Samuel's parents lived near Ramathaim-zopphim (lit. two heights, elsewhere called Ramah, e.g., v. 19, lit. height) in Ephraim in central Canaan.14Samuel's father, Elkanah, was an Ephraimite by residence. He was really a Levite by blood (1 Chron. 6:33-38). Ramah was not one of the Levitical towns in Ephraim. Elkanah's residence raises initial questions about his commitment to the Mosaic Law. Was he really where he should have been, and does this indicate that the will of God may not have been very important for him? In the story that follows it is Hannah rather than Elkanah who emerges as the person of outstanding faith.
In the Hebrew Bible the description of Samuel's father and Samson's father are almost identical (cf. Judg. 13:2). The Holy Spirit may have written this to remind us of the unusual Nazirite status of both judges.15
Hannah's problem was that she was barren (v. 2).
