Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 3:15
And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.
15 18. The Message delivered to Eli
15. the doors of the house of the Lord.] As the tabernacle was closed by a curtain only, we must suppose that the doors of the enclosure in which it stood are meant. See note on 1Sa 1:9. We here learn incidentally the nature of the service which Samuel performed at Shiloh. He acted as a subordinate Levite. Cp. 1Ch 15:23; Psa 84:10.
Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision ] He naturally shrank from delivering the fatal message to one whom he loved and revered.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Opened the doors – We learn thus incidentally the nature of some of Samuels duties. This duty was quite Levitical in its character. In the interval between Josh and David, when the tabernacle was stationary for the most part, it may have lost something of its tent character, and among other changes have had doors instead of the hanging.
Samuel feared to show Eli the vision – Here was Samuels first experience of the prophets cross: the having unwelcome truth to divulge to those he loved, honored, and feared. Compare the case of Jeremiah Jer 15:10; Jer 17:15-18; Jer 20:7-18.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Sa 3:15
The doors of the House of the Lord.
The doors of the Tabernacle
Some think, that whereas yet the Tabernacle consisted of curtains and coverings, and so had veils instead of doors: that the House of God and the Tabernacle were not the same, as the Ark was in one place and the Tabernacle in another in the time of David and Solomon, before the temple was built; and hereunto this giveth some probability, because it is called here not the Tabernacle but the Temple of the Lord (1Sa 3:3), and the House of the Lord (1Sa 3:15). But this is not like: for the Tabernacle was set up in Shiloh in Joshuas time (Jos 18:1-28; Jos 1:1-18), and so it had continued in the time of the Judges (Jdg 21:19), and there it was now in Elis time (1Sa 1:9).
2. Therefore it is more like, that though the Tabernacle, while it was in the desert, for the better transporting and carrying from place to place, had veils only hanging in the entrance instead of doors; yet now, being settled in a certain place, it might also be made sure with doors.
3. These were the doors only of the outward court, whither the people might come in to worship, and the charge whereof belonged to the Levites (1Ch 26:1-32). (A. Willett.)
Humble service
I heard the Rev. F.B. Meyer say that he would consider it as great ah act of consecration for a young woman to stay at home and play her brothers accompaniment in learning a song if thereby she could keep him at home that evening, although the doing so prevented her attending some religious meeting. I like what is told us of the young Samuel on the most eventful night in his lifes history when God spoke to him and revealed Himself to the lad; what do we read at the close? And Samuel lay until the morning and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. There he is, after such a night, opening the doors, sweeping the floor as usual. The Beatific Vision must not keep us from our common duties; we must pass from the seeing to the serving. (Christian Endeavour Times.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. Samuel feared to show Eli] He reverenced him as a father, and he feared to distress him by showing what the Lord had purposed to do. It does not appear that God had commanded Samuel to deliver this message: he, therefore, did not attempt it till adjured by Eli, 1Sa 3:17.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Opened the doors of the house of the Lord: although the tabernacle, whilst it was to be removed from place to place in the wilderness, had no doors, but consisted only of curtains, and had only hangings before the entrance, instead of doors; yet when it was settled in one place, as now it was in Shiloh, where it had been for a long time, it is more than probable, both from this place, and by comparing 1Sa 1:9; 2Sa 6:17, and from the nature and reason of the thing, that it was enclosed within some solid building, which had doors, and posts, and other parts belonging to it.
The vision, i.e. the matter of the vision or revelation, partly from the reverence and respect he bore to his person, to whom he was loth to be a messenger of such sad tidings; partly lest if he had been hasty to utter it, Eli might think him guilty of arrogancy or secret complacency in his calamity, which was like to tend to Samuels advancement. And not being commanded by God to acquaint Eli herewith, he prudently suspended the publication of it till a fit occasion were offered, which he might reasonably expect in a very little time, knowing that Eli would be greedy to know the matter of that revelation, the preface whereof he was acquainted with; and that it would be less offensive, and therefore more useful to Eli, when he saw that Samuel was not puffed up with it, nor forward to vent it, until Eli forced it from him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Samuel lay until the morning,…. It is not said he slept; it can hardly be thought he should, when it is considered what a new, strange, and uncommon thing had befallen him; what honour had been conferred on him a child, that the Lord should vouchsafe to speak and communicate his mind to him, and what dreadful things were said of Eli’s family; all which must greatly affect his mind, and keep him waking: however, he lay musing thereon until morning, and then arose,
and opened the doors of the house of the Lord; as he had used to do, and which was the business of the Levites; though he had been so highly honoured, he was not elated with it, nor thought himself above so low and mean an employment in the house of God; nor did he run to Eli or others, boasting of what he had met with that night, but modestly and carefully attended to what was his common and constant employment every morning:
