1 Samuel 3:1

1 Samuel 3:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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.
• New International Version (NIV)The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.

Context of 1 Samuel 3:1

Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli’s supervision. Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent. 2Eli’s eyes had begun to fail, so that he was unable to see well. At that time he was lying down in his place, 3and the lamp of God had not yet been extinguished. Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord as well; the ark of God was also there.

1 Samuel 3:1 word by word

וְהַנַּ֧עַר שְׁמוּאֵ֛ל מְשָׁרֵ֥ת אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֣י עֵלִ֑י וּדְבַר־יְהוָ֗ה הָיָ֤ה יָקָר֙ בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔ם אֵ֥ין חָז֖וֹן נִפְרָֽץ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the childנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
• Samuelשְׁמוּאֵלshemû'êl · SamuelH8050
• ministeredשָׁרַתshârath · to ministerH8334
• unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• Eliעֵלִי‛êlîy · EliH5941
• And the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• was preciousיָקָרyâqâr · preciousH3368
• in those daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• no openפָּרַץpârats · to break throughH6555
• visionחָזוֹןchâzôn · visionH2377

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 3:1

• 1 Samuel 3:15So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.
• 1 Samuel 2:11Then Elkanah went back home to Ramah. But the boy was serving the Lord under the supervision of Eli the priest.
• 1 Samuel 3:21Then the Lord again appeared in Shiloh, for it was in Shiloh that the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel through the word of the Lord.
• Psalms 74:9We do not see any signs of God’s presence; there are no longer any prophets and we have no one to tell us how long this will last.
• Isaiah 13:12I will make human beings more scarce than pure gold, and people more scarce than gold from Ophir.
• Amos 8:11Be certain of this, the time is coming,” says the sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation!

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 3:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Samuel ministered unto the Lord - He performed minor services in the tabernacle, under the direction of Eli, such as opening the doors, etc. See 1 Samuel 3:15. The word of the Lord was precious - There were but few revelations from God; and because the word was scarce, therefore it was valuable. The author of this book probably lived at a time when prophecy was frequent, See the preface. There was no open vision - There was no public accredited prophet…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1See the margin reference note. Josephus says that Samuel‘s call to the prophetic office happened when he had just completed his twelfth year (compare Luke 2:42). Was precious - (or rare) The song of Hannah, and the prophecy of the “man of God” (1 Samuel 2:27 note), are the only instances of prophecy since Deborah. Samuel is mentioned as the first of the series of prophets Acts 3:24. No open vision - Better rendered, “There was no vision promulgated or…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The word of the Lord first revealed to Samuel. (1-10) God tells Samuel the destruction of Eli's house. (11-18) Samuel established to be a prophet. (19-21) Verses 1-10 The call which Divine grace designs shall be made effectual; will be repeated till it is so, till we come to the call. Eli, perceiving that it was the voice of God that Samuel heard, instructed him what to say. Though it was a disgrace to Eli, for God's call to be directed to Samuel, yet he…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1the word of the LORD was rare, and visions were scarce: God was not revealing his will through prophets or priests. This means that God was not regularly speaking to his people or giving them guidance. However, this time of spiritual darkness was about to end when God began to communicate with Samuel (1 Samuel 3:2–4:1a).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 3:1

• Prophets
• Samuel
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Samuel
• Begin
• Precious
• Speak
• Temple
• Tingle
• Day
• Exodus, the Book of
• Famine
• Frequent

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