel 1:2-8). In her distress Hannah cried to God for a son, promising that if God answered her prayer she would give her son back to God to serve him for life. God gave her a son and she named him Samuel (1 Samuel 1:9-20).
When Samuel was two or three years old, Hannah took him to the tabernacle and dedicated him to God for life. Features in her thanksgiving prayer reappear in the thanksgiving prayer of Mary the mother of Jesus (1 Samuel 2:1-10; cf. Luke 1:46-55). When Hannah returned home, she left Samuel with the priest Eli, who was to bring him up as a dedicated servant of God. Hannah visited Samuel regularly and helped provide for his needs (1 Samuel 2:11; 1 Samuel 2:18-20). After Samuel, Hannah had five more children (1 Samuel 2:21).