(concretely) a boy (as active) · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Samuel
שְׁמוּאֵ֛לshe.mu.'El
H8050
Shemuel · proper noun, a man's name
ministered
מְשָׁרֵ֥תme.sha.Ret
H8334
to attend as a menial or worshipper · verb, piel active participle, masculine singular absolute
LORD
יְהוָ֖הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
before
לִפְנֵ֣יlif.Nei
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
Eli
עֵלִ֑י'e.Li
H5941
Eli · proper noun, a man's name
word
וּדְבַרu.de.var-
H1697
a word · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD
יְהוָ֗הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
precious
יָקָר֙ya.Kar
H3368
valuable (objectively or subjectively) · adjective, masculine singular absolute
days
בַּיָּמִ֣יםbai.ya.Mim
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
open
נִפְרָֽץnif.Ratz
H6555
to break out (in many applications · verb, niphal active participle, masculine singular absolute
vision
חָז֖וֹןcha.Zon
H2377
a sight (mentally) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Amos 8:11-12 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hear…
Psalms 74:9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
1 Samuel 3:21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
1 Samuel 2:11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister unto the LORD before Eli the priest.
1 Samuel 2:18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
1 Samuel 3:15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
Isaiah 13:12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 3:1-10
To make way for the account of God's revealing himself first to Samuel, we are here told, 1. How industrious Samuel was in serving God, according as his place and capacity were (Sa1 3:1): The child Samuel, though but a child, ministered unto the Lord before Eli. It was an aggravation of the wickedness of Eli's sons that the child Samuel shamed them. They rebelled against the Lord, but Samuel ministered to him; they slighted their father's admonitions, but Samuel was observant of them; he ministered before Eli, under his eye and direction. It was the praise of Samuel that he was so far from being influenced by their bad example that he did not in the least fall off, but improved and went on.…
Samuel ministered unto the Lord - He performed minor services in the tabernacle, under the direction of Eli, such as opening the doors, etc. See Sa1 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; one with whom the secret of the Lord was known to dwell, and to whom all might have recourse in cases of doubt or public emergency.
John Gill on 1 Samuel 3:1
And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli,.... Under his direction and instruction; the Targum is, in the life of Eli, and in such parts of service, relating to the tabernacle of the Lord, as he was capable of, such as opening and shutting the doors of it, lighting the lamps, singing the praises of God, &c. according to Josephus (n), and others, he was now about twelve years of age:
and the word of the Lord was precious in those days; that is, a word from the Lord in a dream or vision, directing, informing, instructing, or reproving, this was very rarely had; of late there had been but very few instances; and which accounts for it why not only the child Samuel knew not that i…
But the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli, etc. The boy who was born to us in the flesh, in the sight of the Jewish priests, was ministering his gifts to the early Church both personally and through his evangelizing disciples. And the word of the Lord was rare at that time, precious because of its rarity, for the harvest was indeed plentiful, but the workers were few (Matthew 9). Nor was there a Pharisee, Scribe, or priest who could unlock the hidden visions and the manifest sayings of the prophets for the people with exposition.
1. Since we were diligently seeking how the meaning of the sacred history might correspond to the conduct of the elect, we deferred revisiting the order of allegory by exposition. Therefore, to supply what we are seen to have omitted, the question is asked: What does it mean that while Samuel is recorded as ministering to the Lord before Eli, the word of the Lord is described as being precious? But, as was said above, by Samuel the preachers of holy Church are signified, and by Eli the elect fathers of the Old Testament are also designated. The boy Samuel therefore was ministering to the Lord before Eli, when the new order of teachers was preaching the faith of the Redeemer. Of which ministry Paul indeed speaks, saying: "As long as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I will honor my ministry" (Rom. 11:13). Again he says: "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? So am I" (2 Cor. 11:22). To minister to the Lord, therefore, is to proceed into the labor of preaching. Which ministry Samuel is indeed said to have rendered to the Lord before Eli, because whatever the new order of preachers asserted concerning the religion of the new faith, it confirmed by the authority of the ancient Fathers. For Samuel was ministering to the Lord when the new preacher was asserting, saying: "For I say that Christ Jesus was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy" (Rom. 15:8). And indeed, so that he might render the ministry he was performing for the Lord also before Eli, he added, saying: "As it is written: Praise the Lord, all you nations, and let all peoples praise him together" (Ps. 116:1). And so that he might more closely confine himself before Eli in the ministry of the Lord, he added: "For Isaiah says: There shall be a root of Jesse, who shall rise to rule the nations; in him shall the nations hope" (Rom. 15:12; from Isa. 11:10). The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord when Peter was asserting the glory of the Lord's Resurrection, saying: "Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God among you by signs and wonders, delivered up, you killed by the hands of the wicked; this Jesus God raised from the dead on the third day by his predetermined plan, since it was impossible for him to be held by the pains of hell" (Acts 2:22ff.). 2. But this ministry, which he…
