1 Samuel 3:21

21. appeared again] Manifested himself in visions. Cp. 1Sa_3:10; 1Sa_3:15; and the ancient prophetic title of Seer (1Sa_9:9).

by the word of the Lord] By the communication of prophetic messages to Samuel. The state of things described in 1Sa_3:1 was now reversed. The “word of Jehovah” was no longer “rare,” there were visions “published abroad.”

Ch. 1Sa_4:1. And the word of Samuel came to all Israel] Samuel communicated to all Israel the divine revelation which he had received. This clause should form the conclusion of ch. 3, not the commencement of ch. 4. In the latter position it would naturally mean that it was Samuel who summoned all Israel to the disastrous war against the Philistines. But he is never once mentioned in connexion with the war, and does not reappear on the scene for twenty years at least (1Sa_7:2-3), though in all probability his prophetic activity here recorded was in part contemporaneous with the Philistine oppression, during which his growing influence was marking him out as the future national deliverer.

The Sept. here differs considerably from the present Hebrew text. Omitting obvious repetitions, 1Sa_3:21 stands as follows: “And the Lord appeared again in Selom, for the Lord was revealed to Samuel. And Eli was very old, and his sons walked perversely, and their way was evil in the sight of the Lord.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 3:21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Ver. 21. By the word of the Lord.] That is, By Christ, {as 2Sa 7:21} or by prophetic revelation.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:21-4:1a The Lord continued to appear: God reopened the lines of communication with Israel through Samuel (cp. 3:1). • Shiloh: See study note on 1:3.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Hebrew, by the word of the Lord.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 21. The Lord appeared again] וישף יהוה להראה vaiyoseph Yehovah leheraoh, "And Jehovah added to appear; " that is, he continued to reveal himself to Samuel at Shiloh.

By the word of the Lord.] By the spirit and word of prophecy.

IN this chapter we read again of the fearful consequences of a neglected religious education. Eli's sons were wicked: their father knew the Lord; but he neither taught his children, nor restrained them by his parental authority. I have already had occasion to remark, that were a proper line of conduct pursued in the education of children, how few profligate sons and daughters, and how few broken-hearted parents should we find! The neglect of early religious education, connected with a wholesome and affectionate restraint, is the ruin of millions. Many parents, to excuse their indolence and most criminal neglect, say, "We cannot give our children grace." What do they mean by this? That God, not themselves, is the author of the irregularities and viciousness of their children. They may shudder at this imputation: but when they reflect that they have not given them right precepts, have not brought them under firm and affectionate restraint; have not showed them, by their own spirit, temper, and conduct, how they should be regulated in theirs; when either the worship of God has not been established in their houses, or they have permitted their children, on the most trifling pretenses, to absent themselves from it; when all these things are considered, they will find that, speaking after the manner of men, it would have been a very extraordinary miracle indeed if the children had been found preferring a path in which they did not see their parents conscientiously tread. Let those parents who continue to excuse themselves by saying, "We cannot give grace to our children," lay their hand on their conscience, and say whether they ever knew an instance where God withheld his grace, while they were, in humble subserviency to him, performing their duty. The real state of the case is this: parents cannot do God's work, and God will not do theirs; but if they use the means, and train up the child in the way he should go, God will not withhold his blessing.

It is not parental fondness, nor parental authority, taken separately, that can produce this beneficial effect. A father may be as fond of his offspring as Eli, and his children be sons of Belial; he may be as authoritative as the grand Turk, and his children despise and plot rebellion against him. But let parental authority be tempered with fatherly affection; and let the rein of discipline be steadily held by this powerful but affectionate hand; and there shall the pleasure of God prosper; there will he give his blessing, even life for evermore. Many fine families have been spoiled, and many ruined, by the separate exercise of these two principles. Parental affection, when alone, infallibly degenerates into foolish fondness; and parental authority frequently degenerates into brutal tyranny when standing by itself. The first sort of parents will be loved without being respected; the second sort will be dreaded, without either respect or esteem. In the first case obedience is not exacted, and is therefore felt to be unnecessary, as offenses of great magnitude pass without punishment or reprehension: in the second case, rigid exaction renders obedience almost impossible; and the smallest delinquency is often punished with the extreme of torture, which, hardening the mind, renders duty a matter of perfect indifference.

