Elkanah ( he, אֱלְקָנָה ''’Ĕlqānā'' " El has purchased") was, according to the

First Book of Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Josh ...

, the husband of Hannah, and the father of her children including her first,

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

. Elkanah practiced

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

; his other wife, less favoured but bearing more children, was named

Peninnah Peninnah ( ''Pəninnā''; sometimes transliterated ''Penina'') was one of Elkanah's two wives, briefly mentioned in the first Book of Samuel ( 1 Samuel 1:2). Her name may derive from (''pəninā''), meaning "pearl." Biblical account Peninnah was ...

. The names of Elkanah's other children apart from Samuel are not given. Elkanah plays only a minor role in the narrative, and is mostly a

supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo ap ...

to Eli, Hannah, and Samuel.

Lineage

According to 1 Samuel 1, Elkanah was the son of Jeroham, who was the son of Elihu, who was the son of Tohu, who was the son of

Zuph Zuph meaning ''honeycomb'' in Hebrew * According to the Books of Chronicles, a Kohathite Levite, a fact not mentioned in the books of Samuel. He was the ancestor of Elkanah and Samuel ( 1 Samuel 1:1); called also Zophai in the parallel passage, ...

. He is described as having originated from

, specifically

Ramathaim-Zophim Ramathaim-Zophim ( he, רמתיים־צופים), also called Ramah () and Ramatha in the Douay–Rheims Bible translation (Ramathaimsophim in the Vulgate), is a city from the Hebrew Bible, the home town and resting place of prophet Samuel. The n ...

, which was part of the tribal lands of

Ephraim Ephraim (; he, ''ʾEp̄rayīm'', in pausa: ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph ben Jacob and Asenath. Asenath was an Ancient Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughte ...

. While he is called an Ephraimite in 1 Samuel, the

Books of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...

state that he was a

Levite Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew defi ...

. Elkanah lived in the mountains of Ephraim ( 1 Chronicles 6:16-30, 33-37); the Tribe of Levi had no contiguous parcel of land, but were assigned to dwell in certain cities that were scattered throughout the tribes of Israel (

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...

49:6-7;

Book of Numbers The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and com ...

35:6). The fact that Elkanah, a Levite, was denominated an Ephraimite is analogous to the designation of a Levite belonging to Judah (Judges 17:7, for example). The Books of Samuel variously describe Samuel as having carried out sacrifices at sanctuaries, and having constructed and sanctified

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

s. According to the

Priestly Code The Priestly Code (in Hebrew ''Torat Kohanim'', תורת כהנים) is the name given, by academia,The book of Leviticus: composition and reception - Page 55 Rolf Rendtorff, Robert A. Kugler, Sarah Smith Bartel - 2003 "Research agrees that its r ...

Deuteronomic Code The Deuteronomic Code is the name given by academics to the law code set out in chapters 12 to 26 of the Book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible. The code outlines a special relationship between the Israelites and Yahweh and provides instructions ...

only

Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

ic priests/

Levites Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew defi ...

(depending on the underlying tradition) were permitted to perform these actions, and simply being a nazarite or prophet was insufficient. The books of Samuel and Kings offer numerous examples where this rule is not followed by kings and prophets. In the

Book of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sec ...

, Samuel is described as the son of a Levite, rectifying this situation; however critical scholarship widely sees the Book of Chronicles as an attempt to redact the Book(s) of Samuel and of Kings to conform to later religious sensibilities.Hirsch, Emil G., Bacher, Wilhelm and Lauterbach, Jacob Zallel. "Samuel", ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', 1906
According to rabbinical commentary, Hannah was Elkanah's first wife, and although childless, his favorite.Kadari, Tamar. "Peninnah: Midrash and Aggadah." ''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia''. 20 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive.
/ref> He would attempt to comfort her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why are you not eating? Why are you so miserable? Am I not better to you than ten sons?" (1 Samuel 1:8).

Talmud

The

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

lists him as a prophet, along with his wife and son.

Notes

{{Authority control Books of Samuel people Samuel Tribe of Levi

Lineage

Talmud

See also

Notes