The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  2:11 ministered to the LORD. As a Levite, the boy Samuel performed services that assisted Eli, the High-Priest.

  2:12 corrupt. “Sons of Belial” was a Heb. way of saying base, worthless, or wicked men. See 2 Cor. 6:15, where it is used as a name for Satan. Eli had falsely considered Hannah a wicked woman (1:16). Eli’s sons were, in fact, wicked men. they did not know the LORD. Eli’s sons had no personal experience of, nor fellowship with, the Lord. The boy Samuel came to “know the LORD” when the Lord revealed Himself to him (see 3:7).

  2:13 the priests’ custom. Not content with the specified portions of the sacrifices given to the priests (Deut. 18:3), Eli’s sons would take for themselves whatever meat a 3-pronged fork would collect from a boiling pot.

  2:15 before they burned the fat. The law mandated that the fat of the sacrificial animal was to be burned on the altar to the Lord (Lev. 7:31). In contrast, Eli’s sons demanded raw meat, including the fat, from the worshipers.

  2:18 But Samuel. The faithful ministry of Samuel before the Lord was in sharp contrast to the disobedience of Eli’s sons. linen ephod. A close fitting, sleeveless outer vest extending to the hips and worn by priests, especially when officiating before the altar (Ex. 28:6–14).

  2:19 little robe. A sleeveless garment reaching to the knees, worn under the ephod (Ex. 28:31).

  2:20 the loan. The same word used in 1:27, 28 translated “granted,” “asked,” “lent” there. Here it is a reminder of Hannah’s faithfulness to her vow to the Lord. By providing Hannah with additional children, the Lord continued to be gracious to her.

  1 Sam. 2:20

  Locations of Samuel’s Ministry

  2:22 lay with the women. Eli’s sons included in their vile behavior having sexual relationships with the women who served at the tabernacle (see Ex. 38:8). Such religious prostitution was common among Israel’s Canaanite neighbors.

  2:25 God will judge. Eli’s point to his sons was that if God would surely judge when one sinned against another man, how much more would He bring judgment against those who sinned against Him. the LORD desired to kill them. Because Eli’s sons had persisted in their evil ways, God had already determined to judge them. This divine, judicial hardening, the result of defiant refusal to repent in the past, was the reason Hophni and Phinehas refused to heed Eli’s warnings.

  2:26 grew in stature, and in favor. In contrast to the apostate sons of Eli, Samuel was maturing both spiritually and socially (cf. Luke 2:52).

  2:27 man of God. Usually used as a synonym for “prophet” (see 9:9, 10). house of your father…in Egypt. Although Eli’s genealogy was not recorded in the OT, he was a descendant of Aaron. The Lord had revealed Himself to Aaron in Egypt before the Exodus (see Ex. 4:4–16). Aaron had been divinely chosen to serve the Lord as the first in a long line of priests (Ex. 28:1–4).

  2:28 to be My priest. The chief duties of the priests were: 1) to place the offerings upon the altar; 2) to burn the incense in the holy place; and 3) to wear the linen ephod (see v. 18).

  2:29 My offering. In recognition of their service to God and His people, the priests were allocated specific parts of the offering which were brought to the sanctuary (see Lev. 2:3, 10; 7:31–36). honor. By condoning the sin of Hophni and Phinehas, Eli had shown preference for his sons above the Lord. Therefore, Eli was unworthy of the Lord’s blessing.

  2:30 I said indeed. The Lord had promised that Aaron’s descendants would always be priests (Ex. 29:9), and He had confirmed that promise by oath (Num. 25:13). Because of flagrant disobedience, the house of Eli would forfeit their priesthood. Although the Aaronic priesthood was perpetual, priests could forfeit their position by their sin.

  2:31 will not be an old man in your house. The judgment of untimely death followed the descendants of Eli. Eli’s sons died in the flower of their manhood (4:11). Later, Saul massacred the priests at Nob (22:16–19). Ultimately, Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood (1 Kin. 2:26, 27) and the priestly line of Eleazar prevailed, as God promised (cf. Num. 25:12, 13).

  2:32 an enemy in My dwelling place. This probably referred to the desecration of the tabernacle, where the Lord dwelt, at Shiloh by the Philistines (see Jer. 7:12–14).

