Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 2:32
And thou shalt see an enemy [in my] habitation, in all [the wealth] which [God] shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house forever.
32. thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation ] Or, a rival, the same word as that rendered “adversary” in 1Sa 1:6. The best explanation of this difficult passage appears to be this: ‘Thou, in the person of thy descendants, wilt see another take thy place as priest in my habitation (cp. 1Sa 2:29), at the time when the nation shall be most prosperous and the office most honourable;’ the reference being to Abiathar’s deposition by Solomon (1Ki 2:27). The words might also be translated “ Thou shalt behold the distress of my habitation ” (cp. E. V. margin), and would then refer to the neglect which the tabernacle suffered owing to the loss of the Ark, even while the nation was prospering under Samuel and Saul. Such neglect would be a punishment on the house of Eli, because the High-priest for the time would lose his position and influence.
The Sept. however omits 1Sa 2:32, and there are other grounds for suspecting that the present Heb. text of this verse as well as of 1Sa 2:29 is corrupt.
wealth ] Here in the sense of “weal,” “well-being,” as in the Litany ‘In all time of our wealth.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The original text is rather obscure and difficult of construction, but the King James Version probably gives the sense of it. The margin gives another meaning.
In all the wealth … – The allusion is particularly to Solomons reign, when Zadok was made priest instead of Abiathar, 1Ki 2:26-27. (See 1Ki 4:20 ff) The enormous number of sacrifices then offered must have been a great source of wealth to the priests 1Ki 8:63-66.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 32. Thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation] Every version and almost every commentator understands this clause differently. The word tsar, which we translate an enemy, and the Vulgate aemulum, a rival, signifies calamity; and this is the best sense to understand it in here. The calamity which he saw was the defeat of the Israelites, the capture of the ark, the death of his wicked sons, and the triumph of the Philistines. All this he saw, that is, knew to have taken place, before he met with his own tragical death.
In all the wealth which God shall give Israel] This also is dark. The meaning may be this: God has spoken good concerning Israel; he will, in the end, make the triumph of the Philistines their own confusion; and the capture of the ark shall be the desolation of their gods; but the Israelites shall first be sorely pressed with calamity. See the margin.
There shall not be an old man] This is repeated from the preceding verse, all the family shall die in the flower of their years, as is said in the following verse.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
So the sense is,
Thou shalt see, not in thy person, but in thy posterity, (it being most frequent in Scripture to attribute that to parents which properly belongs to their posterity only; as Gen 17:8; Gen 27:29,40)
an enemy, i.e. thy competitor, or him who shall possess that place of high trust and honour which now thou enjoyest, (such persons being through mans corrupt nature esteemed as a mans worst enemy,) in my habitation, i.e. in the sanctuary. And then he adds by way of aggravation, that this sad accident should happen in all the wealth when God shall give Israel, i.e. in a time when God should eminently bless Israel, and make good all his promises to them, which was in Solomons days, when Abiathar of Elis race was put out of the high priesthood, and Zadok was put in his place, 1Ki 2:27,35, when the priesthood was most glorious, and most profitable, and comfortable, and therefore the loss of it more deplorable. But the words may be otherwise rendered, as is noted in the margin of our English Bibles: Thou shalt see, to wit, in thy own person, the affliction, or oppression, or calamity of my habitation, i.e. either of the land of Israel, wherein I dwell; or of the sanctuary, called the habitation by way of eminency, whose greatest glory the ark was, 1Sa 4:21,22, and consequently, whose greatest calamity the loss of the ark was; for, or instead of all that good wherewith God would have blessed Israel, or was about to bless Israel; having raised up a young prophet, Samuel, and thereby given good grounds of hope that he intended to bless Israel, if thou and thy sons had not hindered it by your sins, which God was resolved severely to punish. So this clause of the threatening concerns Elis person, as the following concerns his posterity. And this best agrees with the most proper and usual signification of that phrase, Thou shalt see. For ever, i.e. as long as the priesthood continues in thy family, or as long as the Levitical priesthood lasts.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
32. thou shalt see an enemy in myhabitationA successful rival for the office of high priestshall rise out of another family (2Sa 15:35;1Ch 24:3; 1Ch 29:22).But the marginal reading, “thou shalt see the affliction of thetabernacle,” seems to be a preferable translation.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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, 1Sa 4:1 or, as in the margin of our Bibles, and other versions i, “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, 1Sa 4:17 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, 1Sa 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 1Ki 4:20 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 comments on 1Sa 2:31] this is repeated for confirmation, and with this addition, that this would be the case for ever.
i Symmachus; “angustiam tabernaculi”, Junius & Tremellius. Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(32) And thou shalt see an enemy.Somee.g., the Vulgateunderstand by enemy a rival: thou shalt see thy rival in the Temple. The words, however, point to something which Eli would live to see with grief and horror. The reference is no doubt to the capture of the Ark by the Philistines in the battle where his sons were slain. The earthly habitation of the Eternal was there robbed of its glory and pride, for the ark of the covenant was the heart of the sanctuary.
