1 Samuel 3:10
in 1 Samuel 3Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
KJV
And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 3
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThe Lord came, and stood - He heard the voice as if it was approaching nearer and nearer; till at last, from the sameness of the tone, he could imagine that it ceased to approach: and this is what appears to be represented under the notion of God standing and calling.
This site's exposition
Then the LORD came and stood there
The LORD comes and stands, calling the boy by name twice as before, and this time Samuel answers with the words Eli gave him: “Speak, for Your servant is listening”. The famine of verse 1 lifts for one boy in one room. Israel has heard the word of the LORD from Hannah and an unnamed man of God, and from this verse it has a prophet who hears for himself.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 2, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
16. And it should be noted that the Lord rouses the boy while he is resting, without Eli knowing, yet once roused, He by no means reveals the reason for his calling unless that same Eli instructs him, because He raises chosen subjects through hidden inspiration toward the desire for the heavenly homeland, yet through their rest He does not permit them to be called to the homeland they love without the permission of their superiors.
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 1 · Written before 604.
proposed
But to what degree he advances is shown, because it is suddenly added next: (Verse 10.) "The Lord therefore came and stood." 18. Because the Lord is said not to return but to come, the abandonment of Judea and the visitation of the holy Church is signified. Hence He is described not only as coming but also as standing. He indicates that He came to visit Judea, saying: "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 15:24). But having come, He did not stand, because He abandoned her as she despised the good of her own salvation. Hence He also threatens the rulers of the Synagogue, saying: "Your house will be left to you desolate" (Matt. 23:38). Again, declaring this, He says: "Amen, I say to you that the kingdom will be taken from you and given to a nation producing its fruits." Therefore He came to Samuel and stood, because He once took up the preachers of the holy Church, from whom He no longer departs through the guardianship of His grace. For He had come to Samuel when, presenting new preachers to the world, He said: "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature; whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:15ff.). But let Him who came say whether the Lord ought to stand: "Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the age" (Matt. 28:20). Therefore the Lord had come not to depart but to stand, because He chose new ministers of the faith, whom He protects even to the end of the world as they succeed one another through the patrimony of holy virtues devoted to Him. But let us hear what He adds—He who comes visiting through grace, who stands persevering through the unchangeableness of His election. (Verse 10.) "And He called, as He had called the second time, Samuel, Samuel." 19. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
God's message to Eli, ver. 11-14. His faithful delivery of that message, and Eli's submission to God, ver. 15-18. The establishment of Samuel to be a prophet, ver. 19-21 Commentary on Chapter III
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And the Lord came, and stood,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2526: “"Speak, Lord!"” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
The child Samuel was favored above all the family in which he dwelt. The Lord did not speak by night to Eli, or to any of Eli's sons. In all that house, in all the rows of rooms that were round about the Tabernacle where the Ark of the Lord was kept, there was not one except Samuel to whom Jehovah spoke!
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me--It is evident that his sleeping chamber was close to that of the aged high priest and that he was accustomed to be called during the night.
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A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2526: “"Speak, Lord!"” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
The child Samuel was favored above all the family in which he dwelt. The Lord did not speak by night to Eli, or to any of Eli's sons. In all that house, in all the rows of rooms that were round about the Tabernacle where the Ark of the Lord was kept, there was not one except Samuel to whom Jehovah spoke! The fact that the Lord should choose a child out of all that household and that He should speak to him, ought to be very encouraging to you who think yourself to be the least likely to be recognized by God. Are you so young? Yet, probably, you are not younger than Samuel was at this time. Do you seem to be very insignificant? Yet you can hardly be more so than was this child of Hannah's love! Have you many troubles? Yet you have not more, I daresay, than rested on young Samuel, for it must have been very hard for him, while so young a child, to part from his dear mother, to be so soon sent away from his father's house and so early made to do a servant's work, even though it was in the House of the Lord! I have noticed how often God looks with eyes of special love upon those in a family who seem least likely to be so regarded. It was on Joseph, whom his brothers hated—it was upon the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers—that God's electing love descended! Why should it not come upon you? Perhaps, in the house where you live, you seem to be a stranger. Your foes are they of your own household! You have many sorrows and you think that waters of a full cup are wrung out to you, yet the Lord may have a very special regard for you. I invite you to hope that it is so, yes, and to come to Christ and put your soul's trust in Him—and then I am persuaded that you will find that it is so and you will have to say—"He drew me to Him with cords of a man, with bands of love.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A personal presence, not a mere voice, or impression upon Samuel’s mind, is here distinctly indicated. (Compare Gen 12:7 note; Rev 1:1; Rev 22:16.)
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And Shmuel said, "Speak." He did not mention the Name of the Deity as Eili had commanded him, because he said [to himself], 'Perhaps it is another voice.' 10 See Maseches Shabbos 113b.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the glory of the LORD was revealed and stood forth, calling as at other times, ‘Samuel!
To do something. This refers to the capture of the Ark by the Philistines. 11 Also, this may be referring to the destruction of the Mishkon in Shiloh which happened after the Ark was captured.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֤א | vaiyavo' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיִּתְיַצַּ֔ב | vaiyityatzav | and he stood | H3320 → | 48 times |
| וַיִּקְרָ֥א | vaiyikra' | and he called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| כְפַֽעַם־ | khefaam- | as time | H6471 → | 118 times |
| בְּפַ֖עַם | befaam | on time | H6471 → | 118 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵ֣ל׀ | shemuel | O Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵ֑ל | shemuel | O Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵל֙ | shemuel | Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| דַּבֵּ֔ר | daber | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֖עַ | shomea' | [is] listening | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃ פ | ʾavdekha | servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
וַיָּבֹ֤אand he came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיִּתְיַצַּ֔בand he stood
vaiyityatzavH3320 →48 times
וַיִּקְרָ֥אand he called
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
כְפַֽעַם־as time
khefaam-H6471 →118 times
בְּפַ֖עַםon time
befaamH6471 →118 times
שְׁמוּאֵ֣ל׀O Samuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
שְׁמוּאֵ֑לO Samuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שְׁמוּאֵל֙Samuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
דַּבֵּ֔רspeak
daberH1696 →1141 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
שֹׁמֵ֖עַ[is] listening
shomea'H8085 →1159 times
עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃ פservant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
2 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 3:8Once again, for the third time, the LORD called to Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” Then Eli realized that it was the…
it leads to
- Job 33:14–15
For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.
- 1 Corinthians 13:11–12
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside childish ways.
- Job 33:14–15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2526: “"Speak, Lord!"” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 2, Chapter 4; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 3, Chapter 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.