1 Samuel 1:1-2

1 Samuel 1:1-2

[1] Now there was a certain  man  of Ramathaimzophim,  of mount  Ephraim,  and his name  was Elkanah,  the son  of Jeroham,  the son  of Elihu,  the son  of Tohu,  the son  of Zuph,  an Ephrathite:  [2] And he had two  wives;  the name  of the one  was Hannah,  and the name  of the other  Peninnah:  had children,  but Hannah  had no children. 

What does 1 Samuel 1:1-2 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Samuel"s parents lived near Ramathaim-zophim (lit. two heights, elsewhere called Ramah, e.g, 1 Samuel 1:19, lit. height) in Ephraim in central Canaan. There was also a Ramah in the territory of Benjamin farther to the south ( Judges 19:13; et al.), and one in Naphtali to the north ( Joshua 19:29; Joshua 19:36). Samuel"s father, Elkanah, was an Ephraimite by residence but a Levite by birth ( 1 Chronicles 6:33-38). Ramah was not one of the Levitical towns in Ephraim. Elkanah"s residence raises initial questions about his commitment to the Mosaic Law. Was he really where he should have been, and does this indicate that the will of God may not have been very important for him (cf. Judges 17:7-13)? In the story that follows it is Hannah (lit. grace) rather than Elkanah (lit. God created) who emerges as the person of outstanding faith. Hannah"s problem was that she was barren ( 1 Samuel 1:2).
In the Hebrew Bible the description of Samuel"s father and Samson"s father are almost identical (cf. Judges 13:2). The Holy Spirit may have written this to remind us of the unusual Nazirite status of both judges.