Parents, lay these things to heart: remember Eli and his sons; remember the dismal end of both! Teach your children to fear God - use wholesome discipline - be determined - begin in time - mingle severity and mercy together in all your conduct - and earnestly pray to God to second your godly discipline with the power and grace of his Spirit.

Education is generally defined that series of means by which the human understanding is gradually enlightened, and the dispositions of the heart are corrected, formed, and brought forth, between early infancy and the period when a young person is considered as qualified to take a part in active life. Whole nations have been corrupted, enfeebled, and destroyed, through the want of proper education: through this multitudes of families have degenerated; and a countless number of individuals have come to an untimely end. Parents who neglect this, neglect the present and eternal interests of their offspring.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh,.... In the tabernacle there; he had appeared before to Samuel, when he called him, and declared to him what he designed and resolved to do to Eli and his family, and now appeared again to him in the same place before the battle of the Israelites with the Philistines, of which there is an account in the following chapter. Such appearances had not been usual in Shiloh for a long time, but were now renewed and repeated:

for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel by the Word of the Lord; by Christ, the Word of the Lord, who appeared to him, it is probable, in an human form, as he was wont to do to the patriarchs and prophets, and by whom the Lord revealed his mind and will unto them, being the Angel of his presence, and the messenger of his covenant; or by giving him a word of command to be delivered by him to the children of Israel, and which is expressed and delivered, in the next chapter.

Next: 1 Samuel Chapter 4

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The state described in 1Sa 3:7 was henceforth reversed. Samuel now knew the Lord, and the Word of the Lord was revealed unto him.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Or, did use to reveal his mind to Samuel.

By the word of the Lord, i.e. by his word, the noun for the pronoun, which is frequent, as Lev 14:15, &c.; by his word of command, which he chose to deliver to Israel by his mouth, as it here follows; or by his word of prophecy concerning future events.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. The Lord appeared again — Rather, continued to appear; that is, from time to time.

Revealed himself — Discovered himself, or was unveiled. “The Lord uncovered the ear — such is the literal expression; a touching and significant figure, taken from the manner in which the possessor of a secret moves back the long hair of his friend, and whispers into the ear thus laid bare the word that no one else may hear. It is a figure which precisely expresses the most universal and philosophical idea conveyed by the term Revelation, thence appropriated in the theological language both of East and West.” — Stanley.

By the word of the Lord — By communications like the one just related. Literally, the expression is, In the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord was the very element in which he lived. Thus was Samuel caused to ask of Jehovah, that is, caused to be in continued intercourse with him, as he himself might ever be reminded by his very name. See note on 1Sa_1:28. Accordingly, the word of the Lord was no longer so costly and rare as it had previously been in Israel, (1Sa_3:1,) for throughout the land Samuel was known to habitually receive communications from Jehovah. “He is, also, the first instance of a prophet gradually raised for his office from the earliest dawn of reason. His work and his life are the counterparts of each other. With all the recollections of the ancient sanctuary impressed upon his mind, with the voice of God sounding in his ears, not, as in the case of the elder leaders and teachers of his people, amidst the roar of thunder and the clash of war, but in the still silence of the tabernacle, ere the lamp of God went out, he was the more fitted to meet the coming crisis, to become himself the centre of new institutions which should themselves become venerable as those in which he had been himself brought up.” — Stanley.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jehovah appeared again. Literally, "added to appear," i.e. revealed himself from time to time on all fit occasions. To appear, literally, "to be seen," is the verb used of waking vision (see on ver. 15).

By the word of Jehovah. Many of the old commentators refer this to the second person of the Holy Trinity, but he is himself Jehovah, as we affirm in the Te Deum: "We believe thee to be the Lord," i.e. the Jehovah of the Old Testament, usually translated, in deference to a Jewish superstition, "the LORD." As the Word, Christ is "the Word of God." The phrase really means, "by prophetic inspiration" revealing to Samuel the truth (comp. Isa_51:16; Jer_1:9)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For Adonoy revealed Himself to Shmuel. Because Scripture stated above, "The word of Adonoy was rare in those days," it states here that from now on, for Shmuel's sake, He revealed Himself repeatedly.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.