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Her rival[a] provoked her and made her miserable because the Lord had left her barren. This went on year after year. Whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, she provoked her. This made her weep, and she refused to eat. Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why are you not eating? Why are you so downhearted? Am I not worth more than ten sons to you?”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 1:6 Her rival: Hannah, because of her inability to have a child, was considered a failure in Old Testament thinking. It was also permissible for Elkanah to divorce his wife who was barren, but he remained faithful to her. Peninnah filled the role of a second or co-wife, in Hebrew, sara.