1 Samuel 3:2

2 One night Eli, who was now almost blind, was sleeping in his own room;

1 Samuel 3:2 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 3:2

And it came to pass at that time
When the word of the Lord was scarce and precious, and there was no open vision; or, as Ben Gersom, the same day the man of God came to Eli at night, the following affair happened:

when Eli was laid down in his place;
on his bed to sleep, in one of the chambers or apartments of the tabernacle; for as there were such in the temple for the priests, so in that:

and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
to help himself to anything he might want when in bed; which seems to be the reason Samuel lay near him, and why, when he heard his voice, he immediately ran to him, supposing he needed his assistance. Some, as Kimchi and others, understand this not of the eyes of his body, but of his mind; and that the Holy Spirit, as a spirit of prophecy, was departing from him, because of his connivance at the sins of his sons; and so the following prophecy came not to him, but to Samuel.

1 Samuel 3:2 In-Context

1 In those days, when the boy Samuel was serving the Lord under the direction of Eli, there were very few messages from the Lord, and visions from him were quite rare.

2 One night Eli, who was now almost blind, was sleeping in his own room;

3 Samuel was sleeping in the sanctuary, where the sacred Covenant Box was. Before dawn, while the lamp was still burning,

4 the Lord called Samuel. He answered, "Yes, sir!"

5 and ran to Eli and said, "You called me, and here I am." But Eli answered, "I didn't call you; go back to bed." So Samuel went back to bed.