  2:34 a sign to you. The death of Eli’s two sons on the same day validated the prophecy (cf. 4:11, 17).

  2:35 I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest. Although some have identified this priest as Samuel and others Christ, it is better to view the prophecy as fulfilled in the accession of Zadok and his family to the priestly office in the time of Solomon (see 1 Kin. 1:7, 8; 2:26, 27, 35). This reestablished the office of High-Priest in the line of Eleazar and Phinehas (cf. Num. 25:10–13). I will build him a sure house. The sons of Zadok will also serve in the millennial temple (see Ezek. 44:15; 48:11). My anointed. This refers to the messiah who will defeat God’s enemies and establish His rule in the Millennium (see v. 10).

  2:36 a morsel of bread. The judgment corresponded to the sin. Those who had gorged themselves on the sacrifices (vv. 12–17) were reduced to begging for a morsel of food.

  1 Samuel 3

  3:1 the boy Samuel. Samuel was no longer a child (2:21, 26). While Jewish historian Josephus suggested he was 12 years of age, he was probably a teenager at this time. The same Heb. term translated here “boy” was used of David when he slew Goliath (17:33). the word of the LORD was rare. The time of the judges was a period of extremely limited prophetic activity. The few visions that God did give were not widely known. revelation. Lit. “vision.” A divine revelation mediated through an auditory or visual encounter.

  3:3 before the lamp of God went out. The golden lampstand, located in the Holy Place of the tabernacle, was filled with olive oil and lit at twilight (Ex. 30:8). The lamp was kept burning from evening until morning (Ex. 27:20, 21). Just before dawn, while the golden lampstand was still burning, Samuel was called to his prophetic ministry. ark of God. See Ex. 25:10–22.

  1 Sam. 3:5

  Locations of the Ark’s Journey

  3:7 Samuel did not yet know the LORD. Samuel had not yet encountered the Lord in a personal way, nor had he received God’s Word by divine revelation (see 2:12).

  3:8 Then Eli perceived. Eli was slow to recognize that God was calling Samuel. This indicates that Eli’s spiritual perception was not what it should have been as the priest and judge of Israel (see also 1:12–16).

  3:10 hears. “To hear with interest,” or “to hear so as to obey.”

  3:11 ears…will tingle. A message of impending destruction, here of Eli’s house (see 2 Kin. 21:12; Jer. 19:3).

  3:12 all that I have spoken. See 2:27–36. The repetition of the oracle against Eli to Samuel confirmed the word spoken by the man of God.

  3:13 made themselves vile. LXX reads “his sons blasphemed God.” Cursing God was an offense worthy of death (see Lev. 24:11–16, 23). did not restrain them. Eli was implicated in the sins of his sons because he did not intervene with judgment. If his sons were blaspheming God, they should have been stoned (see Lev. 24:15, 16).

  3:14 not be atoned for…forever. Eli’s family was apparently guilty of presumptuous sin. For such defiant sin, there was no atonement and the death penalty could be immediately applied (see Num. 15:30, 31).

  3:15 the doors of the house of the LORD. The doors of the tabernacle compound (see 1:9).

  3:17 God do so to you, and more also. This is an oath of imprecation. Eli called down God’s judgment on Samuel if he refused to tell everything he knew.

  3:18 Let Him do what seems good to Him. Eli resigned himself to divine sovereignty, without reluctance.

  3:19 the LORD was with him. The Lord’s presence was with Samuel, as it would be later with David (16:18; 18:12). The Lord’s presence validated His choice of a man for His service. let none of his words fall to the ground. Everything Samuel said with divine authorization came true. This fulfillment of Samuel’s word proved that he was a true prophet of God (see Deut. 18:21, 22).

  3:20 Dan to Beersheba. The traditional limits of the land
of Israel from the N to the S. prophet of the LORD. Samuel’s status as a spokesman of God’s message was acknowledged by all throughout Israel.

