Now there was a certain man of Ramathaimzophim, of mount Ephraim, and his name [was] Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite:
Samuel was in the number of those few in Scripture, that lived and died with glory. His birth, life, and acts take up a great part of this book, which seemeth to have been written by some disciple of his, who, in honour of his master, called it by his name. Like Anna Comnena, daughter of Alexius Comnenus the Emperor, wrote the history of her father's deeds and called it Alexias.
Ver. 1. Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim.] Called also Ramah, and Arimathaea. The Hebrews a say it was a school of prophets, who are frequently in Scripture called Zophim, that is, watchmen, and that Elkanah himself was a prophet, as being of the sons of Korah, who are called prophets. See 1Ch 6:22; 1 Chronicles 6:27; 1 Chronicles 6:33, compared with those titles of Psalms "to" or "of the soils of Korah." Of that gainsaying "sinner against his own soul," came Samuel, Homo ille virtute simillimus.
An Ephrathite.] So called, because he dwelt in the tribe of Ephraim, as Judges 12:5; likeas those Jews are called Cretes and Arabians, Elamites and Parthians, &c., Act 2:9-10 because they sojourned in those countries.
a Chald. Paraph., Kimchi, Ben-Gerson.