“The Lord Had Closed up Her Womb”: Interpreting 1 Samuel 1:5c in the Context of the Infertility Narrative in Nigeria

The notion of God closing Hannah’s womb is represented in Nigeria, as in Africa at large, in the belief that infertility is a curse from the gods. Employing historical criticism, narrative reading, and the descriptive method, the article critically examined this notion, appraising its possible influence on the infertility narrative in Nigeria. It found that in OT tradition, the idea of God opening and closing women’s wombs connotes God’s prerogative to give or not to give children. While Yahweh gave children as a blessing to some women, those who could not conceive were believed by some to be under a curse from him. This article, however, found that the tradition that barrenness was divine punishment arose from the lack of biological knowledge about conception; hence infertility, like every other ailment, was attributed to God. Unfortunately, this belief has been inherited along with Christianity in most places, including Nigeria. Hence, in Nigerian churches, particularly the Pentecostal denominations, the healing of infertility is informed by the belief that it is caused by spiritual forces, and they do not believe that it can be God’s purpose for some people not to bear children. To this end, this article offered an alternative approach to infertility healing, which is based on the fact that the idea of infertility as divine punishment is scientifically false. In other words, some women are infertile due to certain natural causes. The marriage theology in Nigeria has to accept and begin to reflect this reality.