1 Samuel 2:32

32 You'll see trouble in my dwelling place, though all will go well for Israel. But there will never be an old person in your family tree.

1 Samuel 2:32 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 2:32

And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation
Either the Philistines in the land of Israel, where God chose to dwell, who quickly after made war against Israel, and pitched in Aphek, ( 1 Samuel 4:1 ) or, as in the margin of our Bibles, and other versions ^F9, "thou shalt see the affliction of the tabernacle"; as he did when the ark of God was taken, at the news of which he died, ( 1 Samuel 4:17 1 Samuel 4:18 ) and so the Targum understands it of affliction and calamity, yet not of the house of God, but of his own house; paraphrasing the words thus,

``and thou shall see the calamity that shall come upon the men of thine house, for the sins which they have committed before me in the house of my sanctuary:''

but it seems best to interpret it of a rival, which not he in his own person should see, but whom his posterity should see high priest in the temple; as they did in Solomon's time, when Abiathar, of the family of Eli, was thrust out, and Zadok, of the family of Eleazar, was put in; for, as Kimchi observes, when a man has two wives, they are rivals or adversaries to one another, jealous and emulous of each other, as Elkanah's two wives were, and of one of them the same word is used as here, ( 1 Samuel 1:6 ) so when one high priest was put out, and another taken in, the one was the rival or adversary of the other, as in the case referred to:

in all the wealth which God shall give Israel;
which points exactly at the time when this should be, even men God did well to Israel, gave them great prosperity, wealth and riches, quietness and safety, a famous temple built for the worship of God, and everything in a flourishing condition, both with respect to temporals and spirituals, as was in the days of Solomon, see ( 1 Kings 4:20 1 Kings 4:25 ) ( 10:27 ) and then it was amidst all that plenty and prosperity, and when the high priesthood was most honourable and profitable, that Eli's family was turned out of it, and another put into it:

and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever;
(See Gill on 1 Samuel 2:31) this is repeated for confirmation, and with this addition, that this would be the case for ever.

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 (Nwem ru) (yliqin katoikhsewv) Symmachus; "angustiam tabernaculi", Junius & Tremellius. Piscator.

1 Samuel 2:32 In-Context

30 Because of all that, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: I had promised that your household and your father's household would serve me forever. But now—this is what the LORD declares: I'll do no such thing! No. I honor those who honor me, and whoever despises me will be cursed.

31 The days are coming soon when I will eliminate both your children and the children of your father's household. There won't be an old person left in your family tree.

32 You'll see trouble in my dwelling place, though all will go well for Israel. But there will never be an old person in your family tree.

33 Any one of your descendants whom I don't eliminate from serving at my altar will cry their eyes out and be full of grief. Any new children in your household will die by the sword.

34 And what happens to your two sons Hophni and Phinehas will be a sign for you: they will both die on the same day.

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb uncertain; LXX and DSS (4QSama) omit 2:31b-32a.