Peninnah ( ''Pəninnā''; sometimes

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

''Penina'') was one of

Elkanah Elkanah ( he, אֱלְקָנָה ''’Ĕlqānā'' " El has purchased") was, according to the First Book of Samuel, the husband of Hannah, and the father of her children including her first, Samuel. Elkanah practiced polygamy; his other wife, ...

's two wives, briefly mentioned in the first Book of Samuel ( 1 Samuel 1:2). Her name may derive from (''pəninā''), meaning "pearl."

Biblical account

Peninnah was less favored than Elkanah's other wife, Hannah; although she had borne him children whilst Hannah was childless, Peninnah also brought grief and disharmony to the household by her mocking of the infertile Hannah. Every year, when Elkanah offered up a sacrifice at Shiloh, he would share out the portions of meat and give Hannah a double portion, which incited the jealousy of Peninnah. Peninnah would taunt Hannah for being childless. She would grieve Hannah by means of ordinary everyday activities, taking pains to remind her, at all hours of the day, of the difference between them. According to Jewish writer Lillian Klein, "Because the reader’s sympathies are directed toward the childless Hannah, Peninnah comes across as a malicious woman. In fact, she is probably a literary convention, a foil for the independence and goodness of Hannah, and should be regarded as such." Eventually, in answer to her desperate prayer, Hannah's womb was opened, and she bore Samuel, and later another three sons and two daughters. After the birth of Samuel, Peninnah is not mentioned again, and 1 Samuel 2:20 says that

Eli Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...

"would bless Elkanah and his wife", referring to Hannah.

Midrash

According to the

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

, Hannah was Elkanah's first wife; after they had been married for ten years, he also took Peninnah as a wife (Pesikta Rabbati 43). The midrash explains that Elkanah was compelled to marry Peninnah because of Hannah's barrenness, which explains his preference for Hannah, his first wife. Another tradition has the initiative to marry Peninnah coming from Hannah, thus comparing her to Sarah and

Hagar Hagar, of uncertain origin; ar, هَاجَر, Hājar; grc, Ἁγάρ, Hagár; la, Agar is a biblical woman. According to the Book of Genesis, she was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to he ...

, and

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

and

Leah Leah ''La'ya;'' from (; ) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son ...

, in which the beloved wife, who is barren, initiates the taking of an additional wife in order to produce offspring. The different midrashim highlight the difficulty Peninnah faced living in the shadow of another woman.Kadari, Tamar. "Peninnah: Midrash and Aggadah", Jewish Women's Archive
/ref> A different midrash suggests that Peninnah's actions were in fact noble, and that Peninnah "mocked" the barren Hannah in order to further drive Hannah to pray even harder to God to give her children. She vexed Hannah at Shiloh, thereby causing her distraught rival wife to pray fervently. Thanks to Peninnah, Hannah's prayer was answered, and she gave birth to children.BT Bava Batra 16a

References

{{reflist

External links

Online text of 1 Samuel 1
Books of Samuel people Women in the Hebrew Bible Samuel

Biblical account

Midrash

See also

References

External links