1 Samuel 1:1-8

Elkanah and his Rival Wives. The book opens with a domestic scene which throws light on the practical working of polygamy in ancient Israel. The husband is an Ephraimite, Elkanah of Ramah, i.e. the Height perhaps Rimo, twelve miles west of Shiloh. Elkanah had two wives (a very common arrangement, cf. Rachel and Leah) whose names were Hannah (Grace) and Peninnah (Coral or Pearl). Peninnah had children, Hannah had none. The hero of the story, Samuel, was born as an answer to prayer to a mother hitherto barren so Sarah and Isaac; Rebekah, Jacob and Esau; Rachel and Joseph. Elkanah and his family went yearly to a festival at Shiloh, probably the Vintage Festival, which was called later on the Feast of Tabernacles, a sort of Christmas away from home. What corresponded roughly to the Christmas dinner was the meal to which the sacrifice served as a somewhat elaborate grace. An ox or sheep was slain; portions were burnt on the altar with appropriate ritual; portions were given as a fee to the priest; the rest was eaten by the offerer, his household, and his guests (cf. 1 Samuel 2:13; 1 Samuel 9:12). It should have been a very happy occasion, but the two wives were jealous rivals, again like Rachel and Leah. This natural result of bigamy is illustrated by the fact that the one is called the Çâ râ or rival of the other (1 Samuel 6, so also in the Heb. Sir_37:11, cf. Deuteronomy 21:15). Accordingly Peninnah's nagging spoilt the feast.

1 Samuel 1:1. of Ramathaim Zophim: we should perhaps read of Ramah, a Zuphite.

1 Samuel 1:3. Lord of Hosts: Yahweh Sebaoth, an ancient name of the God of Israel, a contraction of Yahweh, God of Hosts. The hosts were originally the armies of Israel, so 1 Samuel 17:45; Exodus 12:41. Later on the hosts seem to have been understood as angels, so perhaps Joshua 5:14 f, or stars, 2 Kings 17:16.

1 Samuel 1:5. a double portion: the original reading of the Heb, cannot be determined; LXX (cf. RVm) reads, a single portion, because she had no child, yet, etc. This is probably nearer to the original than a double portion.