1 Samuel 1

1 Samuel 1

Chart from recommended resource Jensen's Survey of the OT - used by permission 1 Samuel Chart from Charles Swindoll TIMELINE OF THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL, KINGS & CHRONICLES 1107 1011 971 931 853 722 586 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 1 Kings 2 Kings 31 1-4 5-10 11-20 21-24 1-11 12-22 1-17 18-25 1Chr 10 1 Chr 11-19 1 Chr 20-29 2 Chronicles 1-9 2 Chronicles 10-20 2 Chronicles 21-36 Legend: B.C. dates at top of timeline are approximate. Note that 931BC marks the division of the Kingdom into Southern Tribes (Judah and Benjamin) and Ten Northern Tribes. To avoid confusion be aware that after the division of the Kingdom in 931BC, the Southern Kingdom is most often designated in Scripture as "Judah" and the Northern Kingdom as "Israel." Finally, note that 1 Chronicles 1-9 is not identified on the timeline because these chapters are records of genealogy. The Ryrie Study Bible Map on Left ESV Global Study Bible, on right Jensen's Survey of the OT The Man Samuel in 1 Samuel 1-8 1 Samuel 1:1 Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. KJV 1 Samuel 1:1 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: NET 1 Samuel 1:1 There was a man from Ramathaim Zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. CSB 1 Samuel 1:1 There was a man from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ESV 1 Samuel 1:1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. NIV 1 Samuel 1:1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. NLT 1 Samuel 1:1 There was a man named Elkanah who lived in Ramah in the region of Zuph in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, of Ephraim. NRS 1 Samuel 1:1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham son of Elihu son of Tohu son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. YLT 1 Samuel 1:1 And there is a certain man of Ramathaim-Zophim, of the hill-country of Ephraim, and his name is Elkanah, son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, and Ephrathite, Ramathaim zophim: This ancient town, now called Ramla, is, according to Phocas, about thirty-six miles west of Jerusalem, and, according to modern travellers, about nine miles from Joppa and a league from Lydda, between which it is situated. It is built on a rising ground, on a rich plain, and contains about two thousand families. 1Sa 1:19 Mt 27:57, Arimathea mount: Jdg 17:1 Jdg 19:1 Elkanah: 1Ch 6:25-27,34 Zuph: 1Sa 9:5 Ephraimite: 1Sa 17:12 Jdg 12:5 Ru 1:2 1Ki 11:26 1 Samuel 1 Resources - sermons and commentaries Related Passages: Judges 17:1 (see commentary) Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah. Judges 19:1 (see commentary) Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah. Observe: Ephraim on left map; Ramah on right map with Shiloh to the North (Click each map to enlarge) GOD USES A "CERTAIN MAN" A MAN NAMED ELKANAH Spurgeon prefaces this chapter writing - On how small an incident the greatest results may hinge! The pivots of history are microscopic. Hence, it is most important for us to learn that the smallest trifles are as much arranged by the God of providence as the most startling events. He who counts the stars has also numbered the hairs of our heads. Our lives and deaths are predestined, but so, also, are our sitting down and our rising up. Had we but sufficiently powerful perceptive faculties, we would see God’s hand as clearly in each stone of our pathway as in the revolution of the earth. In watching our own lives, we would plainly see that on many occasions the smallest grain has turned the scale. Bergen has a great introduction - Here the Lord gives barren and humiliated Hannah a son in answer to her prayer. The story of Hannah presents a sharp contrast with that of Deborah, another significant woman of Ephraim from the period of the Judges. Deborah’s career impacted Israelite society through political clout, judicial leadership, and prophetic activity; Hannah’s effect on Israelite society came through the gentle forces of faith and motherhood. Through Hannah the point is made that women of faith played a legitimate and even formative role in shaping Israel’s history. Hannah’s faith turned the tide of the period of the Judges by producing the transitional figure Samuel. In this passage Israelite faith expresses its supreme paradox and boldest affirmation—the Lord may create social and natural tragedies in order to accomplish his purposes that far outweigh the calamity. The Lord sometimes engineers social tragedies, yet he carries them out “that the work of God might be displayed” (John 9:3). Accordingly, human tragedy can be properly evaluated and appreciated only when viewed with a consideration of the end results and ultimate purposes brought about by God. (1 & 2 Samuel - New American Commentary) Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from the hill country of Ephraim ("double fruitfulness") - Ramathaim-zophim means something like "double height of watchers." It is almost certainly the same as the shorter name Ramah (see note on 1Sa 1:19). A certain man (Elkanah) is front and center but quickly fades into the limelight behind Hannah and then her firstborn son Samuel. It is interesting that the same phrase "hill country of Ephraim" marks the beginning of two of the most sordid tales in all of Scripture beginning in Judges 17:1 and then mentioned again in Judges 19:1 (extending through Judges 21). So into this moral cesspool God's Spirit introduces us to a godly family, and in particular introduces a godly mother, Hannah. One is reminded of the book of Ruth bringing light in the midst of the dark days of Judges (see timeline below). Things were bad in Israel, but not everyone was bad and God moved mightily in the lives of those people who were sold out to Him. THOUGHT - I write in the Fall of 2022 in the midst of America's version of "the days of Judges," when everything good and moral and right seems to be turned upside down. But be encouraged dear set apart one, for pursuit of holiness in the midst of such blatant unholiness will bring glory and honor to our God. And God will use such men and women as Paul told Timothy writing "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work." (2Ti 2:21+) The only "good work" is God's work (cf Eph 2:10+), work He initiates and His Spirit empowers (cf Jn 15:5), so set your mind on the things above and not on the things of this passing planet, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:2+). Pursue holiness (cf Heb 12:14+) and prepare for usefulness to the King! God used a "certain man" and a "certain woman" at the terminus of the dark days of the Judges to bring light through his firstborn son Samuel. God can and will use you beloved if you set your face like flint to Jerusalem! Gilbrant on Ramathaim - "Ramathaim" (ED- "-im" usually signifies plural in Hebrew, e.g., cherub-im, seraph-im, etc) is a dual form meaning "two heights" or "double heights." Some sources view the combination as a proper name with the sense, "Ramathaim, in the district of Zuph." Others see the final "mem" on "Zophim" as an example of dittography or as an enclitic "mem." According to this view, the word "Zophim" should be read Zophi, the gentilic "Zuphite." The sense of the phrase would therefore be either: (a) "There was a man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite," or (b) "There was a man from Zuphite Ramathaim." Identification of the site of Ramathaim-Zophim is usually linked to the modern Rentis (See Wikipedia Rantis), sixteen miles east of Joppa in western Ephraim. Guzik on a certain man - At this strategic time and place, God began His plan as He almost always does—with a person He will use. God can do His work by Himself, or by angels, or by any number of other means; but His normal method is to find a certain man and work through him. And his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham ("whom Jehovah has exalted", 1Chr 6:27, 34), the son of Elihu ("He is my God", Eliel in 1Chr 6:34 & Eliab in 1Chr 6:27), the son of Tohu ("lowly", only here in OT), the son of Zuph ("honeycomb" 1Sa 9:5, 1Chr 6:35), an Ephraimite - Elkanah was a Levite by birth but an Ephraimite by residence. Elkanah means "God has possessed", "God possesses," or "God has created" There are several OT figures with the name Elkanah, most of them mentioned in 1 Chronicles. Zuph was a Kohathite Levite, ancestor of Elkanah and Samuel (see note below). This is a striking "pedigree" which goes back 4 generations, which "certainly indicates his importance in the plan of God." (Hoffner) Elkanah (and thus Samuel) are traced back to Kohah, son of Levi.