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1 Samuel 3

KJV · Chapter 3/31

1And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

2And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;

3And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

4That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

5And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

6And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.

8And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.

9Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

11And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

12In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.

13For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.

14And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

15And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.

16Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.

17And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.

18And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.

19And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

20And all Israel from Dan even to Beer–sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.

21And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God calls the young Samuel during the night. After three calls mistaken for Eli's voice, the priest realizes it is God speaking and instructs Samuel how to respond. God reveals the coming judgment on the house of Eli.

Explanation

The text notes that 'the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread vision' (v.1), establishing the context of spiritual silence that made Samuel's calling all the more significant. The response Eli taught him—'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening'—became a classic model of availability and humility before God, placing listening before speaking. It is remarkable that Eli, even knowing the message would concern the judgment of his own family, insists on hearing the whole truth and accepts it with resignation ('He is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him'), showing a kind of submission to God's will even in personally painful circumstances.

Fun facts

  • The phrase 'all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba' (v.20), used here for the first time to describe Samuel as a recognized prophet, became a standard expression in the Hebrew Bible for referring to the whole territory of Israel from north to south.
  • The fact that Samuel literally slept 'in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was' (v.3) points to his extraordinary physical closeness, from a very young age, to the most sacred object in Israel.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Samuel 3:1“The word of the Lord was precious in those days” means that divine revelations were rare at that time — it is this prophetic silence that makes the call Samuel is about to receive so striking.
  2. 1 Samuel 3:2Eli’s weak eyesight, mentioned here in passing, is the same detail that returns in chapter 4, when he cannot see who is approaching with news of the battle.
  3. 1 Samuel 3:3The “lamp of God” was kept burning all night in the sanctuary, going out only shortly before dawn — that is why the scene happens before daybreak, with Samuel still lying near the ark, moments before the lamp’s watch ended.
  4. 1 Samuel 3:4Samuel does not yet recognize God’s voice — so he runs to Eli, thinking it was the priest who called him.
  5. 1 Samuel 3:5This is the first of three times Samuel mistakes God’s call for Eli’s — a repetition that shows how strange it was, for the boy, even to imagine that God would speak to him directly.
  6. 1 Samuel 3:6The repeated call, still without Samuel understanding, shows God’s patience in persisting until the boy finally recognizes his voice.
  7. 1 Samuel 3:7The narrator explains Samuel’s confusion: growing up serving at the sanctuary is not the same as already having had a personal experience of God’s voice — this is his first time.
  8. 1 Samuel 3:8Only on the third time does Eli realize what is happening — ironically it is the priest with weak eyesight and failed leadership who recognizes God’s hand before the boy himself does.
  9. 1 Samuel 3:9Eli teaches Samuel the right response: “Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth” — it has become one of the most quoted phrases in the Bible as a symbol of readiness to listen to God, even without yet knowing what one will hear.
  10. 1 Samuel 3:10When the moment comes, Samuel repeats the phrase almost exactly, but without saying “Lord” — perhaps natural hesitation for a boy facing a voice that draws near and calls his name twice.
  11. 1 Samuel 3:11For both ears to “tingle” was an expression for news so shocking it would leave anyone stunned — the same expression returns later in 2 Kings 21:12 and Jeremiah 19:3 for announcements of equally grave judgment.
  12. 1 Samuel 3:12God promises to carry out the sentence against Eli’s house from beginning to end — with no middle ground or chance for the prophecy to remain only a threat.
  13. 1 Samuel 3:13Eli knew of his sons’ corruption and “restrained them not” with any firmness — under the old law, a father and priest was responsible for disciplining those serving under his authority, and it was this failure, not only his sons’ sin, that brought on the announced judgment.
  14. 1 Samuel 3:14Saying that neither sacrifice nor offering will ever wipe out this guilt is an unprecedented sentence: the sacrificial system existed for exactly that purpose, but here the corruption was too serious to be covered that way.
  15. 1 Samuel 3:15Samuel carries out his normal task of opening the sanctuary in the morning, but hesitates to tell what he heard — understandably: the message was the condemnation of the very man raising him.
  16. 1 Samuel 3:16Eli treats Samuel as a son, not merely a disciple — underscoring how much the news that follows will hurt them both.
  17. 1 Samuel 3:17Eli uses a strong form of oath — asking God to punish him if Samuel hides anything — to make sure the boy tells everything, even when it is against Eli himself.
  18. 1 Samuel 3:18Eli’s reaction is not one of revolt but of resignation — he accepts the judgment as just, even knowing it will cost his own line.
  19. 1 Samuel 3:19That the Lord “did let none of his words fall to the ground” means everything Samuel prophesied came true — the mark that confirmed, in the people’s eyes, that he really was a genuine prophet.
  20. 1 Samuel 3:20The phrase “from Dan even to Beer-sheba” is the Hebrew way of saying from one end of the country to the other — Dan lay at the far north and Beersheba at the far south of Israel. The phrase appears several times in the Bible as the equivalent of the whole territory of Israel.
  21. 1 Samuel 3:21After the prophetic silence at the start of the chapter, it is Shiloh that again has regular revelations — through Samuel, who becomes the new channel of communication between God and Israel.

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