"Why Does Her Heart Feel Bad?"

 The Bible reveals two big problems in Hannah's life. She had little control over the first and none at all over the second. In the first place, she was in a polygamous marriage, with a rival wife who hated her. In the second place, she was barren. That condition is difficult for any wife who longs to bear children; but in Hannah's time and culture, it was a source of intense grief. Each family counted on offspring to carry on the family name. Barrenness seemed a bitter reproach and shame.

Hannah might have borne her burden with fortitude had it not been for Peninnah. Polygamy was never an ideal situation. Rivalry, strife, and heartache were all too common. The practice was far from the standard of monogamy that God had set in the garden of Eden. (Genesis 2:24) The Bible thus points a grim paint grim portrait of polygamy, and the poignant depiction of within Elkanah's household is one of the telling brushstrokes in that picture. 

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