and Samuel feared to show Eli the vision; the vision of prophecy, as the Targum; what God had foretold should befall him and his family, lest he should be grieved on more accounts than one; partly because he, an old man, an high priest, and judge of Israel, was overlooked and neglected, and the prophecy was delivered to a child, and not to him; and partly because of the sad things that should come upon his family.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Samuel then slept till the morning; and when he opened the doors of the house of Jehovah, he was afraid to tell Eli of the revelation which he had received. Opening the doors of the house of God appears to have been part of Samuel’s duty. We have not to think of doors opening into the holy place, however, but of doors leading into the court. Originally, when the tabernacle was simply a tent, travelling with the people from place to place, it had only curtains at the entrance to the holy place and court. But when Israel had become possessed of fixed houses in the land of Canaan, and the dwelling-place of God was permanently erected at Shiloh, instead of the tents that were pitched for the priests and Levites, who encamped round about during the journey through the desert, there were erected fixed houses, which were built against or inside the court, and not only served as dwelling-places for the priests and Levites who were officiating, but were also used for the reception and custody of the gifts that were brought as offerings to the sanctuary. These buildings in all probability supplanted entirely the original tent-like enclosure around the court; so that instead of the curtains at the entrance, there were folding doors, which were shut in the evening and opened again in the morning. It is true that nothing is said about the erection of these buildings in our historical books, but the fact itself is not to be denied on that account. In the case of Solomon’s temple, notwithstanding the elaborate description that has been given of it, there is nothing said about the arrangement or erection of the buildings in the court; and yet here and there, principally in Jeremiah, the existence of such buildings is evidently assumed. , visio , a sign or vision. This expression is applied to the word of God which came to Samuel, because it was revealed to him through the medium of an inward sight or intuition.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Samuel Develops, vs. 15-21
Two statements, in verse 10 and in verse 15, indicate that Samuel actually saw the Lord standing before him and giving him the dread message against Eli’s house. The sobering and burdensome nature appears again in that Samuel spent a sleepless night, rising at daybreak to proceed to his appointed task of opening the doors of the tabernacle. He dreaded to face Eli with the grave news and might not have had not Eli insisted. Probably Eli had a premonition that it involved the judgment of the Lord on his family as had been stated by the prophet earlier.
Eli adjured Samuel, by the most binding adjuration known in Israel, “God do so to thee, and more also.” A God fearing person would not hold back from such an adjuration, so Samuel proceeded to inform Eli of all the Lord had said of him and his family. It must have struck cold terror in the old priest’s heart, but he realized that the Lord is supreme and that He does only the right thing. Thus he humbly resigned himself to the will of the Lord, though it marked him as a failure.
Verse 19 shows that Samuel grew to adulthood with the increasing knowledge and wisdom of God growing in his heart as well. His surrender to the Lord made him a useful servant for Him and for Israel. Because he sought the will of the Lord, and spoke only the message of the Lord, the blessing of the Lord on him was apparent. Whatever he preached and predicted the Lord made it come to pass because it was the Word of the Lord. Samuel’s fame spread throughout Israel from north to south, so indicated in the familiar statement, “from Dan to Beer-sheba,” which was used in Israel to indicate the entire country. Samuel’s conduct and his use by the Lord made it apparent to all the people that he was God’s prophet, and the people soon came to recognize this.
In the opening verse of chapter three it is said that “the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.” This means there was none in the land who was conversant with the Lord in knowing and announcing His will to the people. This may indicate that the unnamed prophet of chapter two, who had foretold the judgment of Eli’s house had passed away. Most of the people do not seem to have been greatly concerned by this lack. Now, however, the situation was changed, and the people who loved the Lord and sought His will had one to speak for them in Shiloh where the tabernacle was. The Lord was revealing His will through Samuel.
Some lessons from chapter three: 1) Small children can worship the Lord under proper guidance; 2) the Lord can, and does, use the very young Christian, according to his ability and God’s purpose; 3) faith in Christ is easy and simple when the hardness and callousness of a sinful heart is not present; 4) Christians should be saddened at the evil which brings justified condemnation on the ungodly; 5) when God judges one’s disobedience it is best to be submissive and resigned to Him.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(15) And opened the doors.This is another notice which indicates that the sanctuary of Shiloh was enclosed in a house or temple. We have no record of the building of the first house of the Lord, but from the references contained in the record of Samuels childhood it is clear that the sacred Tabernacle had been for some time enclosed by, and perhaps covered in with, permanent buildings.
Feared.Here was Samuels first experience of the prophets cross: the having unwelcome truth to divulge to those he loved, honoured, and feared. Jeremiah felt this cross to be an exceedingly heavy one (Jer. 15:10; Jer. 17:15-18; Jer. 20:7-18).Speakers Commentary.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Doors of the house “Originally, when the tabernacle was simply a tent, travelling with the people from place to place, it had only curtains at the entrance to the holy place and court. But when Israel had become possessed of fixed houses in the land of Canaan, and the dwelling-place of God was permanently erected at Shiloh, instead of the tents that were pitched for the priests and Levites, who encamped round about during the journey through the desert, there were erected fixed houses, which were built against or inside the court, and not only served as dwellings for the priests and Levites who were officiating, but were also used for the reception and custody of the gifts that were brought as offerings to the sanctuary. These buildings, in all probability, supplanted the original tent-like enclosure around the court; so that, instead of the curtains at the entrance, there were folding doors, which were shut in the evening and opened in the morning.” Keil.
