Hannah

Han´uh; Heb., “grace”

The wife of Elkanah and mother of the prophet Samuel (1Sam 1:2; 1Sam 1:20). On an annual pilgrimage to God’s shrine at Shiloh, Hannah vowed that if she bore a son, she would dedicate him to God. This was granted, and she named him Samuel; when she had weaned him, she fulfilled her vow. To Hannah is attributed a prayer whose words constitute a song of praise to God, who metes out justice to all the world (1Sam 2:1-10).