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but he would give a double portion to Hannah because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.(A) Her rival,[a] to upset her, would torment her constantly, since the Lord had closed her womb.(B) Year after year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, Peninnah would provoke her, and Hannah would weep and refuse to eat.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 1:6 Her rival: Hebrew sara, “rival wife, co-wife”; in the Talmud, a technical term for a second or co-wife.
  2. 1:7 In biblical narrative, the social status gained by producing children, especially males, often set woman against woman; cf. e.g., Gn 16, 21, 30. Peninnah’s provocations may be the arrogant boasting mentioned in 2:3.

But to Hannah he gave a double portion(A) because he loved her, and the Lord had closed her womb.(B) Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her.(C) This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.(D)

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