ZUPH zuf (צ֔וּף). 1 Chron 6:35 alternately צﯴפַ֥י, 1 Chron 6:26, meaning honeycomb. 1. An ancestor of Elkanah and of Samuel (1 Sam 1:1). Some have conjectured with some Gr. texts which have Ζουφει (LXX B) or Ζουφι (LXX B) in 1 Chronicles 6:26, that Ramathaim-zophim (q.v.) in 1 Samuel 1:1a may be based on the gentilic name צﯴפַ֥י and, similarly in 1 Samuel 1:1b the conjectured reading would give “Tohu, a Zuphite, an Ephraimite.” In fact, LXX B reads Εφραιμ for Ephrathite. Alternately Elkanah is said to have come from a levitical priestly family (1 Chron 6:26). There may have been Levites in the hill country of Ephraim, or possibly, a “Levite” may have been partly a professional and only partly a tribal designation.

2. A district of Benjamin where Saul looked for his father’s asses (1 Sam 9:5). Elkanah, father of Samuel, from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim seems to have come from this district. Possibly the family name Zuph provided a name for the district. The exact site is not known.