Elkanah practiced polygamy; his other wife, less favoured but bearing more children, was named Peninnah.

Elkanah plays only a minor role in the narrative, and is mostly a supporting character to Eli, Hannah, and Samuel.

[1] He is described as having originated from Zuph, specifically Ramathaim-Zophim, which was part of the tribal lands of Ephraim.

According to the Priestly Code/Deuteronomic Code only Aaronic priests/Levites (depending on the underlying tradition) were permitted to perform these actions, and simply being a nazarite or prophet was insufficient.

Elkanah was a devout man and would take his family annually on pilgrimage to the holy site of Shiloh.