Read 1 Samuel 3 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
3:1 {s} Samuel ministered / The word of YHVH was precious (rare) in those days
3:2-3 {p} Before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle where the ark of God was
3:4-5 {s} YHVH called Samuel, and he ran to Eli
3:6-10 {p} YHVH called Samuel 3x/ Speak, YHVH, for Your servant hears
3:11-18 {p} The prophecy against Eli’s house/ Samuel told all to Eli
3:19-20 {s} YHVH let none of Samuel’s words fall; all Israel knew he was YHVH’s prophet
3:21 {p} YHVH revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of YHVH
The Strong themes:
3:1-3 {s+p} The word of YHVH was rare in those days
3:4-10 {s+p} YHVH called Samuel, and he replied, “Here I am. Speak, for Your servant hears”
3:19-21 {s+p} YHVH established Samuel as His prophet in Shiloh, for He revealed Himself to him
1 Samuel 3:1-21 Chiastic Structure:
What can be known about God, or truth, or wisdom, is what God has revealed. Samuel did not know YHVH until He began revealing Himself and His Word.
The Hebrew Root Word parable shines a spotlight on an amazing truth. To reveal is Strong’s H1540 גלה galah, a primitive verb meaning, “to uncover.” The ancient pictographs are gimel + lamed + hey.
gimel ג = the foot, thus foot, walk, gather
lamed ל = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
hey ה = man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
This word shares a verbal root with Strong’s H5927, alah, “to go up, to ascend.” As a root it describes captives gathered together (gimel) upon whose shoulders the yoke (lamed) was raised up (hey) as spoils of war. Captives were most commonly stripped of their clothing when put into their yokes for transport. The humiliation makes them vulnerable and easier to control. Biblically speaking, when God to reveals Himself or His Word, it means that it has been stripped bare of anything which conceals.
You may have heard that some religions or belief systems have secret knowledge, and the only way to attain to it is to progress through the ranks. Discovering secrets is the lure to hook people and keep them on the path. Interestingly enough, “occult” means that which has been shut off from view or exposure, according to Webster’s.
But not so God, or His Word. God stripped Himself bare of concealment to Samuel when he was just a boy. Any Christian or religious denomination or philosophy which dangles secrets has outed itself as unbiblical, unscriptural, and ungodly.
Leave a Reply