Peninnah

Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:1–8; Hannah's Song 1 Samuel 2:1–10

The household (1 Samuel 1:1–2), Elkanah of Ramah had two wives: Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children; Hannah had none. The structure of the verse establishes the contrast immediately, this is the first thing Scripture tells us about the household. YHWH had closed Hannah's womb (1:5).

The annual journey and the portion (1 Samuel 1:3–5), Elkanah went up from his city year by year to worship and sacrifice to YHWH of hosts at Shiloh. At the sacrifice, he gave portions to Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters, but to Hannah he gave a double portion, "because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb" (1:5). Elkanah's love for Hannah is explicit in the text, but the double portion was not a solution. It was a public display at the feast that made the dynamics visible: Hannah was loved and barren; Peninnah was fruitful and watching.

The provocation (1 Samuel 1:6–7), "And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat" (1:6–7). The Hebrew for "rival" (צָרָה, tzarah) is a term specifically for a co-wife, and it also means adversary or trouble. The text describes systematic provocation, not one incident but a pattern repeated every year at the moment of worship. Hannah would arrive at the house of YHWH and weep and not eat.

Elkanah's consolation (1 Samuel 1:8), "And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, 'Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?'" The question is sincere but does not reach the thing Hannah is grieving. He was more to her than ten sons, and she still wept.

The prayer at Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:9–16), Hannah rose and went to the Temple of YHWH. Eli the priest was sitting in the seat by the doorpost. Hannah was deeply distressed and prayed to YHWH and wept bitterly. She made a vow: "O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head" (1:11). Eli watched her mouth move without sound and accused her of being drunk. She answered: "No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation" (1:15–16). Eli blessed her and sent her away in peace. She ate and her face was no longer sad.

What happened to Peninnah, The text does not record Peninnah's response after Samuel was born, after Hannah's second prayer, or at any point later in the narrative. She is the engine of the suffering that drove Hannah to the prayer that produced Samuel. After the prayer is answered and the song is sung, Peninnah disappears. Hannah's Song (1 Samuel 2:1–10) may speak to her indirectly: "The LORD kills and brings to life... The LORD makes poor and makes rich... He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor", and: "The full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn" (2:5).

Peninnah is the suffering that preceded the prayer. She appears in the narrative as the cause of Hannah's grief and the instrument, however unwilling, of Hannah's turning to YHWH in the only desperation that could have produced the vow that Samuel was born from. Scripture does not tell us her motivations or her end. Hannah's Song says: "she who has many children is forlorn." The Sanctum holds Peninnah as the study in the rival whose function in the story is to make the barren woman desperate enough to pray, and to face the Song that followed.