(Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)
Parallel translations
- WEB Now Samuel didn’t yet know Yahweh, neither was Yahweh’s word yet revealed to him.
- KJV Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.
- BSB Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
- NASB Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him.
- NLT Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before.
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 served at the tabernacle but did not yet personally know the LORD or receive His revealed word. True knowledge of God is a gift God gives, not something earned by religious activity.
Overview
The narrator notes that despite Samuel's faithful service under Eli, he had not yet experienced a direct revelation from Yahweh. This sets the stage for God's gracious initiative in calling him. It reminds us that knowing God comes by His self-disclosure, a truth that culminates in Christ, in whom God is fully revealed (John 1:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Acts 19:2He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They said to him, “No, we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
- Jer 9:24But let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am Yahweh who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight,” says Yahweh.
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 3:7 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
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