The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. Yahweh’s word was precious in those days. There visions were not frequent.
Parallel translations
- 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.
- BSB And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare and visions were scarce.
- 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.
- NASB Now the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the Lord before Eli. And word from the Lord was rare in those days; visions were infrequent.
- NLT Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Samuel ministered to the Lord under Eli at a time when God's word and visions were rare. The scarcity of revelation sets the stage for Samuel's call.
Overview
The note that 'Yahweh's word was precious' and visions infrequent reflects the spiritual barrenness of the period. Into this silence God is about to speak afresh through the boy Samuel. The verse heightens the significance of the coming call, marking the dawn of a new era of prophecy in Israel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Amos 8:11–12Behold, the days come,” says the Lord Yahweh, “that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing Yahweh’s words.
- Ps 74:9We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.
- 1 Sam 3:21Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh; for Yahweh revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by Yahweh’s word.
- 1 Sam 2:11Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. The child served Yahweh before Eli the priest.
- 1 Sam 2:18But Samuel ministered before Yahweh, being a child, clothed with a linen ephod.
- 1 Sam 3:15Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of Yahweh’s house. Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.
- Isa 13:12I will make people more rare than fine gold, even a person than the pure gold of Ophir.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 3:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.