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.
5 But he gave Hannah even more, because he loved Hannah very much, even though the Lord had kept her from having children of her own.
6 Peninnah liked to make Hannah feel miserable about not having any children,
7 especially when the family went to the house of the Lord each year.One day, Elkanah was there offering a sacrifice, when Hannah began crying and refused to eat.