Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Trevor Peterson" <06peterson AT cua.edu>]

> I have read that the name Hannah (mother of Samuel) means "prayer."  
> BibleWorks says that Hannah = "grace."  In a name book, I once read 
> that Hannah means "full of grace, mercy, and prayer."  That's quite a 
> mouthful for a two-syllable name.  

I'd go with "grace" or "mercy." There is a related verb (Dt stem) that
means to seek favor, which I suppose is something like prayer, but I
don't see why anyone would make that the meaning of the name. It seems
to relate more directly to the G verb chanan--to show grace or favor.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics