1 Now the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Heli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no manifest vision.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 1. Since we were diligently seeking how the meaning of the sacred history might correspond to the conduct of the elect, we deferred revisiting the order of allegory by exposition.
Bede · AD 735 But the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli, etc. The boy who was born to us in the flesh, in the sight of the Jewish priests, was ministering his gifts to the early Church both personally and through his evangelizing disciples.
2 And it came to pass one day when Heli lay in his place, and his eyes were grown dim, that he could not see:
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 4. For his vision would have been clear, if he had believed in the Redeemer whom he had heard had come to visit him. Concerning this blindness of his, it is added: (Verse 2.) Now it came to pass that Eli was lying in his place, and he could not see the lamp of God before it was extinguished.
Bede · AD 735 It happened on a certain day, Eli was lying in his place, etc. He designates the lamp of God according to the dignity of Eli's rank. But by signification, we correctly take the lamp to mean the old priesthood, necessary indeed in the night under the shadow of the serving people, but to be removed with the approach of the day of new grace.
3 Before the lamp of God went out, Samuel slept in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
Theodore of Mopsuestia · AD 428 It says "The Lord is in his holy temple," as if it had been appropriate to say "The Lord is his help." For the Lord's name alone is commonly inserted as an indication of assistance. But here the psalmist intends to indicate that there is one who lives in the temple and is used for defense and protection, in whom it is able to stand firm securely in hope against all treachery.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 8. Now rightly the reprobate prelate is said not to sleep but to lie down, while the boy, a subject and one of the elect, is said not to lie down but to sleep, because "to sleep" is sometimes taken in a good sense, while "to lie down" is almost always taken in a bad sense. Hence also the Bride in the Song of Songs says: 'I sleep, and my heart watches' (Song 5:2).
Bede · AD 735 But Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord, etc. The Lord, while instructing and ministering spiritual matters to mortals, would suspend the external vision of the mind to fix it in the contemplation of the supreme and innermost light.
4 And the Lord called Samuel. And he answered: Here am I.
John Cassian · AD 435 And therefore by no means let the ignorance or shallowness of one old man or of a few deter you and cut you off from that salutary path about which we have spoken and from the traditions of our forebears. The clever enemy misuses their gray hairs to deceive the young.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 (Verses 4, 5.) Who answering, said: "Here I am." And he ran to Eli and said: "For you called me." Who said: "I did not call you, my son; return and sleep." 8. Why did the one who heard the Lord calling him run to Eli, unless because he thought he had been called by Eli?
Bede · AD 735 And the Lord called Samuel, etc. It's a challenging mode of speaking, how from time to time a father calls his son to know the secrets of his judgment; and he responds that he is present, who was born before time from the Father and speaks: All things have been delivered to me by my Father (Matthew XI). And: All that the Father has is mine (John XVI).
5 And he ran to Heli, and said: Here am I: for thou didst call me. He said: I did not call: go back and sleep. And he went and slept.
Bede · AD 735 He said, "I did not call," etc. The Scribes and Pharisees deny that they sought the coming of Christ; at whose birth, upon hearing, not only King Herod was troubled, but also all Jerusalem with him. And they instructed to sleep again in the temple the one whom, having repulsed from their disbelief, they sent back to reveal the secrets of the father's child.
6 And the Lord called Samuel again. And Samuel arose and went to Heli, and said: Here am I: for thou calledst me. He answered: I did not call thee, my son: return and sleep.
Bede · AD 735 And he said, "Here I am," etc. Let the diligent reader note that the same allegorical interpretation is not always the same as the order of historical truth but alternates in a similar, unequal, or contrary manner. In a similar way, indeed, Samuel's simple youth and Eli's sluggish blindness signify the humility of the Lord Savior and the stubborn foolishness of the Jews.
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither had the word of the Lord been revealed to him.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 13. But because what follows is, "Moreover Samuel did not yet know the Lord," and above he is reported to have ministered to the Lord, what is said seems very contradictory, because he could not be ignorant of the one whom he was serving. For who serves one whom he does not know?
