1 Samuel 3:4

4 Then the Lord called Samuel,^[a] and he answered, "Here I am."

1 Samuel 3:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 3:4

That the Lord called Samuel
By a voice which came forth from the most holy place, from between the cherubim, the seat of the divine Majesty:

and he answered, here am I;
which was not intended to declare the place where he was, but to express his readiness and cheerfulness to do any thing that was required of him.

1 Samuel 3:4 In-Context

2 One day Eli, whose eyesight was failing, was lying in his room.

3 Before the lamp of God had gone out, Samuel was lying down in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was located.

4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he answered, "Here I am."

5 He ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "I didn't call," Eli replied. "Go and lie down." So he went and lay down.

6 Once again the Lord called, "Samuel!" Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, "Here I am; you called me." "I didn't call, my son," he replied. "Go and lie down."

Footnotes

• [a] DSS, LXX read called, "Samuel! Samuel!"