Six Barren Women and Their Sons: A Recurring Pattern of Promise, Birth and Danger

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Sarah and her son Isaac	Rebecca and her son Jacob	Rachel and her son Joseph	The Wife of Manoah and her son Samson	Hannah and her son Samuel	The Shunammite Woman and her unnamed son
Barrenness	Barrenness	Barrenness	Barrenness	Barrenness	Barrenness
“Now Sarah was barren, she had no child” (Genesis 11:30).	“Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebecca, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren” (Genesis 25:20–21).	“The Lord saw that Leah was unloved and he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren” (Genesis 29:31).	“There was a certain man from Zorah, of the stock of Dan, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children” (Judges 13:2).	“There was a man from Ramathaim…whose name was Elkanah. He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless” (1 Samuel 1:1–2).	[The prophet Elisha and his servant Gehazi are the guests of a wealthy woman in Shunem; they discuss how they can repay her hospitality] “ ‘What then can be done for her?’ [Elisha] asked. ‘The fact is,’ said Gehazi, ‘she has no son, and her husband is old’ ” (2 Kings 4:14).
Promise of a Child	Conception and Promise of Children	Promise of a Child	Promise of a Child	Promise of a Child	Promise of a Child
[Three men appeared before Abraham and Sarah’s tent in Mamre. Abraham invited them to eat.] “Then one said, ‘I will return to you next year, and your wife Sarah shall have a son!’ ”…“And Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘Now that I am withered, am I to have enjoyment—with my husband so old?’ ” (Genesis 18:10, 12).	“The Lord responded to [Isaac’s] plea, and his wife Rebecca conceived. But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, ‘If so, why do I exist?’…and the Lord answered her, ‘Two nations are in your womb. Two separate peoples shall issue from your body; One people shall be mightier than the other, And the older shall serve the younger’ ” (Genesis 25:21–23).	“Now God remembered Rachel; God heeded her and opened her womb” (Genesis 30:22).	“An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, ‘You are barren and have borne no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son. Now be careful not to drink wine or other intoxicant, or to eat anything unclean. For you are going to conceive and bear a son…’ ” (Judges 13:3–5).	[Hannah prays for a son in the presence of Eli the priest] “ ‘Then go in peace,’ said Eli, ‘and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him’ ” (1 Samuel 1:17).	“And Elisha said, ‘At this season next year, you will be embracing a son.’ She replied, ‘Please, my lord, man of god, do not delude your maidservant’ ” (2 Kings 4:16).
Conception and Birth	Conception and Birth	Conception and Birth	Conception and Birth	Conception and Birth	Conception and Birth
“Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken. Abraham gave his newborn son, whom Sarah had borne him, the name of Isaac” (Genesis 21:1–3).	“The Lord responded to [Isaac’s] plea, and his wife Rebecca conceived …. When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over; so they named him Esau. Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau; so they, named him Jacob” (Genesis 25:21, 24–26).	“She conceived and bore a son, and said, ‘God has taken away my disgrace.’ So she named him Joseph, which is to say, ‘May the Lord add another son for me’ ” (Genesis 30:23–24).	“The woman bore a son, and she named him Samson. The boy grew up, and the Lord blessed him” (Judges 13:24).	“Elkanah knew his wife Hannah and the Lord remembered her. Hannah conceived, and at the turn of the year bore a son” (1 Samuel 1:19–20).	“The woman conceived and bore a son at the same season the following year, as Elisha had assured her” (2 Kings 4:17).
Threat to Life [or Dedication to God]	Threat to Life [or Dedication to God]	Threat to Life [or Dedication to God]	[Threat to Life or] Dedication to God	[Threat to Life or] Dedication to God	Threat to Life [or Dedication to God]
“Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test. He said to him, ‘Abraham,’ and he answered, ‘Here I am.’ And He said, ‘Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you’ ” (Genesis 22:1–2). “And Abraham picked up the knife to slay his son. Then an angel of the Lord called to him from heaven: ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he said, ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me’ ” (Genesis 22:10–12).	“Now Esau harbored a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing which his father had given him, and Esau said to himself, ‘Let but the mourning period of my father come, and I will kill my brother Jacob’ ” (Genesis 27:41). “That same night [Jacob] arose, and taking his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children, he crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After taking them across the stream, he sent across all his possessions. Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn” (Genesis 32:23–25).	[Jacob sends Joseph to check on his sons and their flocks.] “The brothers saw Joseph from afar, and before he came close to them they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes that dreamer! Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; we can say, “A savage beast devoured him.’ ” [But Reuben tried to save Joseph. He said,] “ ‘Let us not take his life. Shed no blood! Cast him into the pit out in the wilderness, but do not touch him yourselves.’ When Joseph came up to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic…and took him and cast him into the pit …. When Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph up out of the pit. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who brought Joseph to Egypt” (Genesis 38:18–24, 28).	“ ‘…for you are going to conceive and bear a son; let no razor touch his head, for the boy is to be a Nazirite to God from the womb on. He shall be the first to deliver Israel from the Philistines’ ” (Judges 13:5).	“When Hannah had weaned him, she took him up with her…to the House of the Lord at Shiloh…. She said [to Eli], “ ‘Please, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you and prayed to the Lord. It was this boy I prayed for; and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. I, in turn, hereby lend him to the Lord. For as long as he lives he is lent to the Lord’ ”(1 Samuel 1:24–28).	“The child grew up. One day, he went out to his father among the reapers. [Suddenly] he cried to his father, ‘Oh, my head, my head!’ He said to a servant, ‘Carry him to his mother.’ He picked him up and brought him to his mother. And the child sat on her lap until noon; and he died.” [The Shunammite woman travels to Mount Carmel and implores Elisha to return with her.] “Elisha came into the house, and there was the boy, laid out dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. Then he mounted [the bed] and placed himself over the child. He put his mouth on its mouth, his eyes on its eyes, and his hands on its hands, as he bent over it. And the body of the child became warm. He stepped down, walked once up and down the room, then mounted and bent over him. Thereupon, the boy sneezed seven times, and the boy opened his eyes” (2 Kings 4:32–35).

All quotations are from Tanakh (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1985).