1. Elkanah lived in Ramah, a town in the hill country of Ephraim. His great-great-grandfather was Zuph, so Elkanah was a member of the Zuph clan of the Ephraim tribe. Elkanah's father was Jeroham, his grandfather was Elihu, and his great-grandfather was Tohu.
2. Elkanah had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah. Although Peninnah had children, Hannah did not have any.
3. Once a year Elkanah travelled from his home town to Shiloh, where he worshipped the Lord All-Powerful and offered sacrifices. Eli was the Lord's priest there, and his two sons Hophni and Phinehas served with him as priests.
4. Whenever Elkanah offered a sacrifice, he gave some of the meat to Peninnah and some to each of her sons and daughters.
12-13. Hannah prayed silently to the Lord for a long time. But her lips were moving, and Eli thought she was drunk.
15-16. “Sir, please don't think I'm no good!” Hannah answered. “I'm not drunk, and I haven't been drinking. But I do feel miserable and terribly upset. I've been praying all this time, telling the Lord about my problems.”
24-25. When it was the time of year to go to Shiloh again, Hannah and Elkanah took Samuel to the Lord's house. They brought along a three-year-old bull, a sack containing about nine kilogrammes of flour, and a clay jar full of wine. Hannah and Elkanah offered the bull as a sacrifice, then brought the little boy to Eli.