1 Samuel 3:2

1 Samuel 3:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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;
• New International Version (NIV)One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.
• English Standard Version (ESV)At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,

Context of 1 Samuel 3:2

1Now the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the Lord under the supervision of Eli. The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days; visions [that is, new revelations of divine truth] were not widespread. Yet it happened at that time, as Eli was lying down in his own place (now his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well). 3and the [oil] lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, 4that the Lord called Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”

1 Samuel 3:2 word by word

וַֽיְהִי֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא וְעֵלִ֖י שֹׁכֵ֣ב בִּמְקֹמ֑וֹ וְעֵינָיו֙ הֵחֵ֣לּוּ כֵה֔וֹת לֹ֥א יוּכַ֖ל לִרְאֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it came to pass at that timeיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• when Eliעֵלִי‛êlîy · EliH5941
• laid downשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: lay downH7901
• in his placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• and his eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
• beganחָלַלchâlal · to profane/begin: beginH2490
• to wax dimכֵּהֶהkêheh · faintH3544
• he couldיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• not seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 3:2

• 1 Samuel 2:22Now Eli was very old; and he heard about everything that his sons were doing to all [the people of] Israel, and how they were lying with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).
• 1 Samuel 4:15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old; his eyes were dim so that he could not see.
• Genesis 27:1Now when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his elder [and favorite] son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And Esau answered him, “Here I am.”
• Genesis 48:19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; Manasseh also will become a people and he will be great; but his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
• Psalms 90:10The days of our life are seventy years— Or even, if because of strength, eighty years; Yet their pride [in additional years] is only labor and sorrow, For it is soon gone and we fly away.
• Ecclesiastes 12:3in the day when the keepers of the house (hands, arms) tremble, and the strong men (feet, knees) bow themselves, and the grinders (molar teeth) cease because they are few, and those (eyes) who look through the windows grow dim;

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 3:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Eli was laid down in his place - It is very likely that as the ark was a long time at Shiloh, they had built near to it certain apartments for the high priest and others more immediately employed about the tabernacle. In one of these, near to that of Eli, perhaps under the same roof, Samuel lay when he was called by the Lord.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The passage should be rendered thus: “And it came to pass at that time that Eli was sleeping in his place; and his eyes had begun to grow dim; he could not see. And the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was; and the Lord called Samuel, etc.” Eli‘s old age and dimness of sight is probably mentioned as the reason why Samuel thought Eli had called him. Being a blind and feeble old man, he…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Eli could barely see, both with his eyes and in his faith (1 Samuel 3:1).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-101Sa 3:1-10. The Lord Appears to Samuel in a Vision. 1. the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli--His ministry consisted, of course, of such duties in or about the sanctuary as were suited to his age, which is supposed now to have been about twelve years. Whether the office had been specially assigned him, or it arose from the interest inspired by the story of his birth, Eli kept him as his immediate attendant; and he resided not in the…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 3:2

• Samuel

In the dictionaries

• Begin
• Precious
• Speak
• Temple
• Tingle
• Blindness
• Exodus, the Book of
• Judges, Period of
• Samuel, Books of
• Shiloh (2)

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings