1 Samuel 1:1

1 Samuel 1:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim–zophim, 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:
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)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.

Context of 1 Samuel 1:1

Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains 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. 2And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.

1 Samuel 1:1 word by word

וַיְהִי֩ אִ֨ישׁ אֶחָ֜ד מִן־הָרָמָתַ֛יִם צוֹפִ֖ים מֵהַ֣ר אֶפְרָ֑יִם וּשְׁמ֡וֹ אֶ֠לְקָנָה בֶּן־יְרֹחָ֧ם בֶּן־אֱלִיה֛וּא בֶּן־תֹּ֥חוּ בֶן־צ֖וּף אֶפְרָתִֽי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Now there was a certainאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• of Ramathaim–zophimרָמָתַיִם צוֹפִיםrâmâthayim tsôphîym · Ramathaim-zophimH7436
• of mountהַרhar · mountain: hill countryH2022
• Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
• and his nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• Elkanahאֶלְקָנָה'elqânâh · ElkanahH511
• the sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Jerohamיְרֹחָםyerôchâm · JerohamH3395
• of Elihuאֱלִיהוּ'ĕlîyhû 'ĕlîyhû' · ElihuH453
• of Tohuתֹּחוּtôchû · TohuH8459
• of Zuphצוּףtsûph tsôphay tsîyph · ZuphH6689
• an Ephrathiteאֶפְרָתִי'ephrâthîy · EphraimiteH673

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 1:1

• 1 Samuel 1:4And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters.
• 1 Samuel 1:9So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord.
• 1 Samuel 1:12And it happened, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli watched her mouth.
• 1 Samuel 1:19Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.
• 1 Samuel 1:24Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young.
• Matthew 27:57Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.
• Judges 17:1Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
• Judges 19:1And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
• 1 Chronicles 6:25The sons of Elkanah were Amasai and Ahimoth.
• 1 Samuel 9:5When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.”
• 1 Samuel 17:12Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul.
• Judges 12:5The Gileadites seized the fords of the Jordan before the Ephraimites arrived. And when any Ephraimite who escaped said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”
• Ruth 1:2The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.
• 1 Kings 11:26Then Solomon’s servant, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite from Zereda, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also rebelled against the king.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 1:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Ramathaim-zophim - Literally, the two high places of the watchman; these were, no doubt, two contiguous hills, on which watchtowers were built, and in which watchmen kept continual guard for the safety of the country and which afterwards gave name to the place.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Ramathaim-zophim may signify “the two hills 1 Samuel 9:11-13 of the watchmen,” so called from its being a post from which the watchmen looked out. But since Zuph is the name of the head of the family, it is more probable that Zophin means the Zuphites, the sons of Zuph (see Zophai, 1 Chronicles 6:26), from whom the land about Ramah was called “the land of Zuph,” 1 Samuel 9:5. There is reason to believe that Elkanah - an Ephrathite, or inhabitant of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1In this book we have an account of Eli, and the wickedness of his sons; also of Samuel, his character and actions. Then of the advancement of Saul to be the king of Israel, and his ill behaviour, until his death made way for David's succession to the throne, who was an eminent type of Christ. David's patience, modesty, constancy, persecution by open enemies and feigned friends, are a pattern and example to the church, and to every member of it. Many…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1Elkanah was a Levite (a member of the tribe of Levi) (1 Chronicles 6:22–27). After the Israelites conquered the promised land, the Levites received towns in other tribes' territories, including Ephraim (Joshua 21:20). Elkanah's hometown was Ramah (1 Samuel 2:11). Do not confuse this Ramah with the one in the land of Benjamin (see Joshua 18:25; Judges 19:13; Matthew 2:18). The region of Zuph got its name from one of Elkanah's ancestors, a Levite from the…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-8Commentary by Robert Jamieson 1Sa 1:1-8. Of Elkanah and His Two Wives. 1-2. a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim--The first word being in the dual number, signifies the double city--the old and new town of Ramah (1Sa 1:19). There were five cities of this name, all on high ground. This city had the addition of Zophim attached to it, because it was founded by Zuph, "an Ephrathite," that is a native of Ephratha. Beth-lehem, and the expression "of…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 1:1

• Eliab
• Elihu
• Elkanah
• Hannah
• Jeroham
• Nahath
• Ramah
• Zophim
• Zuph

In the dictionaries

• Ephraim
• Mount Ephraim
• Ramathaim-Zophim
• Arimathea
• Bitterness
• Elihu
• Elkanah
• Hannah
• Jeroham
• Rama

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings