And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD.
His return was to Ramah - not at Nabi-Samuel; the site uncertain (Robinson's 'Biblical Researches,' 2:, pp 40, 141, 331-334; Wilson's 'Lands of the Bible,' 2: p. 36). [But the expression, haa-Raamaataah (H7414) (with the article), shows it is the same as Ramathaim-zophim (see the note at 1 Samuel 1:1: cf. Josephus, 'Antiquities' b. 6: ch. 4:, sec. 6; also ch. 13:, sec. 5).]
There he built an altar unto the Lord. Here is another instance of his deviation from the prescribed ordinance of the law (Deuteronomy 12:5; Deuteronomy 12:13). The reason probably was, that at that period of public disorder the tabernacle and its altar were both destroyed; and as Samuel, being a pious man, was desirous of animating his devotions by prayer and sacrifice, Yahweh sanctioned the erection, by accepting the person and services of the worshiper.