Bible Strands
1 Samuel 3:15
Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Samuel stays in Eli’s presence through the night after receiving a divine vision, then delays reporting it until morning. He acts as the recipient of the revelation while Eli, the senior priest, remains unaware of its content.
The words — וַ/יִּשְׁכַּ֤ב (va/yishkav) translates literally as “and he lay down,” and דַּלְת֣וֹת (dalatot) means “the doors.” These terms mark Samuel’s physical rest and his hesitant access to the sanctuary.
The thread — The pattern of delayed divine communication appears in Jeremiah 1:6, where the prophet cites his youth as a barrier to speaking, and Malachi 1:10, which condemns ritual without reverence. Prophetic call narratives repeatedly pair divine commission with human hesitation.
Why it lands — The text states that Samuel feared to tell Eli the vision before any theological inference is drawn. It requires honest reporting of divine words despite personal apprehension and acknowledges that revelation does not instantly erase human fear.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 1:6 “Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!”
- 1 Samuel 1:9 So after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.
- Malachi 1:10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.
- 1 Corinthians 16:10 If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, just as I am.