SUMMARY
Samuel’s family is introduced here in 1 SamuelThe judge who anointed the first two kings of Israel. as Ephraimite. If that is the case, Samuel will have no more business in the tabernacleThe tabernacle, a word meaning "tent," was a portable worship place for the Hebrew people after they left Egypt. It was said to contain the ark of the covenant. The plans for the tabernacle are dictated by God in Exodus 26. or officiating sacrifices than SaulThe first king of Israel. would have. Is something else going on?
ANALYSIS
Samuel’s father, Elkanah, is introduced as an Ephraimite from Ephraim. There is no mention here of Samuel having a connection to Levites, much less to priestly families. And yet, Samuel will conduct several sacrifices. Famously, Samuel will chide non-priests for conducting their own sacrifices (1 Samuel 13:2-14). Is Samuel being a hypocrite, or is there something else going on here?
The writer of Chronicles, noticing an issue, is quick to point out that Elkanah and Samuel were Kohathite Levites (1 Chronicles 6:22-38). So, is this a simple case of differing ancestries? It may be. But the conquest narratives from JoshuaThe successor of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan. note that many Kohathite Levites settled in the territory of Ephraim (Joshua 21:5), and eventually even Phinehas the high priestThe high priest was the most powerful priest in the temple in Jerusalem. The high priest Caiaphas held the office during the trial of Jesus. Later, in the New Testament book of Hebrews, the role of merciful high priest is ascribed to the resurrected Jesus. settled in the tribal allotment of Ephraim as well (Joshua 24:33). So, it may be that when Elkanah (and thereafter Samuel) is presented as an Ephraimite, we are being told more about geography than genealogyGenealogy involves the study and tracing of families through the generations - in short, family history. One genealogy in Genesis traces the nations descended from Noah. In the New Testament Matthew traces the ancestry of Jesus back to Abraham, while Jesus' genealogy in Luke goes.... Or it is at least very likely that among Samuel’s ancestors, Levites intermarried with their Ephraimite neighbors.
In any case, even the psalms preserve a tradition that links Samuel with the LeviteA Levite was a member of the tribe of Levi. This tribe had priestly and political responsibilities for the Israelites. Levites appear prominently in Old Testament accounts, and they accompany priests to question John the Baptizer's identity early in John's Gospel. family of MosesProphet who led Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land and received the law at Sinai. and AaronMoses' brother and spokesman, and Israel's first high priest. (PsalmA psalm is a song of praise. In the Old Testament 150 psalms comprise the psalter, although some of the psalms are laments and thanksgivings. In the New Testament early Christians gathered to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. 99:6).
In a time when the high priestly line was shifting (EliPriest at Shiloh who cared for young Samuel. and his sons were descendants of Itamar, rather than Eliezer and Phinehas – the ordained high priestly line, according to Numbers 26:10-13), Samuel conducting sacrifices as a Levite, but not a priestA priest is a person who has the authority to perform religious rites. In New Testament times priests were responsible for daily offerings and sacrifices in the temple., probably should be seen as only a small anomaly, before priestly formalization is concretized.