  1 Samuel 4

  4:1 the word of Samuel came to all Israel. The text of 1:1—3:21 climaxes with the establishment of Samuel as God’s spokesman/representative. Observe that “the word of the Lord” (3:21) has become equivalent to “the word of Samuel.” Philistines. From the period of the judges through the end of David’s reign, the Philistines (“Sea Peoples”) were an ever-present enemy of Israel. They were non-Semitic immigrants (see Gen. 10:14; 1 Chr. 1:12; Jer. 47:4, 5; Amos 9:7) who settled along the coastal regions of southern Canaan, organizing their power in five chief cities: Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza (1 Sam. 6:17; Judg. 3:13). The introduction of the Philistines into the narrative provides a link between the judgeship of Samuel and the judgeship which Samson was not able to complete (Judg. 13–16). Ebenezer. The location of this site has not been specifically identified. Opposite Aphek in Israelite territory, it is possibly modern Izbet Sarteh on the road to Shiloh. When translated it means “stone of help,” and its mention here (and 5:1) and again in 7:12 of another location mark this section as a literary unit. Aphek. This site is located near the source of the Yarkon River, at the southern end of the coastal plain of Sharon, approximately 5 mi. E of the Mediterranean. This city marked the northeastern edge of Philistine territory.

  4:3 Why has the LORD defeated us. The question of the elders reflected their knowledge that the Lord both fought their battles (2:10; 17:47) and allowed their defeat. To be defeated clearly meant that God was not “with” them (Num. 14:42; Deut. 1:42). Instead of inquiring of the Lord for direction, they proceeded to take the matter into their own hands. Let us bring the ark. The ark symbolized the presence and power of the Lord. Yet, Israel treated it like a good-luck charm, which would ensure them victory over the Philistines. Knowing that victory or defeat depended upon the Lord’s presence, they confused the symbol of His presence with His actual presence. In this way, their understanding of God resembled that of the Philistines (4:8).

  4:4 dwells between the cherubim. A repeated phrase used to describe the Lord (see 2 Sam. 6:2; 2 Kin. 19:15; 1 Chr. 13:6; Pss. 80:1; 99:1; Is. 37:16). It spoke of His sovereign majesty. Hophni and Phinehas. These were the two wicked sons of Eli (2:12–17, 27–37), of whom it was said that they “did not know the LORD” (2:12). The fact that they were mentioned together recalls the prophecy that they would die together (2:34).

  4:6 Hebrews. In Gen. 14:13, the name “Hebrew” was applied to Abram. Consequently, the name came to refer to the physical descendants of Abraham. It was used to distinguish them as a class of people distinct from the foreigners around them. It means that Abram was a descendant of Eber in the line of Shem (cf. 10:25; 11:14–16).

  4:7 God has come into the camp. The idol, to the Philistine, was thought to be the actual dwelling place of his deity. Hence, when Israel brought the ark into the camp, the Philistines concluded that God was present, an exclamation that reflected a knowledge of God’s power.

  4:8 the gods who struck the Egyptians. Evidently, the news of God’s victory over the Egyptians was common knowledge to the Philistines.

  4:9 servants…as they have been to you. Israel’s failure to uproot all the inhabitants of Canaan (see Judg. 1:28) caused them to fall under the judgment of God. As a consequence of this judgment, Israel was enslaved to Philistine oppression (see Judg. 10, 13–16). The Philistines feared that they would become servants of the Hebrews.

  1 Sam. 4:9

  Locations of the Philistine Threats

  4:11 the ark of God was captured. In spite of their hopes to manipulate God into giving them the victory, Israel was defeated and the ark fell into the hands of the Philistines. The view of having the ark of God being equivalent to having control of God, possessed both by Israel and then the Philistines, is to be contrasted with the power and providence of God in the remaining narrative. Hophni and Phinehas, died. In fulfillment of 2:34 and 3:12, Eli’s sons died together.

  4:12 his clothes torn and dirt on his head. The actions of the man of Benjamin were considered to be universal signs of both mourning for the dead and of national calamity (cf. 2 Sam. 15:32).

  4:13 his heart trembled for the ark of God. Eli’s concern for the ark stands in stark contrast to his earlier actions of honoring his two sons over honoring the Lord (2:29, 30; cf. 4:17, 18).

  4:18 Eli…died. As was the case with Hophni and Phinehas, Eli died. Thus, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord, all of the priestly line through Eli had been wiped out (2:29–34). See note on 2:31. he had judged Israel forty years. Over that time Eli fulfilled the office of both priest and judge in Israel.

