Hannah - A Bible Story of Hannah (I Samuel) for Beginning Readers - Prayer and a Miracle of Birth

Jul 17, 2026

Upload by Liam

A Bible story of Hannah from 1 Samuel, told for beginning readers. In the time when kings ruled Israel, Hannah is deeply distressed because she has no children, while another wife has children and makes her feel ashamed. During a yearly sacrifice at Shiloh, Hannah prays to God and asks for a son. The priest Eli initially misunderstands her, but God answers her prayer, and she gives birth to Samuel.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

Hannah's Sadness and Prayer

A Promise to God at Shiloh

Samuel Is Born

Hannah English Spiritual Hannah A Bible story of Hannah (I Samuel) for beginning readers by Gordon W. Martin Images by MBANJI Bawe Ernest. English United Kingdom Copyright © 2019, Wycliffe Bible Translators,Inc. [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)[ ](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)[You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may](You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may)[ ](You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You may)adapt and add to this work, but you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. You must keep the copyright and credits for authors, illustrators, etc. Images by MBANJI Bawe Ernest, © 2019 Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Hannah During the time when kings ruled in Israel, there was a man named Elkanah. He had two wives: Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah had children but Hannah had none. Hannah was Elkanah’s favorite wife but she was sad because she had no children. Peninnah made fun of her because she was barren. Hannah was so sad she cried and refused to eat. Elkanah said: “Why are you crying? Am I not worth more to you than many children?” This situation continued for several years. One year Elkanah took his family to offer their yearly sacrifices to God at Shiloh. In the house of the Lord Hannah began to pray to God. She told God that if He would give her ason she would dedicate him to the Lord’s service. Eli the priest was watching Hannah while she prayed. He saw her lips moving but could not hear her words so he thought she was drunk. He went to her and said,“Why are you drunk in the house of the Lord! Leave at once!” “Oh no sir,” said Hannah,“I am not drunk, Iam just very sad because I have no children.”Eli responded,“May the God of Israel give you what you have asked for.” Elkanah took his family back home. Hannah was no longer sad because of what the priest had said. God answered her prayer and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel.

FAQs

Why is Hannah sad in this story?

Hannah is sad because she has no children. Peninnah has children and makes fun of her for being unable to have any.

What does Hannah pray for when she goes to Shiloh?

Hannah prays in the house of the Lord and asks God for a son. She promises to dedicate the child to the Lord’s service if God gives her one.

How does the priest Eli respond to Hannah while she prays?

Eli watches Hannah praying and thinks she is drunk because her lips move but her words cannot be heard. Hannah explains she is not drunk—she is very sad.

Jul 17, 2026

Upload by Liam