In all the wealth which God shall give Israel.The affliction of Gods house from the loss of the ark remained while under the lead of Samuel there came blessing to the people.Erdmann.
There is another explanation which refers the fulfilment of this part of the prophecy to the period of Solomons reign, when Abiathar, of the house of Eli, was deposed from the High Priestly dignity to make room for Zadok, but the reference to the capture of the ark is by far more probable.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
32. Thou shalt see an enemy There can be given no satisfactory exposition of this verse as it stands in the authorized version, or by understanding either Samuel or Zadok to be the enemy referred to. The marginal reading gives a far better sense to the first part of the verse Thou shall see the affliction of the tabernacle; but what follows for all the wealth which God would have given Israel makes no sense, and has no sufficient warrant in the Hebrew text. The word , which is rendered give both in the text and margin, means to be good, cheerful, glad; and, in the Hiphil form, to cause to be good, cheerful, etc. Thus in Pro 15:13, our translators have rendered it maketh cheerful “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.” We would therefore translate the passage thus: Thou shall see an affliction of the habitation (tabernacle, as in 1Sa 2:29) in all which made Israel glad. That which above all things else made Israel glad and joyous was the possession of the ark of the covenant. Witness the joyful shout of the army when it was brought into their camp at Eben-ezer, (1Sa 4:5,) and the joys of Israel when David brought it to Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 6. The greatest calamity that could befall the tabernacle was the loss of the ark, the symbol of the Divine presence; and Eli lived to see that bitter affliction, (1Sa 4:11; 1Sa 4:18,) which was emphatically an affliction of the tabernacle in respect to ( ) all that was wont to make Israel glad. His sudden death, when he heard that the ark was captured, was as much as to say, If the ark is lost ALL is lost. So bitter an affliction was this to the nation that it was chronicled as “the captivity of the land.” See note, Jdg 18:30.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Sa 2:32. And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation The rendering in the margin of our Bibles seems most agreeable to the history; thou shalt see the affliction of thy tabernacle. See chap. 1Sa 4:4; 1Sa 4:11. Calmet, Saurin, and others, suppose the meaning to be, that Eli should see a rival in the sanctuary; but in that case, the sacred writer must be understood to speak not of Eli, when he says thou, but of his posterity, as Eli died so soon after; and therefore the former seems the preferable interpretation.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Sa 2:32 And thou shalt see an enemy [in my] habitation, in all [the wealth] which [God] shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.
Ver. 32. And thou shalt see an enemy, ] i.e., A rival, another high priest, viz., Zadok, set up by Solomon. 1Ki 1:26-27 “Thou shalt see it”; i.e., thy posterity shall, to their grief and regret:
In all the wealth.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
see an enemy. Compare Psa 78:60-64.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
an enemy: etc. Or, the affliction of the tabernacle, for all the wealth which God would have given Israel. This appears to be the right translation; for, agreeably to this prediction, he did see the tabernacle deprived of the ark, which was its glory, and lived to hear that it was captured by the Philistines. 1Sa 4:4, 1Sa 4:11, 1Sa 4:22, Psa 78:59-64
an old man: Zec 8:4
Reciprocal: 1Sa 4:18 – his neck 2Sa 3:29 – let there Pro 17:21 – that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 2:32. Thou shalt see an enemy, &c. The words may be rendered, as in the margin, and seem evidently to mean, Thou shalt see, in thy own person, the affliction or calamity of my habitation; that is, either of the land of Israel, wherein I dwell; or of the sanctuary, called Gods habitation by way of eminence, whose greatest glory the ark was, (1Sa 4:21-22,) and consequently whose greatest calamity the loss of the ark was; for, or instead of, all that good wherewith God could have blessed Israel, having raised up a young prophet, Samuel, and thereby given good grounds of hope that he intended to bless Israel, if thou and thy sons had not hindered it by your sins. So this clause of threatening concerns Elis person, as the following concerns his posterity. And this best agrees with the most proper signification of that phrase, Thou shalt see.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:32 And thou {y} shalt see an enemy [in my] habitation, in all [the wealth] which [God] shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever.
(y) Your posterity will see the glory of the chief priest given to another, whom they will envy, 1Ki 2:27.