Bible Strands
1 Samuel 1:6
Because the LORD had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival would provoke her viciously to taunt her.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the ongoing hostility toward Hannah following Elkanah’s annual favor, which occurred precisely because the LORD had closed her womb.
The words — The text employs סָגַר (sa.Gar), literally "he had closed," to denote divine action on Hannah’s womb, and כִּעֲסַתָּהּ (khi'a.Sa.ta/h), meaning "she provoked," to describe the rival’s repeated aggression.
The thread — This pattern of targeting the barren recurs in Job 24:21, which states that the wicked prey on the childless, and parallels the legal prohibition in Leviticus 18:18 against taking a wife’s sister as a rival.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to observe that divine restraint and human cruelty can coexist without implying that suffering is a direct punishment for sin.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb.
Cross-references
- Job 6:14 A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
- Job 24:21 They prey on the barren and childless, and show no kindness to the widow.
- Leviticus 18:18 You must not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is still alive.