1 Samuel 3:10

10 Then Yahweh came and stood [there] and called out {as before}, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, because your servant [is] listening."

1 Samuel 3:10 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 3:10

And the Lord came, and stood
At the place where Samuel lay; either there was, as Kimchi, a form before his eyes in the vision of prophecy, some visible corporeal shape assumed; or a bright splendour an illustrious appearance of the glory of God; or it may be rather the voice, which before seemed to be at some distance whereabout Eli lay; it now seemed nearer, and was as the voice of one just by him, that sounded in his ears:

and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel:
repeating his name, in order the more to excite his attention:

then Samuel answered, speak, for thy servant heareth;
he leaves out the word Lord, which Eli bid him use; for he might be afraid as yet to make mention of the name of the Lord in the vision of prophecy, as Kimchi speaks; or lest it should be the voice of another, as Jarchi; as yet he might not be quite certain whether it was the voice of the Lord, or the voice of a man; for that he should have any mistrust of its being the voice of a demon or spectre, there is no reason to believe.

1 Samuel 3:10 In-Context

8 Again Yahweh called Samuel a third time, so he got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, because you called me." Then Eli realized that Yahweh was calling the boy.

9 So Eli said to Samuel "Go lie down. {If he calls} to you, then you must say, 'Speak Yahweh, because your servant [is] listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Then Yahweh came and stood [there] and called out {as before}, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, because your servant [is] listening."

11 So Yahweh said to Samuel, "Look, I am doing something in Israel {which will cause} the two ears of everyone who hears it to tingle.

12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken against his household, {from beginning to end}.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "as an occurrence, in an occurrence"