1 Samuel 1:5

a worthy portion Lit., one portion for two persons : a double portion. If the text is sound, this seems to be the best explanation of an obscure expression. Elkanah marked his love for Hannah by giving her a double portion. Similarly Joseph distinguished Benjamin by sending him a fivefold portion (Genesis 43:34). But the Sept. points to a different reading which would give the following sense: "And to Hannah he gave a single portion, because she had no child: nevertheless Elkanah loved Hannah most: but the Lord had shut up her womb."

had shut up her womb Hannah's faith might have been strengthened by the recollection that Sarah (Genesis 16:1), Rachel (Genesis 30:1), Manoah's wife (Judges 13:2), all had to bear the reproach of childlessness for a time, and all eventually bore illustrious sons.