성경 주석서

Ch. 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 personally responsible for obedience to it. It was at the age of twelve that “the child Jesus” first went up to Jerusalem along with his parents (Luke 2:42).

ministered] Cp. 1 Samuel 2:11; 1 Samuel 2:18.

was precious] Rather, was rare. In the general decay of religion, prophetic communications from God had almost entirely ceased. Cp. Amos 8:11; Psalm 74:9. We read of two prophets only in the days of the Judges (Jdg 4:4; Jdg 6:8).

there was no open vision] Rather, there was no vision published abroad. The word is used in 2 Chronicles 31:5 of the publication of a decree (E. V. came abroad). There was no publicly acknowledged prophet, whose ‘word came to all Israel.’

2. 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 Samuel’s call took place. (1) Eli was lying down in his place. (2) His eyes had begun to grow dim so that he could not see. These clauses serve to explain why Samuel ran to Eli when he heard the Voice. He would naturally suppose that the infirm and half-blind old man required some assistance. (3) The lamp of God was not yet extinguished. This marks the time of night as shortly before daybreak, when the sacred light in the Sanctuary would burn dim or be put out. (4) Samuel was lying down in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God was. The order of the Hebrew requires this translation. The term ‘temple’ includes the buildings round the Tabernacle (see note on 1 Samuel 1:9), in some of the chambers of which Eli and Samuel were sleeping, not of course in the Tabernacle itself. The Ark is expressly mentioned because it was the visible symbol of the Presence of Him from whom the Voice proceeded.

to wax] i.e. to grow, from A. S. weaxan, Germ. wachsen. The word has passed out of general use in modern English. Wiclif has ‘Biholde ye the lilies of the feeld hou thei wexen.’

the lamp of God] The seven-branched golden candlestick, now mentioned for the last time, stood on the south side of the Holy Place, opposite the Table of Shewbread (Exodus 25:31-37). It was lighted every evening (Exodus 27:20-21; Exodus 30:7-8), and was extinguished in the morning. In Solomon’s temple it was superseded by ten separate candlesticks, but in the second temple the single candlestick was restored. It was carried to Rome by Titus after the capture of Jerusalem, and figures conspicuously among the trophies sculptured on his triumphal arch, from which the familiar representation of it is derived.

4. 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.

5. And he ran] Note Samuel’s alacrity to serve the aged priest, his spiritual father.

6. 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.

7. 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.

10. 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.

11–14. 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 may be a tacit reference to this passage, suggesting a comparison between the destruction of Shiloh and the destruction of Jerusalem, such as is found elsewhere in Jeremiah (1 Samuel 7:12-14, 1 Samuel 26:6).

The appalling catastrophe thus predicted was the impending defeat of Israel by the Philistines, the death of Eli’s sons and Eli himself, the capture of the Ark, and the desolation of the national Sanctuary.