“The child Sh’mu’el continued ministering to Adonai under ‘Eli’s direction. Now, in those days Adonai rarely spoke, and visions were few. Once, during that period, ‘Eli had gone to bed — his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that it was hard for him to see.”-1 Samuel 3:1-2
Chapter 3 kicks things off by telling us that..
“…in those days
Adonai rarely spoke,
and visions were few.”
Why did the narrator go out of his way to tell us that?
Well, he’s setting the scene for what’s to come.
God’s personal communications with Israel had been so rare the narrator felt the need to let readers know in advance.
Otherwise, we’d be surprised and wonder why God suddenly broke His silence after so many long years.
Onward.
So we’re told a very old Eli nearing blindness went to bed hoping to fall into a deep sleep…
But that didn’t happen….
Because in the dead of the night something amazing was about to happen.
We know it was nighttime because the Golden Menorah was still burning…
It usually held enough oil to last until morning…
Next, we’re told Samuel “had lain down to sleep in the sanctuary of Adonai”.
But where exactly was he sleeping?
The Hebrew says he was sleeping in the HEKAL located nearby the Ark of the Covenant.
Some scholars think this means Samuel had dozed off right in front of the part of the sanctuary known as the Holy Place.
Ya remember the Holy Place, don’t you?
The Holy Place was where the Menorah (the lamp stand that was still burning), the Table of Shewbread and the Incense Altar were located.
Now I’m not so sure I can go along with that interpretation.
The courtyard area of the Tabernacle contained many chambers…
And I hazard to guess Samuel had just dozed off in one of those rooms.
However, what confuses scholars to no end is the use of the word HEKAL.
Why?
Well, that’s what we’ll get into next time.
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