But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved her even though the LORD had closed her womb.
Parallel translations
- WEB but to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but Yahweh had shut up her womb.
- KJV But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb.
- NKJV But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb.
- NASB but to Hannah he would give a double portion, because he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb.
- NLT And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Elkanah gave Hannah a double portion because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. His love could not remove the deeper grief of her barrenness.
Overview
Elkanah's generous portion expresses real affection for Hannah despite her childlessness. The narrator plainly attributes her barrenness to the Lord, who governs even the closing of the womb. This honest acknowledgment that God ordained her affliction prepares us to see that the same God will graciously answer her prayer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Gen 30:2Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”
- Gen 29:30–31Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.
- Gen 16:1Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
- Gen 20:18for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.
- Gen 45:22He gave new garments to each of them, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes.
- Gen 43:34When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of the others. So they feasted and drank freely with Joseph.
- Deut 21:15If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other unloved, and both bear him sons, but the unloved wife has the firstborn son,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 1:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.