Bede · AD 735 Moreover, Samuel did not yet know the Lord, etc. Moreover, the Savior, whose name is God, was not yet recognized by the carnal as always knowing all the secrets of the Father, nor before He was baptized did John see and bear witness that the heavens were opened to Him, and that the voice of the Father was made upon Him from above.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose up and went to Heli,
Philoxenus of Mabbug · AD 523 Now when Eli understood that it was the Lord Who had called him, he commanded him to make answer as unto the Lord, and not to run towards him; for "Eli understood that the Lord had called the boy." And old age sent youth to the Lord to learn His will, and cunning had need of simplicity that by means of it it might learn the Divine Will; for Eli entreated Samuel and begged him t…
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 15. For if he had not understood, he would by no means have ministered to him the counsels of salvation through the sacred Scriptures. For he understood, because he foresaw. For whatever almighty God arranged to do in the building of the future Church, this He revealed to the ancient Fathers through the holy spirit of prophecy.
Bede · AD 735 Eli understood that the Lord had called the boy, etc. Finally, after many great deeds and words done and spoken by the Lord, after John the Baptist's proclamations were fulfilled, the priests, scribes, and Pharisees understand that Jesus, who in the reality of the flesh was born as a boy to us, is the true contemplator of the highest mysteries of the eternal deity of the father…
9 And said: Here am I: for thou didst call me. Then Heli understood that the Lord called the child, and he said to Samuel: Go, and sleep: and if he shall call thee any more, thou shalt say: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went, and slept in his place.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 15. For now the boy, having been instructed, is sent to the knowledge of divine speech, when the chosen one, subject to the counsel of his superior, is prepared for knowing spiritual things.
10 And the Lord came, and stood, and he called, as he had called the other times, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said: Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 But to what degree he advances is shown, because it is suddenly added next: (Verse 10.) "The Lord therefore came and stood." 18. Because the Lord is said not to return but to come, the abandonment of Judea and the visitation of the holy Church is signified. Hence He is described not only as coming but also as standing.
11 And the Lord said to Samuel: Behold I do a thing in Israel: and whosoever shall hear it, both his ears shall tingle.
Origen of Alexandria · AD 253 Since the divine Scripture was about to foretell the destruction of the sons of Eli, and that the ark of God would be taken by the foreigners, it first prepares the hearer beforehand, lest anyone should suppose God to be harsh.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 19. For among sublime gifts, the elect mind is restrained from pride all the more cautiously, the more it perceives through the justice of almighty God that even those who seemed to be supported by more sublime gifts have been cast away. For this reason also, concerning the word which the Lord threatens He will accomplish, the ears of those who hear are declared to ring.
Bede · AD 735 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I am doing a work in Israel, etc. What the prophet previously foretold to Eli about the judgment of his house, meaning its rejection and the substitution of Samuel in the priesthood, the same Samuel now understands through the oracle of God about himself, and he announces it to Eli; because what the prophets heralded by defining the old and…
12 In that day I will raise up against Heli all the things I have spoken concerning his house: I will begin, and I will make an end.
13 For I have foretold unto him, that I will judge his house for ever, for iniquity, because he knew that his sons did wickedly, and did not chastise them.
Basil of Caesarea · AD 379 Benevolence to such persons is like that mistaken kindness of Eli which he was accused of showing his sons, contrary to the good pleasure of God. A feigned kindness to the wicked is a betrayal of the truth, an act of treachery to the community and a means of habituating oneself to indifference to evil.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 And opening up this same word, He says: (Verses 13 and 14.) For I have foretold to him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity, because he knew that his sons were acting unworthily, and he did not correct them. Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of his house shall not be expiated by sacrifices and offerings forever. 21.
Isaac of Nineveh · AD 700 For what reason did wrath and death come upon the house of the priest Eli, the righteous elder who was eminent for forty years in his priesthood? Was it not because of the iniquity of his sons [Hophni] and [Phinehas]?
