What is a Prophet?In religion, a prophet is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on that entity's behalf. They claim to be serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the supernatural source to other people. The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy. In Islam, all prophetic messengers are prophets (such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad) though not all prophets are prophetic messengers. The primary distinction is that a prophet is required to demonstrate God's law through his actions, character, and behavior without necessarily calling people to follow him, while a prophetic messenger is required to pronounce God's law (i.e. revelation) and call his people to submit and follow him.
Who was Hannah?Hannah is one of the wives of Elkanah mentioned in the First Book of Samuel. According to the Hebrew Bible, she was the mother of Samuel.
The Biblical narrative about Hannah can be found in 1 Samuel 1:2-2:21. Outside of the first two chapters of 1 Samuel, she is not otherwise mentioned in the Bible.
In the biblical narrative, Hannah is one of two wives of Elkanah. The other, Peninnah, had given birth to Elkanah's children, but Hannah remained childless. Nevertheless, Elkanah preferred Hannah. According to Lillian Klein, the use of this chiasmus underscores the standing of the women: Hannah is the primary wife, yet Peninnah has succeeded in bearing children. Hannah's status as primary wife and her barrenness recall Sarah and Rebecca in Genesis 17 and Genesis 25 respectively. Klein suggests that Elkanah took Peninnah as a second wife because of Hannah's barrenness.