Bible Strands
1 Samuel 3:2
And at that time Eli, whose eyesight had grown so dim that he could not see, was lying in his room.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator places Eli in his chamber during the period when Samuel ministers before the LORD and divine revelation is scarce. The account fixes the scene at the moment just before Eli’s nocturnal encounters with the boy.
The words — The Hebrew phrase שֹׁכֵב בִּ/מְקֹמ֑וֹ (sho.Khev bi/m.ko.M/o) literally renders "lying in his place," while הֵחֵלּוּ (he.Che.lu) means "they began," describing the onset of his failing eyesight. These terms ground the physical description of Eli’s declining vision and his position of rest.
The thread — This description of age-related blindness parallels Isaac’s weakened sight in Genesis 27:1 and Jacob’s poor vision in Genesis 48:10, while 1 Samuel 4:15 later confirms Eli’s fixed gaze and total inability to see. The motif tracks the physical decline of patriarchs and judges as they age.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to register the historical reality of Eli’s physical limitation before the narrative shifts to divine communication. It establishes a baseline of human frailty that precedes the prophetic encounter without assigning theological meaning to the condition itself.
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 it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 4:15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his gaze was fixed because he could not see.
- Genesis 27:1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” Esau replied.
- Genesis 48:10 Now Israel’s eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly see. Joseph brought his sons to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.
- Psalms 90:10 The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty if we are strong—yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
- Genesis 48:19 But his father refused. “I know, my son, I know!” he said. “He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great; nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”
- 1 Samuel 2:22 Now Eli was very old, and he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- Ecclesiastes 12:3 on the day the keepers of the house tremble and the strong men stoop, when those grinding cease because they are few and those watching through windows see dimly,