1 Samuel 3 is the third

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

of the First Book of Samuel in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

or the first part of the

Books of Samuel The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Book of Joshua, Joshua, Book of Judges, Judges, Samuel, and Books of ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

, with additions by the prophets Gad and

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People and biblical figures *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible *Nathan (son of David), a biblical figu ...

, but modern scholars view it as a composition of a number of independent texts of various ages from c. 630–540 BCE. In a section concerning the life of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1–7:17), this chapter focuses on the calling of Samuel. Gwilym Jones places this passage within "the

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

of prophetic-call narratives".

Text

This chapter was originally written in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

. It is divided into 21 verses. Some early

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

containing the text of this chapter in

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

tradition, which includes the

Codex Cairensis The Codex Cairensis (also: ''Codex Prophetarum Cairensis'', ''Cairo Codex of the Prophets'') is a Hebrew manuscript containing the complete text of the Hebrew Bible's Nevi'im (Prophets). It has traditionally been described as "the oldest dated He ...

(895),

Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex () is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, and was endorsed for its accuracy by Maimonides. ...

(10th century), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...

including 4Q51 (4QSam; 100–50 BCE) with extant verses 1–4, 18–21.Dead sea scrolls - 1 Samuel
/ref> Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

known as the

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

(originally was made in the last few centuries BCE) include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century) and

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century).

Old Testament references

*: ; (perpetual lamp) *: (ark of God; ark of the Covenant) *: (ark kept at worship center)

Period

The event in this chapter occurred at the end of the era of biblical judges in Israel, about

1100 BC The 1100s BC is a decade which lasted from 1109 BC to 1100 BC. Events and trends * 1104 BC—Foundation of Cadiz, Spain.Strabo, ''Geographica'' 3.5.5 * 1100 BC—Tiglath-Pileser I of Assyria conquers the Hittites. * —Maya Calendar counts time ...

. Verse 1 treats this time as a period when divine visions were infrequent.

Analysis

Chapter 3 is tied in many ways to

chapter 2 Chapter Two refers to the second chapter in a book. Chapter Two, Chapter 2, or Chapter II may also refer to: Film * ''Chapter Two'' (film), a 1979 adaptation of Neil Simon's play * '' KGF: Chapter 2'', 2022 Indian period action film * '' Khuda H ...

, with some terms and themes in chapter 2 are repeated or recapitulated in chapter 3:

God calls Samuel (3:1–14)

This section on Samuel's calling is often classified as a "prophetic call narrative", within the tradition of the calling of major prophets (cf. Exodus 3–4; Isaiah 6;

Jeremiah 1 Jeremiah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book, one of the Nevi'im or Books of the Prophets, contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Jeremiah. This ch ...

:4–10; Ezekiel 1:1–3:16). In a period when divine visions were infrequent, Samuel received his call-vision, which would remove the seat of power from Eli and his family. While Eli was still presiding for a short period, he instructed Samuel of the right words of response to God's calling (verses 9–10), but after Samuel received God's oracle (verses 11–14), Samuel became more powerful than Eli before the eyes of the people.

Verse 1

:''Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days. There was no vision coming forth.'' *"The boy": from , , which refers to a "boy from the age of infancy to

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age o ...

". According to

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

, Samuel was twelve years old at this time.

Samuel shares his first vision (3:15–21)

Samuel's oracle of doom over Eli's house confirms the words of the man of God in 2:27-36: the house of Eli will fall because of the iniquity of his sons and his own inability to admonish them. Eli accepted God's verdict (verse 18) and that Samuel would become a 'powerful prophet whose words were fulfilled', not only in Shiloh, but throughout the land of Israel (verses 20–21).Benson, Joseph
''Commentary on the Old and New Testaments'': 1 Samuel 3
accessed 9 July 2019

Verse 19

:''So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.'' Jones notes that this verse is indicative both of Samuel's own growth to maturity and his accession to power as a prophet.

Verse 20

:''And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.'' *" From Dan even to Beer-sheba" is a phrase regularly used to denote 'the whole land of Israel', first mentioned in , then becoming common in the books of Samuel and only appearing once more after the division of the Kingdoms, that is, after the fall of the northern kingdom ().

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges is a biblical commentary set published in 56 volumes by Cambridge University Press between 1878 and 1918. Many volumes went through multiple reprintings, while some volumes were also revised, usually by ...

1 Samuel 3
Accessed 28 April 2019. *"Was established": can also be rendered as "was confirmed",Note on 1 Samuel 3:20 in the New King James Version "found faithful" or "approved"; from a Hebrew word which in 1 Samuel 2:35 is rendered as 'a ''faithful'' priest' and 'a ''sure'' house'.

Notes

References

Sources

Commentaries on Samuel

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General

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External links

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

translations: *
Shmuel I - I Samuel - Chapter 3 (Judaica Press)
Hebrew text and English translation ith Rashi's commentary">Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentaryat Chabad.org *

translations: *
''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) *
1 Samuel chapter 3. Bible Gateway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel 1 03 03 Samuel">First Book of Samuel chapters">03 Samuel