1:1 The specification that Elkanah’s home (and Samuel’s birthplace), Ramah (Ramathaim) of the Zuphites, was located in the hill country of Ephraim could be intended to remind us of the corruption, chaos, and violence that occurred in this same region in the final chapters of Judges (esp. Judg 19–21). In contrast, in the opening verses of 1 Samuel we find a scene of intense and sincere piety. Samuel also resided in Ramah (Ramathaim) of the Zuphites (1 Sam 7:17; 8:4; 25:1), which is where he first