The Meaning of 1 Samuel 3:1 Explained

1 Samuel 3:1

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.

YLT: And the youth Samuel is serving Jehovah before Eli, and the word of Jehovah hath been precious in those days -- there is no vision broken forth.

Darby: And the boy Samuel ministered to Jehovah before Eli. And the word of Jehovah was rare in those days; a vision was not frequent.

ASV: And the child Samuel ministered unto Jehovah before Eli. And the word of Jehovah was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does 1 Samuel 3:1 Mean?

Study Notes

the word
Or, a word from the LORD was unusual in those days; there was no public vision.

Verse Meaning

This chapter records how God"s blessing of and through Samuel continued and grew as a result of his faithful commitment to God. This is a revelation of another call to ministry that God extended to His servants the prophets (cf. Exodus 3; Isaiah 6; Jeremiah 1; Ezekiel 1; et al.). [1] It is also another instance in which God revealed Himself to someone audibly in a dream. [2]

Context Summary

1 Samuel 3:1-9 - Speak, Lord For Thy Servant Heareth
As we read again these familiar verses, we are taken back in thought to the dear scenes of childhood-to the home we remember so well and to the mother's voice, perhaps now silent. This story, which was our favorite then, is hardly less dear to us now that we are well advanced on the pathway toward the home beyond.
The dying lamp of the Tabernacle, the glimmering dawn, the silence and awe of the Holy Place were in strict accord with the boy's attentive ear and opened heart. The rug or couch on which he lay was not too lowly for the eternal God to visit. Stooping from His high heaven, He came, and stood, and called. He was not angry because the child did not understand; nor did he, impatient of the delay, close the interview because He was not recognized. He knew that, once he understood, Samuel's heart would be eager to obey the call. With all of us there is ignorance as well as mistake. In our confusion we run hither and thither. It is best to lie still, even though the heart throbs and the attention is alert, until the knock is again heard on the door. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 3

1  How the word of the Lord was first revealed to Samuel
11  God tells Samuel the destruction of Eli's house
15  Samuel, though loath, tells Eli the vision
19  Samuel grows in credit

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 3:1 mean?

And the boy Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli And the word of Yahweh was rare in days those [there was] no revelation widespread -
וְהַנַּ֧עַר שְׁמוּאֵ֛ל מְשָׁרֵ֥ת אֶת־ יְהוָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֣י עֵלִ֑י וּדְבַר־ יְהוָ֗ה הָיָ֤ה יָקָר֙ בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֔ם אֵ֥ין חָז֖וֹן נִפְרָֽץ ס

וְהַנַּ֧עַר  And  the  boy 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נַעַר  
Sense: a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer.
שְׁמוּאֵ֛ל  Samuel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׁמוּאֵל  
Sense: son of Elkanah by his wife Hannah and judge or prophet of Israel during the days of Saul and David.
מְשָׁרֵ֥ת  ministered 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁרַת  
Sense: (Piel) to minister, serve, minister to.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
לִפְנֵ֣י  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
עֵלִ֑י  Eli 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵלִי  
Sense: descendant of Aaron through Ithamar and high priest and judge of Israel when Samuel entered service as a child.
וּדְבַר־  And  the  word 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
יְהוָ֗ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
יָקָר֙  rare 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: יְקִפָּאֹון 
Sense: valuable, prized, weighty, precious, rare, splendid.
בַּיָּמִ֣ים  in  days 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הָהֵ֔ם  those 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
אֵ֥ין  [there  was]  no 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
חָז֖וֹן  revelation 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָזׄון  
Sense: vision.
נִפְרָֽץ  widespread 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: פָּרַץ  
Sense: to break through or down or over, burst, breach.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation