1 Samuel 2:32

Contextual Overview

²⁷ And a man of God came to Eli, and said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Did I reveal myself to the house of your father, when, in Egypt, they belonged to the house of Pharaoh? ²⁷ One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord : "I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. ²⁷ And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I reveal myself unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt [in bondage] to Pharaoh’s house? ²⁷ A man of God came to Eli and said, "This is what the Lord says: ‘I clearly showed myself to the family of your ancestor Aaron when they were slaves to the king of Egypt. ²⁷ A man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not plainly reveal myself to your ancestor's house when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh? ²⁷ And there came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I plainly appear to the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? ²⁷ There came a man of God to Eli, and said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Did I reveal myself to the house of your father, when they were in Egypt [in bondage] to Pharaoh's house? ²⁷Then a man of God (prophet) came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Did I not plainly reveal Myself to the house of your father (ancestor) when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh's house? ²⁷ And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the Lord , ‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? ²⁷ Sotheli a man of God cam to Hely, and seide to hym, The Lord seith these thingis, Whether Y was not schewid apertli to the hows of thi fadir, whanne he was in Egipt, in the hows of Farao?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

an enemy: etc. Or, the affliction of the tabernacle, for all the wealth which God would have given Israel. This appears to be the right translation; for, agreeably to this prediction, he did see the tabernacle deprived of the ark, which was its glory, and lived to hear that it was captured by the Philistines. 1 Samuel 4:4, 1 Samuel 4:11, 1 Samuel 4:22, Psalms 78:59-64

an old man: Zechariah 8:4

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 4:18 - his neck 2 Samuel 3:29 - let there Proverbs 17:21 - that

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation,.... Either the Philistines in the land of Israel, where God chose to dwell, who quickly after made war against Israel, and pitched in Aphek, 1 Samuel 4:1 or, as in the margin of our Bibles, and other versions i, "thou shalt see the affliction of the tabernacle"; as he did when the ark of God was taken, at the news of which he died, 1 Samuel 4:17 and so the Targum understands it of affliction and calamity, yet not of the house of God, but of his own house; paraphrasing the words thus,

"and thou shall see the calamity that shall come upon the men of thine house, for the sins which they have committed before me in the house of my sanctuary:''

but it seems best to interpret it of a rival, which not he in his own person should see, but whom his posterity should see high priest in the temple; as they did in Solomon's time, when Abiathar, of the family of Eli, was thrust out, and Zadok, of the family of Eleazar, was put in; for, as Kimchi observes, when a man has two wives, they are rivals or adversaries to one another, jealous and emulous of each other, as Elkanah's two wives were, and of one of them the same word is used as here, 1 Samuel 1:6 so when one high priest was put out, and another taken in, the one was the rival or adversary of the other, as in the case referred to:

in all the wealth which God shall give Israel; which points exactly at the time when this should be, even men God did well to Israel, gave them great prosperity, wealth and riches, quietness and safety, a famous temple built for the worship of God, and everything in a flourishing condition, both with respect to temporals and spirituals, as was in the days of Solomon, see 1 Kings 4:20 and then it was amidst all that plenty and prosperity, and when the high priesthood was most honourable and profitable, that Eli's family was turned out of it, and another put into it:

and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever;

1 Kings 4:20- : this is repeated for confirmation, and with this addition, that this would be the case for ever.

i צר מעון θλιψιν κατοικησεως Symmachus; "angustiam tabernaculi", Junius & Tremellius. Piscator.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The original text is rather obscure and difficult of construction, but the King James Version probably gives the sense of it. The margin gives another meaning.

In all the wealth ... - The allusion is particularly to Solomon’s reign, when Zadok was made priest instead of Abiathar, 1 Kings 2:26-27. (See 1 Kings 4:20 ff) The enormous number of sacrifices then offered must have been a great source of wealth to the priests 1 Kings 8:63-66.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 2:32. Thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation — Every version and almost every commentator understands this clause differently. The word tsar, which we translate an enemy, and the Vulgate aemulum, a rival, signifies calamity; and this is the best sense to understand it in here. The calamity which he saw was the defeat of the Israelites, the capture of the ark, the death of his wicked sons, and the triumph of the Philistines. All this he saw, that is, knew to have taken place, before he met with his own tragical death.

In all the wealth which God shall give Israel — This also is dark. The meaning may be this: God has spoken good concerning Israel; he will, in the end, make the triumph of the Philistines their own confusion; and the capture of the ark shall be the desolation of their gods; but the Israelites shall first be sorely pressed with calamity. See the margin.

There shall not be an old man — This is repeated from the preceding verse, all the family shall die in the flower of their years, as is said in the following verse.