Editing Samuel (section)

===Family===
Samuel's mother was [[Hannah (biblical figure)|Hannah]] and his father was [[Elkanah]]. Elkanah lived at [[Ramathaim-Zophim|Ramathaim]] in the district of [[Zuph]].<ref name=oca>{{cite web|url=http://oca.org/saints/lives/2015/08/20/102349-prophet-samuel|title=Prophet Samuel|website=oca.org|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref><ref>The Bible does not say specifically say that Elkanah lived in a place known as Zuph. There is, however, a "land of Zuph" mentioned (once only) in 1 Samuel 9:5, an area in which Samuel is said to have been found. Furthermore, 1 Samuel 1:1, as the text now stands, mentions Zuph as an ancestor of Elkanah. And, according to the theory explained in the ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', "Elkanah" [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5691-elkanah] the term "Zophim" in 1:1 is a corruption of the original identification of Elkanah as a "Zuphite." For confirmation that more contemporary scholarship still considers this theory seriously, see the ''Holman Bible Dictionary'', "Ramathaim-Zophim." [https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/hbd/r/ramathaim-zophim.html]</ref> His genealogy is also found in a pedigree of the [[Kohathites]] (1 Chronicles 6:3–15) and in that of [[Heman the Ezrahite]], apparently his grandson (1 Chronicles 6:18–33).

According to the genealogical tables in Chronicles, Elkanah was a [[Levite]]—a fact not mentioned in the books of Samuel. The fact that Elkanah, a Levite, was denominated an [[Tribe of Ephraim|Ephraimite]]<ref>Hebrew ''Ephrathi'', which is interpreted as meaning "Ephraimite" by Gesenius [https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H673&t=KJV], and a variety of translations including NIV, NLT, NASB, HCSB, NET, JPS(1917), ASV [http://biblehub.com/1_samuel/1-1.htm]. See the ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', "Elkanah" for details. [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5691-elkanah]</ref> is analogous to the designation of a Levite belonging to [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]] (Judges 17:7, for example).<ref>"Hence in I Sam. i. 1 his ancestral line is carried back to Zuph (comp. I Sam. ix. 5 et seq.). The word צופים in I Sam. i. 1 should be amended to הצופי ('the Zuphite'), the final mem being a dittogram of that with which the next word, מהר, begins; as the LXX. has it, Σειφὰ. Elkanah is also represented in I Sam. i. 1 as hailing from the mountains of Ephraim, the word here אפרתי denoting this (comp. Judges xii. 5; I Kings xi. 26)—if indeed אפרתי is not a corruption for 'Ephraimite'—and not, as in Judges i. 2 and I Sam. xvii. 12, an inhabitant of Ephrata (see LXX.)." [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=302&letter=E "Elkanah," in the 1906 ''Jewish Encyclopedia.'']</ref>

According to 1 Samuel 1:1–28, Elkanah had two wives, [[Peninnah]] and Hannah. Peninnah had children; Hannah did not. Nonetheless, Elkanah favored Hannah. Jealous, Peninnah reproached Hannah for her lack of children, causing Hannah much heartache. Elkanah was a devout man and would periodically take his family on pilgrimage to the holy site of [[Shiloh (biblical city)|Shiloh]].<ref name=Bergant>{{cite book|last1=Bergant|first1=Dianne|author-link1=Dianne Bergant|last2=Karris|first2=Robert J.|author-link2=Robert J. Karris|title=The Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nj-AkOJ9wRQC&pg=PA271|year=1992|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=978-0-8146-2210-0|page=271}}</ref>

On one occasion, Hannah went to the sanctuary and prayed for a child. In tears, she vowed that if she were granted a child, she would dedicate him to God as a [[nazirite]].<ref name=Bergant/> [[Eli (biblical figure)|Eli]], who was sitting at the foot of the doorpost in the sanctuary at Shiloh, saw her apparently mumbling to herself and thought she was drunk, but was soon assured of both her motivation and sobriety. Eli was the priest of [[Shiloh (biblical city)|Shiloh]], and one of the last [[Biblical judges|Israelite Judges]] before the rule of kings in [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|ancient Israel]]. He had assumed the leadership after [[Samson]]'s death.<ref name=chabad>{{cite web|url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/463969/jewish/Samuel-the-Prophet.htm|title=Samuel the Prophet|website=www.chabad.org|access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref> Eli blessed her and she returned home. Subsequently, Hannah became pregnant, later giving birth to Samuel, and praised God for his mercy and faithfulness.

After the child was weaned, she left him in Eli's care,<ref name=oca/> and from time to time she would come to visit her son.<ref name=chabad/>