Dictionary and topics
Samuel — Heard of God. The peculiar circumstances connected with his birth are recorded in 1 Sam. 1:20. Hannah, one of the two wives of Elkanah, who came up to Shiloh to worship before the Lord, earnestly…
Prophets · The Jews: Often left without, on account of sin — The Jews: Often left without, on account of sin
Samuel · His vision concerning the house of Eli — His vision concerning the house of Eli
Vision · A mo — A mo
Visions · Sometimes withheld for a long season — Sometimes withheld for a long season
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 3:1-9
At the time when Samuel served the Lord before Eli, both as a boy and as a young man (Sa1 2:11, Sa1 2:21, Sa1 2:26), the word of the Lord had become dear, i.e., rare, in Israel, and "Prophecy was not spread." נפרץ, from פּרץ, to spread out strongly, to break through copiously (cf. Pro 3:10). The "word of the Lord" is the word of God announced by prophets: the "vision," "visio prophetica." It is true that Jehovah had promised His people, that He would send prophets, who should make known His will and purpose at all times (Deu 18:15.; cf. Num 23:23); but as a revelation from God presupposed susceptibility on the part of men, the unbelief and disobedience of the people might restrain the fulfil…
messages . . . were very rare . . . visions were quite uncommon: God was not disclosing his will through prophets or priests, so the period was spiritually dark. However, that darkness was about to end when God communicated with Samuel (3:2–4:1a).
Rashi on 1 Samuel 3:1
Was rare. Was withheld,1It was therefore considered precious and dear [=יָקָר]. as in, "and a man of understanding speaks sparingly ]יֲקר[",2Mishlei 17:27. meaning that who speaks sparingly is an understanding man.
Prophetic vision was not widespread. Prophecy was not revealed.3Not only were prophetic visions rare in those days, but even when they occurred they were not clear and concise, but rather cryptic and vague. Also, the prophecy that was received was of a private nature and not required by the people, so there was no need to reveal those visions. The prophets therefore kept their experiences to themselves and prophetic vision was rare and not widespread.נִפְרָץ is an expression simi…
1. Moreover, it is shown that he repeated in this passage what is mentioned above concerning the chosen boy, where it says: "But the boy Samuel was a minister in the sight of the Lord before the face of Eli." For to minister to the Lord before Eli is the same as to be the Lord's minister before the face of Eli. And because we explained that passage more fully there, with the Lord's help, we do not delay at all in repeating its exposition. But since it is the divine word that speaks this both in this passage and in that one, it is shown that He did this not without a useful reason. Therefore, out of concern for the reader's weariness, we pass over the explanation in silence, but we state the reason for the repetition for his benefit. For certain people who are subject to the authority of the prelates of holy Church obey as untrained beginners; but when they advance a little higher through their manner of life, they by no means persist in that same humility of obedience. The handmaid Hagar of Sarah fittingly represents these in a spiritual sense, for when she saw that she had conceived by Abraham her husband, she despised her mistress (Gen. 16:5). For Hagar conceives when the reprobate mind of a subordinate believes that it is advancing either through the acquisition of knowledge or through its manner of life. And she, being pregnant, is said to have despised her mistress, because she now disdains to submit herself through obedience to the will of her superior who is set over her. But she who despises her mistress is declared to be a handmaid, because proud subjects are also weak through their arrogance, and they do not attain to the number of the children of God. Moreover, Samuel's progress is set forth because it was said above: "But the boy Samuel advanced and grew and was pleasing both to God and to men" (1 Kings 2:18). With what sublimity of life he accomplished these three things has been explained above. Since, therefore, even now he is mentioned as ministering before his master, what does this mean except that he provides a pattern for chosen hearers, so that the higher the life to which they advance, they never forget to preserve the good of obedience? For they truly advance if they strive toward the height of merits both by the strength of their works and by the virtue of humility. 2. In this passage there is another thing that ought to be noted:…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