  4:21 Ichabod…The glory has departed. Due primarily to the loss of the ark, the symbol of God’s presence, Phinehas’ wife names her child Ichabod, meaning either “Where is the glory?” or “no glory.” To the Hebrew, “glory” was often used to refer to God’s presence; hence, the text means “Where is God?” The word “departed” carries the idea of having gone into exile. Thus, to the people of Israel, the capturing of the ark was a symbol that God had gone into exile. Although this was the mindset of Israel, the text narrative will reveal that God was present, even when He disciplined His people. See note on Ezek. 10:18, 19.

  1 Samuel 5

  5:1 Ashdod. One of the 5 chief Philistine cities, inland from the coast (3 mi.) and approximately 33 mi. W of Jerusalem.

  5:2 Dagon. Ancient literature identifies this deity as a fish god, whose image had the lower body of a fish and upper body of a man. Dagon seems to have been the leader of the Philistine pantheon (Judg. 16:23) and is noted to be the father of Baal. The placing of the ark of God in the temple of Dagon was supposed to be a sign of Dagon’s power and Yahweh’s inferiority, a visual representation that the god of the Philistines was victorious over the God of the Hebrews. In addition, the textual connection of Dagon reinforces the affinity between the events written here and those in the life of Samson (cf. Judg. 13–16).

  5:3 fallen on its face. Ironically, God Himself overturned the supposed supremacy of Dagon by having Dagon fallen over, as if paying homage to the Lord.

  5:4 head…hands were broken off. The first display of God’s authority over Dagon was not perceived. God’s second display of authority, the cutting off of Dagon’s head and hands, was a common sign that the enemy was dead (Judg. 7:25; 8:6; 1 Sam. 17:54; 31:9; 2 Sam. 4:12), and was to be understood as God’s divine judgment on the false idol.

  5:5 tread on the threshold. Because the head and hands of Dagon fell on the threshold, superstition developed that it was cursed; therefore, the Philistines would not tread on it. to this day. This phrase supports the claim that the writer was living at a time removed from the actual event itself (see Introduction: Author and Date). This phrase and phrases equivalent to it are found throughout 1, 2 Samuel (6:18; 26:6; 30:25; 2 Sam. 4:3; 6:8; 18:18).

  5:6 the hand of the LORD was heavy. In contrast to the hands of Dagon being cut off, symbolizing his helplessness against the power of Yahweh, the Lord was pictured to be actively involved in judging the Philistines. The imagery of God’s hand is found throughout the ark narrative (4:8; 5:6, 7, 9, 11; 6:3, 5, 9). tumors. It has been suggested that this word refers to the sores or boils caused by an epidemic of the bubonic plague carried by rats (6:4, 5). The spread of the disease and its deadly effect (5:6, 9, 12; 6:11, 17) make this a likely view.

  5:8 lords of the Philistines. Refers to those men who ruled the chief Philistine cities as kings (see note on 4:1). Gath. Another main Philistine city, located about 12 mi. E of Ashdod (cf. 5:1).

  5:10 Ekron. With judgment on Gath, the Philistines sent the ark away to the next main city to see if God was behind their calamity. Located about 6 mi. N of Gath, it was the closest major Philistine city to Israel’s border. the ark…to kill us. The cry of the Ekronites was an admission that the Philistines had gotten the message that God was the source of their troubles. It is curi
ous that the Philistines knew of God’s power to smite the Egyptians (4:8), yet they proudly believed themselves stronger than Egypt. The severity of the plagues grew increasingly worse in vv. 6–12, corresponding with the failure of the Philistines to humble themselves before God. Their actions were very similar to those of the Egyptians (Ex. 5–14).

  1 Samuel 6

  6:2 the priests and the diviners. These men of the Philistines, specifically identified in Scripture as having notable fame (Is. 2:6), were summoned to figure out how to appease God so that He would stop the plague. send it to its place. The Philistines understood that they had offended God. Their diviners decided to rightfully appease His wrath by sending the ark back to Israel.

  6:3 trespass offering. The purpose behind this offering was to both acknowledge and compensate for their trespass of dishonoring the God of Israel. These pagans recognized their sin and the need for manifest repentance, which they did according to their religious tradition by means of votive trespass offerings.