Elkanah

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For other uses, see Elkanah (name).
Elkanah and his two wives (illuminated manuscript, c. 1430)

Elkanah (Hebrew: אֱלְקָנָה ’Ĕlqānā "El has purchased") was, according to the First Book of Samuel, the husband of Hannah, and the father of her children including her first, Samuel. Elkanah practiced polygamy; his other wife, less favoured but bearing more children, was named Peninnah. The names of Elkanah's other children apart from Samuel are not given. Elkanah plays only a minor role in the narrative, and is mostly a supporting character to Eli, Hannah, and Samuel.

Lineage

Elkanah and his two wives (illuminated manuscript, c. 1467)

According to 1 Samuel 1, Elkanah was the son of Jeroham, who was the son of Elihu, who was the son of Tohu, who was the son of Zuph.[1] He is described as having originated from Zuph, specifically Ramathaim-Zophim, which was part of the tribal lands of Ephraim. While he is called an Ephraimite in 1 Samuel, the Books of Chronicles state that he was a Levite.[2]

Elkanah lived in the

1 Chronicles 6:16-30, 33-37); the Tribe of Levi had no contiguous parcel of land, but were assigned to dwell in certain cities that were scattered throughout the tribes of Israel (Book of Genesis 49:6-7; Book of Numbers 35:6). The fact that Elkanah, a Levite, was denominated an Ephraimite is analogous to the designation of a Levite belonging to Judah (Judges 17:7, for example).[3]

The Books of Samuel variously describe Samuel as having carried out sacrifices at sanctuaries, and having constructed and sanctified

Book of Chronicles, Samuel is described as the son of a Levite, rectifying this situation; however critical scholarship widely sees the Book of Chronicles as an attempt to redact the Book(s) of Samuel and of Kings to conform to later religious sensibilities.[4]

According to rabbinical commentary, Hannah was Elkanah's first wife, and although childless, his favorite.[5] He would attempt to comfort her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why are you not eating? Why are you so miserable? Am I not better to you than ten sons?" (1 Samuel 1:8).

Elkanah was a devout man and would take his family annually on pilgrimage to the holy site of Shiloh.[6]

Talmud

The Talmud lists him as a prophet, along with his wife and son.

See also

  • Midrash Samuel

Notes

  1. ^ 1 Samuel 1:1
  2. ^ "Elkanah", Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906
  3. ^ Hirsch, Emil G. and König, Eduard. "Elkanah", Jewish Encyclopedia
  4. ^ Hirsch, Emil G., Bacher, Wilhelm and Lauterbach, Jacob Zallel. "Samuel", Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Kadari, Tamar. "Peninnah: Midrash and Aggadah." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 20 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive.
  6. ISBN 978-0-8146-2210-0
    .
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