1 Samuel 1:1-2 Had Two Wives!

 “1 and 2 Samuel form one book in the ancient Hebrew manuscripts. They were not divided into two books until the Old Testament was translated into Greek. We don’t know who wrote the books for certain. Samuel was a major contributor, but much of the book takes place after his death in 1 Samuel 25. They are called the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, not because Samuel wrote all of them, but because they describe his great ministry in Israel and the legacy of it.” (Guzik)

”Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.“ ‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. A certain man: At this strategic time and place, God began His plan as He almost always does – with a person He will use. God can do His work by Himself, or by angels, or by any number of other means, but His normal method is to find a certain man and work through him.

b. Elkanah: He was a descendant of Zuph, and his family line shows he was a Levite (1 Chronicles 6:16-30). He is called an Ephraimite here because his family lived in a Levitical city in the boundaries of Ephraim, not because he was of the tribe of Ephraim.

c. Elkanah.... had two wives: Polygamy was a fact of life in the ancient world. However, the Bible never puts polygamy in a favorable light. Strife and conflict always characterize polygamous families in the Bible.

i. There was an intense, competitive relationship between the two wives, Peninnah (who had children) and Hannah (who had no children). (Guzik)

“Polygamy was ever a sin, though in the patriarchs and ancient saints, a sin of ignorance. ‘It was not so from the beginning.’ ” (Trapp) 

”He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.“

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Polygamy and divorce are tough topics but the Bible addresses them. If you have a struggling marriage, pray and study about it in the Bible. 

The Life Recovery Bible, Step 10 “We continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it”. 

The video that accompanied this step puts a question to the audience, to examine ourselves, what is my part in this situation?

Blessings