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Prayer of Hannah, the Mother of Samuel the Prophet
Prayer of Hannah, the Mother of Samuel the Prophet, oil painting by Vasily Petrovich Vereshchagin, 1864; in the Perm State Art Gallery, Russia.
Hannah
Old Testament figure
Also known as: Anna
Hannah, (11th century bce), in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), the mother of the prophet Samuel. Childless as one of the two wives of Elkanah, she prayed for a son, promising to dedicate him to God. Her prayers were answered, and she brought forth Samuel and took the child to Shiloh for religious training. In the Talmud she is named as one of seven prophetesses, and her prayer is in the Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) first-day service, exemplifying successful petitions to God.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Alison Kendall.
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