Bible Strands
1 Samuel 3:8
Once again, for the third time, the LORD called to Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports that Yahweh calls to Samuel for a third time while the boy is in Eli’s presence. Samuel rises, approaches Eli, and states that he was summoned, prompting Eli to recognize the divine source of the call.
The words — וַיֹּסֶף (va.yoséf) translates literally as “and he repeated” or “and he added,” emphasizing the recurrence of the call. בַּשְּׁלִשִׁית (ba.shlishít) means “at the third [time]” or “for the third time,” marking the specific sequence.
The thread — The motif of repeated divine communication appears in Job 33:14, which observes that God speaks in multiple ways yet goes largely unnoticed. The transition from immature perception to mature discernment aligns with the principle stated in 1 Corinthians 13:11.
Why it lands — The text records a factual sequence: repeated calling leads to a shift in human recognition. It requires the reader to acknowledge that spiritual clarity often follows persistent divine address rather than immediate insight.
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 the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.
Cross-references
- Job 33:14 For God speaks in one way and in another, yet no one notices.
- 1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside childish ways.