Hannah’s Story
(A monologue based on 1 Samuel 1:4-20, 2:1-10)
It was in the days before our people had a king. Peninnah and I were both married to Elkanah. Oh yes, that was not uncommon in Israel. My name is Hannah, and I was Elkanah’s favourite wife. It was obvious to everyone, including Peninnah. You would think that would have made me happy, but I was deeply unhappy. Peninnah had given Elkanah several fine children, while I had not given him any. Peninnah regularly reminded me of this and said that God was punishing me for some reason.
The times when she was most rude were when we went to the place of worship at Shiloh to offer our annual sacrifices to God. We would always pray for God’s blessing. You can imagine what I always prayed for! But I remained empty in body and in my heart. Elkanah would try to comfort me, but it didn’t make me feel any different.
