1 Samuel 3:1-10. The Call of Samuel 1. _the child Samuel_ According to Josephus, Samuel had just completed his twelfth year when the word of Jehovah came to him. In later times this age was a critical point in the life of a Jewish boy. He then became -a son of the Law," and was regarded as personal... [ Continue Reading ]
_at that time_ This rendering is possible, but the Heb. literally means _on that day_, the memorable day which left such a deep mark upon Samuel's life. So the LXX. and Vulg. The words from - _when Eli_" to - _was laid down to sleep_" form a parenthesis, describing the circumstances under which Sam... [ Continue Reading ]
_Here am I_ Heb. _Behold me_, the regular formula for expressing attention to a call and readiness to obey. Cp. Genesis 22:1; Isaiah 6:8.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he ran_ Note Samuel's alacrity to serve the aged priest, his spiritual father.... [ Continue Reading ]
_thou didst call me_ Simply, THOU CALLEDST, as in 1 Samuel 3:5, and again in 1 Samuel 3:8. There is no additional emphasis in the original.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now Samuel_, &c. This verse explains why Samuel failed to recognise the Voice. -Knowing the Lord" here denotes not the general religious knowledge of a pious Israelite, but the special knowledge communicated by a personal revelation. The phrase is used in a different sense in 1 Samuel 2:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the Lord came, and stood_ The Heb. is emphatic: PRESENTED HIMSELF. The Voice became a Vision (1 Samuel 3:15). Cp. Genesis 15:1; Numbers 12:6-8. The visible manifestations of Jehovah or the Angel of Jehovah in the O. T. were foreshadowings of the Incarnation.... [ Continue Reading ]
Announcement of the Doom of Eli's House 11. _I will do_ I AM DOING. The catastrophe is certain. With God the future is as the present. _at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle_ This expression is found again in 2 Kings 21:12, and Jeremiah 19:3. In the latter passage there... [ Continue Reading ]
_all things which I have spoken_ See ch. 1 Samuel 2:27-36. _when I begin, I will also make an end_ Literally, -beginning and ending," i.e. FROM BEGINNING TO END, fully and completely.... [ Continue Reading ]
_For I have told him_ The Hebrew may be translated either (_a_) AND I HAVE SHEWED HIM THAT I DO JUDGE HIS HOUSE FOR EVER: or (_b_) AND I WILL SHEW HIM THAT I TO JUDGE HIS HOUSE FOR EVER. If the first rendering is adopted, the words refer to the doom already pronounced by the prophet: if the second,... [ Continue Reading ]
_shall not be purged_ Lit., _shall not cover itself_; shall not make atonement for itself. The sons of Eli had sinned, -with a high hand," against light and warnings, and for such unrepentant presumptuous offenders the Law had no atonement. See Numbers 15:27-31. The doom of their house is pronounced... [ Continue Reading ]
The Message delivered to Eli 15. _the doors of the house of the Lord_.] As the tabernacle was closed by a curtain only, we must suppose that the doors of the enclosure in which it stood are meant. See note on 1 Samuel 1:9. We here learn incidentally the nature of the service which Samuel performed... [ Continue Reading ]
_What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee?_ The word Lord is not in the Hebrew. As in 1 Samuel 3:9 it is tacitly assumed that the speaker was Jehovah. Observe how Eli first simply _asks_for an account of what had passed, then _demands_a complete statement, and finally _adjures_Samuel to... [ Continue Reading ]
_every whit_ Heb. -all the words," = every thing. _Whit_is derived from A.-S. _wiht_, thing. _It is the Lord_ HE IS JEHOVAH. For the depth of meaning involved in this confession, see Exodus 34:5-7. Eli, with all his faults, was still at heart faithful to God. He submits without a murmur to the divin... [ Continue Reading ]
1 Samuel 3:19 to 1 Samuel 4:1. Samuel established as a Prophet in Israel 19. _The Lord was with him_ This was the one source of strength for all the "heroes of Hebrew history;" for Abraham, Genesis 21:22; Jacob, Genesis 28:15; Joseph, Genesis 39:2; Moses, Exodus 3:12; Joshua, Joshua 1:5; Gideon, Jud... [ Continue Reading ]
_from Dan even to Beer-sheba_ The regular formula to denote the whole extent of the land of Israel. It is first found in Judges 20:1, and is common in the books of Samuel, but naturally disappears after the Division of the Kingdoms, occurring only once again, and that after the fall of the northern... [ Continue Reading ]
_appeared again_ Manifested himself in visions. Cp. 1 Samuel 3:10_; 1 Samuel 3:15_; and the ancient prophetic title of _Seer_(1 Samuel 9:9). _by the word of the Lord_ By the communication of prophetic messages to Samuel. The state of things described in 1 Samuel 3:1 was now reversed. The "word of J... [ Continue Reading ]