1 Samuel 1:1 - Meaning and Application

We have here an account of the family into which Samuel the prophet was born. His father was Elkanah, a Levite from the family of the Kohathites, the more honored branch of that tribe, as appears in (1 Chronicles 6:33-34). His ancestor Zuph was an Ephrathite, that is, from Bethlehem in Judah, which was also called Ephrathah (Ruth 1:2). This family of Levites first lived there, but one branch later moved to Mount Ephraim, where Elkanah came from. Micah’s Levite also came from Bethlehem to Mount Ephraim (Judges 17:8).

Perhaps the writer mentions their original connection with Ephrathah to show their link with David. Elkanah lived at Ramah, or Ramathaim, which means the double Ramah, the upper and lower town, the same place later called Arimathea, where Joseph was from. Here it is called Ramathaim-zophim. Zophim means watchmen, and perhaps they had one of the schools of the prophets there, since prophets are called watchmen. The Aramaic paraphrase calls Elkanah a disciple of the prophets.

Yet it seems to me that prophecy revived in Samuel. Before his time, for a long while, there was no open vision (1 Samuel 3:1). There is hardly any mention of a prophet of the Lord from Moses to Samuel, except (Judges 6:8). So we have no reason to think there was a school of prophets there until Samuel himself established one (Judges 19:19-20). That is the account of Samuel’s family and birthplace. Now let us look at the state of the family itself.

It was a devout family. All the families of Israel should have been so, and Levite families especially should have been. Ministers should be examples of family religion. Elkanah went up to the tabernacle at Shiloh at the appointed feasts to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts. This is likely the first time in Scripture that God is called the Lord of hosts, or Jehovah Sabaoth. Samuel may have used this title first for the comfort of Israel, when their own forces were few and weak and their enemies were many and strong. It would remind them that the God they served ruled all the armies of heaven and earth.

Elkanah was a country Levite, and nothing here suggests that he held any office that required him to attend the tabernacle. Yet he went as an ordinary Israelite, bringing his own sacrifices, to encourage others and set a good example. When he sacrificed, he also worshiped, joining prayer and thanksgiving with his offerings. He kept this pattern year after year. This was especially worthy because religion was declining around him. Some people worshiped other gods, and many were careless in serving the God of Israel. Still Elkanah kept his integrity. Whatever others did, he had resolved that he and his house would serve the Lord.

It was also commendable because Hophni and Phinehas, Eli’s corrupt sons, were the main men serving at the house of God at that time. Their behavior was very bad, as we learn later. Yet Elkanah still went up to sacrifice. God had then bound his people to one place and one altar, and had forbidden them to worship anywhere else. So in plain obedience to that command, he came to Shiloh. If the priests did not do their duty, he would do his.

Thanks be to God, under the gospel we are not tied to one place or one family. The pastors and teachers Christ has given to his church are those whose ministry helps to perfect the saints and build up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12). No one has authority over our faith. We owe ourselves to those who help our holiness and joy, not to people whose shameful behavior, like Hophni and Phinehas, makes the Lord’s sacrifices hateful. Even so, the power and benefit of the sacraments do not depend on the holiness of the one who serves them.

Yet this was also a divided family, and those divisions brought both guilt and grief. Where there is godliness, it is a pity if there is not also unity. The shared worship of a family should bring an end to its quarrels. The first cause of this division was Elkanah’s marriage to two wives, which went against God’s original order for marriage, which Jesus himself restores to its proper meaning: “From the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:5-8). This caused trouble in Abraham’s family, and in Jacob’s family, and here in Elkanah’s too. God’s law is much better for our comfort and peace in this life than we would be for ourselves if left to our own choices.

It is likely that Elkanah first married Hannah, and when she did not have children as quickly as he hoped, he married Peninnah. Peninnah did bear children, but in other ways she became a burden to him. In this way, people are often struck by the results of their own mistakes.

What followed was that the two wives could not live in peace. They had different gifts: Peninnah, like Leah, was fruitful and had many children, which should have made her thankful, even though she was the second wife and less loved. Hannah, like Rachel, had no children, but she was very dear to her husband. He took every chance to show her and others that she was loved, and he gave her a worthy portion (1 Samuel 1:5). That should have made her thankful as well. But their temperaments were different. Peninnah could not handle her blessing of fertility well, but grew proud and rude. Hannah could not bear the pain of barrenness well, but grew sad and discouraged. Elkanah had to walk carefully between them.

