1 Samuel 3:7

1Sa 3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.

Ver. 7. Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord,] i.e., He knew him not in that way peculiar to prophets: for otherwise he knew the Lord a far deal better than Eli’s two sons did, {1Sa 2:12} and yet he and they had all one tutor. But he hath his chair in heaven who teacheth the heart, saith a father.

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.

1Sa_3:7

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.

Early religious impressions

A study of this story will show parents and teachers much which ought to be supremely helpful in their dealings with those young persons who come under their care.

I. There is, first, the period of conscientious routine. For a while every child born of Christian parents, and trained as Samuel was, will follow the traditions his father and mother have passed on down to him in course of education. What is it possible for any child now to do, as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, under the family rule? Young people can be taught to pray, to take the care of some practical schemes of usefulness, to study the Word of God diligently, to contribute money to religious causes, to become interested in the poor, to speak words of counsel and encouragement and warning to such as need direction or assistance. The grand old moralities are always within their reach; fidelities at school, courtesies to the aged consideration for the weak, keeping the Sabbath, aiding in household cares, and full obedience to all Gods commands. How far is this truly religious? Children differ extremely. Some of them become spiritual Christians quite early; some never know the date of any experience that might be considered regeneration; some are alert, imaginative, poetic, sensitive; others are slow, heavy, and run to rigid moralities with supreme delight and conscientious satisfaction. It is always right to do right, and God loves a virtuous, correct life. Of this we can be comfortably certain. As to the spiritual condition of Samuel at this period of his career, there is found one verse in the record which has given some trouble: Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. Evidently there passed a vivid and permanent change over this boys heart and history in that nights experience: God called him.

II. Awakened restlessness in children. There is a period in the history of almost every one who, reared in a Christian land, has been more or less directly under the pressure of the truth, in which he really faces the great question of his relation to God. And the effort is often an earnest one and is directed towards a positive decision concerning a religious life. This period you may recognise in yourself, or detect in others, almost always by certain unmistakable signs. There will be outward manifestations of solicitude which will show how seriously the soul contemplates its own experience. Skill, however, and especially patience, will be needed to understand these revelations of inward struggle. They often partake of the nature of strategy, and press their advance in the line of a precise contradiction. Then they will have to be read, like Hebrew syllables, from right to left. Every individual of us, in these communities lit with truth, comes one day to see that his path to heaven is unlike that of any other person, and henceforth he must journey on alone. That thought is revolutionary. But the thing to be remembered is this: And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. Men and women may forget this, and grow as sorrowfully amazed as was Mary when she rebuked Jesus for not paying more attention to her feelings. They ought to recollect those calm words: Wist ye not that I must be about my Fathers business? (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 3:7. Samuel did not yet know the Lord — How God was wont to teach and instruct men in his will. Neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him — He was not acquainted with the way wherein God made himself and his mind known unto the prophets, because he had never spoken to him before. So that he did not know how to distinguish between the voice of God and that of men. And this ignorance of Samuel served God’s design, as it gave Eli the fuller assurance of the truth of God’s call and message to Samuel.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord: He lacked direct experience of the Lord. In contrast, Eli’s sons did not know the Lord (see study note on 2:12) in that they were morally and spiritually deficient.

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

By vision.

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

Verse 7. Samuel did not yet know the Lord] He had not been accustomed to receive any revelation from him. He knew and worshipped the God of Israel; but he did not know him as communicating especial revelation of His will.

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

7. Now Samuel, &c.] This verse explains why Samuel failed to recognise the Voice. ‘Knowing the Lord’ here denotes not the general religious knowledge of a pious Israelite, but the special knowledge communicated by a personal revelation. The phrase is used in a different sense in 1Sa_2:12.

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.

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord,.... He knew that Jehovah, the God of Israel, was the true God; he had spiritual knowledge of him, and knew somewhat of his word and worship, ways and ordinances, in which he had been instructed by Eli; wherefore, though the Targum is,"Samuel had not yet learned to know doctrine from the Lord;''it can only be understood, that he had not learnt it perfectly; somewhat he knew of it, but in an imperfect manner, being a child: but the sense of the word is, that as yet he was ignorant that God had used to speak with ordinary and familiar voice to men, as Maimonides says (s); he perhaps had never heard of any such thing, and much less was experimentally acquainted with it, that God ever did speak after such a manner to men, and could not distinguish between the voice of God and the voice of Eli:

neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him; what of the written word that was in being he had, and read, as the law of Moses; but the meaning is, that no word of prophecy of the Lord was revealed unto him, as the Targum; he never had prophesied as yet, and knew not the form and manner of prophecy, as the above writer observes, or what methods God took to reveal himself, his mind and will, to men, at least not this by an audible voice.

(s) Moreh Nevochim, par. 2. c. 44.

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

Did not yet know the Lord - i. e. in His supernatural communication, as follows at the end of the verse. The text rendering of this verse is better than that of the margin.

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

Him. He had not before an experimental knowledge of the manner in which God revealed his will to men. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Either, first, He was not acquainted with God in that extraordinary or prophetical way. Or rather, secondly, He did not yet understand, any more than before, that it was not Eli, but God, who spake to him. And this ignorance of Samuel’s served God’s design, that his simplicity might give Eli the better assurance of the truth of God’s call and message to Samuel.

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

7. Samuel did not yet know the Lord — The first part of this verse is explained by the second. Samuel knew not the Lord in the way of receiving divine communications from him, for, as already stated, such communications were at that time rare.

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

But Eli was neither so inexperienced, nor so lost to all sense of Jehovah being the immediate ruler of Israel, as not to perceive, when Samuel came to him the third time, that the matter was Divine. Possibly he recalled to mind the visit of the man of God, and had some presage of what the message might be. At all events he bade Samuel lie calmly down again, because the best preparation for hearing God"s voice is obedience and trustful submission.

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

Did not know - He was not acquainted with God in that extraordinary or prophetical way. And this ignorance of Samuel's served God's design, that his simplicity might give Eli the better assurance of the truth of God's call, and message to Samuel.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

nor had any message from Yahweh ever been revealed to him

This can be stated in active form. AT: "nor had Yahweh ever revealed any message to him" or "and Yahweh had never revealed any message to him" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

reveal

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

[Shmuel] had not yet known Adonoy. He had not yet recognized the nature of the prophetic voice. Every time the word 'טֶרֶם' appears in Scripture, it means 'not yet,' as rendered by the Targum 'עַד לָא' [not yet]. It does not mean 'before.' This verse proves it. And another [proof of this] is the verse כִּי טֶרֶם תִּירְאוּן which is rendered as "that you do not yet fear," is a more explicit verse proving this. Also, וְכֹל שִֹיחַ הַשָֹּדֶה טֶרֶם יִהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ ["all plants of the field were not yet on the earth"].

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.