Elkanah

The most prominent Elkanah in Scripture was the Ephraimite father of the prophet Samuel. Described as a devout man who made annual pilgrimages to Shiloh to worship and offer sacrifice, he had two wives: Peninnah, who bore children, and Hannah, who was barren. His patient kindness toward the grieving Hannah—asking "Am I not better to you than ten sons?"—reveals a tenderness unusual in depictions of patriarchal households.

The name Elkanah, meaning God hath possessed or God hath created, is shared by numerous Levitical figures throughout the Old Testament, including a son of Korah, several Levites in the genealogies of Chronicles, and a doorkeeper for the ark in the time of David. The frequency of the name suggests it was a common Levitical designation. Samuel's father is identified in Chronicles as a Levite despite being called an Ephraimite in Samuel, a discrepancy reconciled by noting he was a Levite residing in Ephraimite territory.