Throughout the Old Testament, the theme of rival women reappears: Sarah and Hagar, Rachel and Leah, Hannah and Peninnah. Their stories are filled with envy, striving, and bitterness. Yet beneath the surface quarrels lies a profound symbolism: these women personify the inner struggle of consciousness as it moves from barrenness into fruitfulness, from bondage into promise.
Sarah and Hagar: The Freewoman and the Bondwoman
Sarah, Abraham’s wife, was barren for many years. Hagar, her maidservant, bore Abraham a son, Ishmael. When Sarah finally conceived Isaac, tension erupted:
“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.” (Genesis 21:9–10)
On the surface, this is jealousy. Yet Paul later interprets this allegorically:
“Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” (Galatians 4:24, 26)
Symbolically: Sarah represents the higher promise of faith, while Hagar represents the bondage of appearances and effort. Ishmael is the child of fleshly striving; Isaac, the child of laughter, is the impossible made possible — the fulfilment of promise.
Leah and Rachel: The Unloved but Fruitful, the Beloved but Barren
Jacob’s two wives, Leah and Rachel, lived in rivalry. Leah, less loved, bore children easily; Rachel, Jacob’s chosen, remained barren.
“And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.” (Genesis 29:31)
Rachel’s desperation erupted in envy:
“And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.” (Genesis 30:1)
Symbolically: Leah embodies the outer productivity of the mind—fruitful but unloved. Rachel embodies the beloved inward state—longing for fulfilment, barren until faith matures. It is Rachel who finally gives birth to Joseph, the dreamer and visionary. Joseph’s dreams symbolise imagination itself, the creative power that lifts Israel into survival and destiny.
Hannah and Peninnah: The Favoured Yet Barren, the Fruitful Yet Spiteful
In the opening of 1 Samuel, Elkanah’s two wives lived in bitter opposition.
“And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the Lord had shut up her womb.” (1 Samuel 1:2, 6)
Hannah’s barrenness becomes the very condition that leads her to deep prayer:
“And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me… then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life.” (1 Samuel 1:11)
Her travail produces Samuel, the prophet who anoints kings. Peninnah fades from the record, but Hannah’s gift endures in Israel’s history.
Symbolically: Peninnah is the outer life that boasts in abundance, while Hannah embodies the hidden mind that waits upon God. Out of her prayerful persistence is born Samuel, symbol of a new self-concept that listens to the inner voice.
The Pattern of Rivalry
Across these stories, a clear pattern emerges:
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The fruitful but unloved/bondwoman/spiteful figure symbolises outer productivity, lower imagination, or bondage to appearances.
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The barren yet beloved/favoured/freewoman figure symbolises the inner promise, hidden mind, or higher imagination.
The chosen child — Isaac, Joseph, Samuel — always comes from the one who seemed barren, not from the one who boasted of abundance.
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Isaac represents the laughter of faith, the joy of receiving the impossible.
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Joseph represents the visionary imagination, the dreamer whose inner pictures rule destiny.
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Samuel represents the birth of listening, the self that hears the word of God within and brings harmony to the divided mind.
Conclusion: Strife Before Breakthrough
These rivalries are inner quarrels of the soul, where the old self mocks the new, where envy and lack drive the heart to prayer, where barrenness provokes longing. Out of this strife, the chosen child is always born.
The lesson is plain: the higher state often seems barren, mocked, or delayed. Yet when it gives birth, what it produces is the true heir — the new consciousness, the new creation, the child of promise.