Still, Elkanah kept going to God’s altar despite this unhappy conflict in his home, and he took his wives and children with him, so that if they could not agree in other things, they might agree in worshiping God together. If a family’s prayers do not end its quarrels, then let its quarrels at least not stop its prayers. He also did what he could to encourage Hannah and lift her spirits in her sorrow (1 Samuel 1:4-5). At the feast, he offered peace offerings, asking for peace in his family. When he and his household ate their share of the sacrifice, showing fellowship with God and his altar, he gave Peninnah and her children their proper portions, but to Hannah he gave a worthy portion, the best piece at the table, the kind usually given to the most valued guest. He did this to show his love for her and to assure her of it. Notice, Elkanah loved his wife no less because she was barren.

Christ loves his church despite her weaknesses and barrenness, and men should love their wives the same way (Ephesians 5:25). To lessen our true love for a relation because of a weakness they cannot help, and that is not their sin but their trouble, is to fight against God’s providence and his command. It is also very unkind to add pain to someone already hurting.

Elkanah showed his love for Hannah even more because she was troubled, insulted, and low in spirit. It is wise and right to support those who are weakest and to lift up those who have been knocked down. He also showed his love by giving her a double portion of the peace offerings. In the same way, we should show affection to our friends and family by praying much for them. The more we love them, the more room we should give them in our prayers.

Peninnah, Elkanah’s other wife, was very cranky and provoking. She mocked Hannah for her childlessness, looked down on her, and spoke to her with scorn, as if heaven did not smile on her. She also envied the special place Hannah had in Elkanah’s love, and the kinder Elkanah was to Hannah, the more bitter Peninnah became. This was base and cruel.

She did this especially when they went up to the house of the Lord. Perhaps they were together more closely then, or perhaps Elkanah showed Hannah more affection at those times. But it was sinful to show such malice when hands were to be lifted in prayer at God’s altar without anger or fighting. It was also especially unkind to trouble Hannah then, because she needed calmness for worship. The enemy of our peace is most active when we ought to be most settled. When the sons of God present themselves before the Lord, Satan is sure to come among them too (Job 1:6).

Peninnah kept this up year after year. It was not a moment of weakness, but a settled habit. Neither respect for her husband nor pity for Hannah could stop her. She seemed to want to make Hannah miserable, perhaps hoping to break her heart so she could have Elkanah’s love to herself, or simply because she enjoyed Hannah’s pain. It shows a low and wicked spirit to take pleasure in upsetting those who are already sad and tender. We should carry one another’s burdens, not make them heavier.

Poor Hannah could not bear the provocation. She wept and did not eat (1 Samuel 1:7). Her sorrow upset her own peace and the peace of her whole family. She did not eat at the feast. Her grief took away her appetite, made her unfit for company, and disturbed the joy of the household. This was the feast connected with the sacrifice, and those in mourning were not to eat of the holy things (Deuteronomy 26:14; Leviticus 10:19). Still, it was a weakness in Hannah to let sorrow from this world keep her from holy joy in God. People with a fretful spirit, who take insults too deeply, hurt themselves. They lose much of the comfort that life and godliness offer. Scripture also shows that such quarrels in marriage can stain worship with tears, so that the Lord does not regard the offering (Malachi 2:13).

Elkanah did what he could to comfort her. Hannah did not answer by blaming him for marrying another wife, as Sarah once did, nor did she return Peninnah’s insults with insults. She carried the trouble by herself, which made her deserve much sympathy. Elkanah was deeply troubled by her distress (1 Samuel 1:8): “Hannah, why are you crying?” Those who are joined in marriage should also share the same spirit so far that one cannot be at ease while the other suffers.

He also gently rebuked her: “Why are you crying? Why is your heart sad?” Those whom God loves, he corrects, and we should do the same. He led her to think about the cause of her grief. She had good reason to be troubled, but she should ask whether she had reason to be troubled so deeply, especially in a way that kept her from eating the holy meal. Our sorrow is sinful when it pulls us away from duty to God, spoils our comfort in him, makes us thankless for present mercy, or makes us doubt God’s goodness for the future. It also becomes wrong when it darkens our joy in Christ and keeps us from doing our duty and taking comfort in our close relationships.

Elkanah also reminded her that he would make up for what she lacked: “Am I not better to you than ten sons?” He meant, “You know you have my full love, and that should comfort you.” We should remember our blessings so we do not grieve too much over our troubles. Our troubles are what we deserve, but our comforts are more than we deserve. If we want to keep the balance steady, we must look at what is for us as well as what is against us. Otherwise, we are unfair to God’s providence and unkind to ourselves. God has set one thing against another (Ecclesiastes 7:14), and we should do the same.