1 Samuel 3:7

Contextual Overview

¹ And the lad Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. And the word of Yahweh was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision. ¹ Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the Lord were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon. ¹ And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. ¹ The boy Samuel served the Lord under Eli. In those days the Lord did not speak directly to people very often; there were very few visions. ¹ Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli's supervision. Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent. ¹ And the child Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; [there was] no open vision. ¹ The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. The word of Yahweh was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision. ¹Now the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the LORD under the supervision of Eli. The word of the LORD was rare and precious in those days; visions [that is, new revelations of divine truth] were not widespread. ¹ Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. ¹ Forsothe the child Samuel `mynystride to the Lord bifor Heli, and the word of the Lord was preciouse; in tho daies was noon opyn reuelacioun.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Now Samuel: Or, Thus did Samuel before he knew the Lord, and before the word of the Lord was revealed unto him.

did not yet: Samuel was not destitute of the knowledge of God, in that sense which implies the total absence of true piety, as Eli's sons were; for he knew and worshipped the God of Israel, but he did not know him as communicating special revelations of his will to him, in the manner in which he made it known to the prophets. Jeremiah 9:24, Acts 19:2

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 2:12 - knew

Cross-References

Genesis 2:25
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:25
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:25
The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:25
The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:25
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:25
They were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:25
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed or embarrassed.

Genesis 2:25
Forsothe euer eithir was nakid, that is, Adam and his wijf, and thei weren not aschamed.

Genesis 2:25
And they are both of them naked, the man and his wife, and they are not ashamed of themselves.

Genesis 2:25
And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 3:7. 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.