Samuel feared to show Eli the vision His fear arose from the sad and dreadful nature of what the Lord had told him. The word vision implies something more than a mental process. It was an external appearance. See note on 1Sa 3:10.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Next Morning ( 1Sa 3:15-18 ).
1Sa 3:15
‘ And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of YHWH. And Samuel was afraid to show Eli the vision.’
Notice that it does not say ‘slept’. It is doubtful whether he could sleep. As he lay on his mattress his thoughts must have been turning over and over. How could he possibly tell his beloved mentor what God had told him? And when he rose in the morning wondering what on earth the day would bring, he said nothing to Eli but went to the doors of the outer court, and opened them ready for the new day. He did not dare to say anything to Eli.
1Sa 3:16
‘ Then Eli called Samuel, and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” ’
Eli may only have had dim sight, but he could hardly have failed to notice how quiet Samuel was, and calling to Samuel he said, ‘Samuel, my son’. And in what must have been a very strained voice, Samuel replied, ‘Here I am.’
1Sa 3:17
‘ And he said, “What is the thing that YHWH has said to you? I pray you, do not hide it from me: God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he said to you.”
Eli must have know perfectly well that Samuel had received some important message. He probably even suspected that it concerned himself. And so he quietly asked him for full details of what YHWH had said to him. He asked him what had been said, and to hide nothing, and put him under a mild oath not to do so on pain of God’s displeasure. Note the threefold injunction, a sign that it was necessary for Samuel to answer. The use of ‘God’ rather than YHWH (which is continually in use in this passage) demonstrates that this was a common oath, regularly used and therefore fixed in its phraseology (compare 1Sa 1:17. But there 1sa used YHWH).
1Sa 3:18
‘ And Samuel told him every detail, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is YHWH. Let him do what seems good to him.” ’
And obediently Samuel explained to him everything that he had been told. He must have been very relieved when the godly Eli took it calmly. But Eli’s faith was sufficient to acknowledge that it was YHWH Who had spoken and that YHWH knew what He was doing. Let Him therefore do what seemed good to Him.
Eli was a godly man. The problem was that he had just been too weak to deal properly with his headstrong sons. He is a warning to us all not to be too reticent in dealing with sin. Where we have responsibility we must take the blame if we do not fulfil our responsibility.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
(15) And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision. (16) Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. (17) And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he said unto thee. (18) And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.
These verses are very interesting. Let us admire the modesty of Samuel, who, though the Lord had thus began to manifest his revelations, it did not prompt him to be lifted up above the ordinary office of a door-opener. No! Divine favors always tend to induce humbleness of soul. Whenever the Lord exalts a soul, depend upon it, that soul, will be lower in the dust before God. See Abraham’s conduct in this particular: Gen 17:3 . The pious resignation of Eli deserves also to be noticed. Though this tremendous judgment was thus pronounced upon him and his household, yet he bends before it. It is the Lord that hath said it, and that is enough. Eli hath nothing more to say. Perhaps Eli viewed it as a temporal judgment: and therefore, the more readily bowed down before it; hoping that it would act as a correction, according to that sweet promise: if then their uncircumcised hearts he humbled, and they accept the punishment of their iniquity; then will I remember my Covenant. Lev 26:41 . See another similar example in the case of Aaron’s sons, when the Lord consumed them. Aaron held his peace. See Lev 10:1-3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 3:15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
Ver. 15. And Samuel opened the doors of the house.] His modesty appeareth in that, (1.) He doeth his former office of doorkeeper, though he were now become a prophet: he was not at all puffed up with his new honour; (2.) He is not forward, but fearful to tell Eli the oracle, which yet he might not conceal.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
morning. The copyist’s eye, in going back to this word, went to the word at the end of’ the next sentence, and thus omitted “and rose early in the morning”. These words are preserved in the Septuagint.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
opened: 1Sa 1:9, Mal 1:10
Samuel: Samuel reverenced Eli as a father, and feared to distress him by shewing what God had purposed to do. It does not appear that God commanded Samuel to deliver this message; he therefore did not attempt it till adjured by Eli. It might be supposed that Samuel would have been so full of ecstasy as to have forgotten his ordinary service, and run amongst his friends to tell them of the converse he had with God in the night, but he modestly keeps it to himself. Our secret communion with God is not to be proclaimed on the house-top.
feared: Jer 1:6-8, 1Co 16:10, 1Co 16:11
Reciprocal: 1Sa 2:11 – minister 1Sa 3:1 – the child 1Ch 9:27 – the opening Est 6:12 – came again Dan 8:27 – and did
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Sa 3:15. Opened the doors Although the tabernacle, while it was to be removed from place to place in the wilderness, had no doors, but consisted only of curtains, and had hangings before the entrance, instead of doors; yet when it was settled in one place, as now it was in Shiloh, it was enclosed within some solid building which had doors and posts, and other parts, belonging to it. Feared to show Eli the vision The matter of the vision or revelation, partly from the reverence he bore to his person, to whom he was loath to be a messenger of such sad tidings; partly lest, if he had been hasty to utter it, Eli should think him guilty of arrogancy or secret complacency in his calamity.