1Sa 3:19-21 | KD | STEP | Thus Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground, i.e., left no word unfulfilled which He spoke through Samuel. (On הפּיל, see ; ; 1Ki 8:56.) By this all Israel from Dan to Beersheba (see at Jdg 20:1) perceived that Samuel was found trustworthy, or approved (see Num 12:7) as a prophet of Jehovah. And the Lord continued to appear at Shiloh; for He revealed himself there to Samuel “ in the word of Jehovah ,” i.e., through a prophetic announcement of His word. These three verses form the transition from the call of Samuel to the following account of his prophetic labours in Israel. At the close of , the lxx have appended a general remark concerning Eli and his sons, which, regarded as a deduction from the context, answers no doubt to the paraphrastic treatment of our book in that version, but in a critical aspect is utterly worthless. War with the Philistines. Loss of the Ark. Death of Eli and His Sons - 1 Samuel 4 At Samuel’s word, the Israelites attacked the Philistines, and were beaten ( , ). They then fetched the ark of the covenant into the camp according to the advice of the elders, that they might thereby make sure of the help of the almighty covenant God; but in the engagement which followed they suffered a still greater defeat, in which Eli’s sons fell and the ark was taken by the Philistines ( ). The aged Eli, terrified at such a loss, fell from his seat and broke his neck ( ); and his daughter-in-law was taken in labour, and died after giving birth to a son ( ). With these occurrences the judgment began to burst upon the house of Eli. But the disastrous result of the war was also to be a source of deep humiliation to all the Israelites. Not only were the people to learn that the Lord had departed from them, but Samuel also was to make the discovery that the deliverance of Israel from the oppression and dominion of its foes was absolutely impossible without its inward conversion to its God.

‏ 1 Samuel 3:19-21

Thus Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground, i.e., left no word unfulfilled which He spoke through Samuel. (On הפּיל, see Jos 21:45; Jos 23:14; 1Ki 8:56.) By this all Israel from Dan to Beersheba (see at Jdg 20:1) perceived that Samuel was found trustworthy, or approved (see Num 12:7) as a prophet of Jehovah. And the Lord continued to appear at Shiloh; for He revealed himself there to Samuel “in the word of Jehovah,” i.e., through a prophetic announcement of His word. These three verses form the transition from the call of Samuel to the following account of his prophetic labours in Israel. At the close of 1Sa 3:21, the lxx have appended a general remark concerning Eli and his sons, which, regarded as a deduction from the context, answers no doubt to the paraphrastic treatment of our book in that version, but in a critical aspect is utterly worthless. War with the Philistines. Loss of the Ark.

Death of Eli and His Sons - 1 Samuel 4

At Samuel’s word, the Israelites attacked the Philistines, and were beaten (1Sa 4:1, 1Sa 4:2). They then fetched the ark of the covenant into the camp according to the advice of the elders, that they might thereby make sure of the help of the almighty covenant God; but in the engagement which followed they suffered a still greater defeat, in which Eli’s sons fell and the ark was taken by the Philistines (1Sa 4:3-11). The aged Eli, terrified at such a loss, fell from his seat and broke his neck (1Sa 4:12-18); and his daughter-in-law was taken in labour, and died after giving birth to a son (1Sa 4:19-22). With these occurrences the judgment began to burst upon the house of Eli. But the disastrous result of the war was also to be a source of deep humiliation to all the Israelites. Not only were the people to learn that the Lord had departed from them, but Samuel also was to make the discovery that the deliverance of Israel from the oppression and dominion of its foes was absolutely impossible without its inward conversion to its God.