“And this man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to
sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and
Phinehas, were there priests unto the LORD.”
Much can be learned about Elkanah’s character, suggests Abravanel, by paying close attention to our
chapter’s narrative. Annually, Elkanah left home, wives and children in tow, and paid a visit to the
Tabernacle. Likely, the occasion had been the thrice-annual obligation to offer sacrifices in the
Tabernacle. “And it came to pass upon a day, when Elkanah sacrificed, that he gave to Peninnah his wife,
and to all her sons and her daughters, portions.”
According to the letter of the law, Abravanel learns, only men are obligated to make a holiday pilgrim to
the Tabernacle or Holy Temple. Why, he asks, did Elkanah bring along his two wives, children and other
members of his household? Tellingly, Elkanah sought to instill within his family members a deep sense of
religious faith and belief. Regular visits to Heaven’s earthly haunt encouraged these all-important traits.
Something else is going on as well. Simply put, a man’s happiness is not complete in the absence of his
wife’s and children’s presence and company. When, however, a man’s family joins him in sacrificing to
the One Above, there is complete contentment and satisfaction.
“And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were there priests unto the LORD.” In the next chapter,
much will be devoted to Eli’s two sons’ impiety. In a word, Hophni and Phineas abused their high
position at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. Horribly so. Besides forcibly snatching sacrificial meat, they also
forced themselves upon female pilgrims.
In such a tainted and corrupt environment, one would, perhaps justifiably so, recoil and stop visiting the
Tabernacle. Boycott. To the contrary, Elkanah didn’t flinch, as he “went up out of his city from year to
year to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh.” He paid, Abravanel teaches, little
attention to Hophni and Phineas’ untoward conduct, unconscionable as it was. For Elkanah, only one
thing mattered – focusing single-mindedly on his and his family’s service to God.