1 Samuel 1:1

Hannah Gives Birth to Samuel

1:1 There was a man from Ramathaim Zophim, ¹  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.

1 Samuel 13:2

13:2 Saul selected for himself three thousand men from Israel. Two thousand of these were with Saul at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel; ²  the remaining thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. ³  He sent all the rest of the people back home. ⁴ 

1 Samuel 26:20

26:20 Now don’t let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord’s presence, for the king of Israel has gone out to look for a flea the way one looks for a partridge ⁵  in the hill country.”

[1:1]  ¹ tc The translation follows the MT. The LXX reads “a man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite”; this is followed by a number of recent English translations. It is possible the MT reading צוֹפִים (tsofim) arose from dittography of the mem (מ) at the beginning of the following word.

[13:2]  ² map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[13:2]  ³ tn Heb “at Gibeah of Benjamin.” The words “in the territory” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[13:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “each one to his tents.”

[26:20]  ³ tn Heb “the calling [one],” which apparently refers to a partridge.