The name Samuel means “name of God” or “his name is El,” where El is the name of the God of strength and power. His parents were a Levite named Elkanah and Hannah, who was unable to have children for many years. Elkanah and Hannah were devout Jews who visited the sanctuary at Shiloh every year to worship and sacrifice (1 Sam. 1:3).
The books of Joel and Amos are two of twelve books known as the minor prophets; not minor as in unimportant, but minor because of book length- in fact, the books of Isaiah is as long as all of the minor prophet books put together. Jewish tradition groups them into a single book called the “Book of the Twelve.”
Who are the Patriarchs? At this point in Year one of the PATH, you are coming into the homestretch of Genesis with its 50 chapters and many, many characters. The three people known as the Patriarchs are Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob. Many Biblical scholars also include Jacob’s son Joseph in the patriarchy.
