We cannot be sure when exactly Samuel was born. However, we do know from the Old Testament that his father was "a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite." His mother was Hannah. Hannah did not have any children, but Elkanah's other wife, Peninnah, had children, and this made her so sad she wept. Hannah prayed to God, "O Lord Almighty...if you will only...remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life..." God gave her a son, and naming him Samuel, she kept her promise to God by giving him to the Lord (making him serve in the temple). There, "...the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord." At that time there was a priest named Eli: his sons were not good and sinned, but Samuel "...continued to grow in stature (height) and in favor with the Lord and with men." 