14 Therefore have I sworn to the house of Heli, that the iniquity of his house shall not be expiated with victims nor offerings for ever.
Bede · AD 735 Therefore, I have sworn to the house of Eli, etc. The house of Eli according to the letter could not be cleansed by the blood of victims, which the iniquity of his sons polluted, but nevertheless, it was cleansed by the blood of martyrdom when so many priests of his lineage were innocently destroyed in the city of Nob for the sake of the grace of paternal hospitality (1 Kings 2…
15 And Samuel slept till morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to tell the vision to Heli.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 21. For he sleeps until morning who rests in the conduct of a good work begun until the splendor of the coming Redeemer appears. He sleeps until morning who throughout the whole night of the present life waits through the purpose of justice begun, so that the brightness of the promised Redeemer may shine forth for him unto the joy of a merited reward.
Bede · AD 735 Samuel slept until morning, etc. The Lord remained in secret rest with the Father, with whom he ceaselessly arranged and governed all things invisibly, waiting for when, with the night of vices dispelled by the host of virtues, the lights of evangelical truth would reveal themselves, when the shadow of the law departed.
16 Then Heli called Samuel, and said: Samuel, my son. And he answered: Here am I.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 24. For he who is said to have been compelled to speak by such great urgency of entreaty is shown to have been bound by a great strictness of silence.
17 And he asked him: What is the word that the Lord hath spoken to thee? I beseech thee hide it not from me. May God do so and so to thee, and add so and so, if thou hide from me one word of all that were said to thee.
18 So Samuel told him all the words, and did not hide them from him. And he answered: It is the Lord: let him do what is good in his sight.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 And he indeed responded, saying: (Verse 18) "It is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes." 26. By these words, indeed, what else is more clearly recognized than the faithlessness of the Jewish people? For he who calls the almighty God Lord still considers himself to be serving Him.
19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and not one of his words fell to the ground.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 27. What does it mean that after Eli explained the vision, Samuel is said to have grown, except that the order of our teachers, after it repelled the sons of the Synagogue by the word, found a glory of greater reverence among the Gentiles?
Bede · AD 735 "And none of his words fell to the ground." [1 Samuel 3:19] This was said of Samuel, after he had reported to Eli in the morning the divine oracle he had received during the night: "And none of his words fell to the ground," meaning that nothing of what he spoke was in vain, but all things he said came to pass.
20 And all Israel, from Dan to Bersabee, knew that Samuel was a faithful prophet of the Lord.
Ambrosiaster · AD 384 WHETHER SAMUEL WAS ONE OF THE SONS OF AARON, AND WHETHER HE IS TO BE CONSIDERED A PRIEST? — There are some among us who, partly occupied with secular affairs and partly less studious concerning the Holy Scriptures, fall into error, thinking that Samuel was a priest, that is, that he traced his origin from Aaron, whose offspring the Lord God ordained should be born priests, not…
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 30. For what is designated by Dan except the simple, and what by Beersheba except the wise? From Dan even to Beersheba Samuel is acknowledged as the faithful prophet of the Lord, when the life of a chosen preacher is set forth to the simple as an example of salvation, and to the wise the mysteries of Holy Scripture are revealed through his teaching.
Bede · AD 735 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized, etc. And the Catholic, that is, the universal Church, the spiritual Israel, which has been gathered from the beginnings of renouncing the devil to the font of baptism, knows that Jesus Christ, who is called "God with Us," is the preacher of faith.
21 And the Lord again appeared in Silo, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Silo, according to the word of the Lord. And the word of Samuel came to pass to all Israel.
Gregory the Dialogist · AD 604 29. For Shiloh is interpreted as "sent." And because He sends into the ministry of preaching even to the end of the world, the Lord appears in Shiloh, because He shows Himself more clearly to those through whom He opens the glory of His light to others.