1 Samuel 1:2 - Exposition

As a wealthy man, Elkanah had two wives, Hannah —the Anna of Virgil, who very properly gives this name to the sister of the Phoenician Dido, the language of Phoenicia being identical with Hebrew— and Peninnah. The word Hannah signifies gracefulness , while Peulnnah is the red pearl, translated coral in Job 28:18 , but ruby in Proverbs 3:15 , etc. Its ruddy colour is vouched for in Lamentations 4:7 . The Hebrew names for women generally bear witness to the affection and respect felt for them; while those for men are usually religious. Though polygamy was a licence permitted to the Jews, it does not seem to have been generally indulged in, except by the kings. Here, as elsewhere, it was the ruin of family life. In Christianity it was marked for final extinction by the rule that no polygamist should be admitted even to the diaconate, and much less to higher office ( 1 Timothy 3:2 , 1 Timothy 3:12 ).