1 Samuel 1

Ramah was a short version of the city’s full name, Ramathaim—a bit like LA is short for Los Angeles and KC is short for Kansas City. Ramah is usually linked to ruins called Al-Ram. It’s about 5 miles (8 km) north of Jerusalem and about 15 miles (24 km) south of Shiloh. That’s almost a day’s walk to Shiloh. Some scholars link Ramah to another ruin about five miles southwest, Nabi Samwil. At the time, Jerusalem was still a generation away from when King David would capture it and turn it into his capital, the City of David.

The writer never says what the occasion was for the annual trip. Maybe it was a personal family retreat, a voluntary spiritual time of worship. But Jewish law did require men to take offerings to the place of worship three times a year: Passover (Feast of the Yeast-free Bread) in the spring, Shavuot (Harvest Festival) in the summer, and Sukkot (Late Harvest Festival/Festival of Booths) in the fall (Deuteronomy 16:16).

Not all sacrifices required worshipers to burn the entire animal on the altar. Some sacrifices were simply to thank God for something. A peace offering is one of several prescribed offerings in Jewish tradition (Leviticus 3). When Jewish people wanted to give thanks to God for something, such as good health or safety, they would sacrifice a sheep, goat, cow, or bull. They would burn part of the animal, including the kidneys and fat covering the intestines. They would eat the rest in celebration, often with family and friends. It takes a fair number of hungry people to eat a cow. But people were eager to eat meat because it was rare in Bible times for common folks to eat meat, many Bible scholars say.

The description of the doorway into the worship center hints that the Israelites had upgraded the tent worship center they built during the Exodus out of Egypt. Yet they still called it a tent (2:22).

Some Israelites took a vow perhaps a little like vows that priests, monks, and nuns take today. They dedicate themselves to God and they express their devotion by obeying unique rules. Leviticus 6 preserves a to-do list for Nazirites. Or a don’t-do list. They can’t drink anything from a vineyard. They can’t even eat grapes. And they’re not supposed to cut their hair, either. Samson, a lifelong Nazirite, lost his hair to a Philistine gold-digger, Delilah. She turned him in for a huge reward.

The name “Samuel” sounds like the Hebrew words for “ask God.” The last syllable, El, is Hebrew for “God.”

Women in Bible times generally breastfed their children for two or three years, according to ancient sources such as 2 Maccabees 7:27. The Talmud, an ancient collection of Jewish tradition and laws, recommended limiting breastfeeding to two years. Some sources say mothers sometimes breastfed their children to age five.

Literally an ephah, which is an ancient measure that’s a little more than half a bushel. An ephah held about 20 quarts (22 liters) of grain, compared to 32 quarts (35 liters) in a bushel.