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26 Meanwhile, young Samuel was growing in stature and in worth in the estimation of the Lord and the people.(A)

The Fate of Eli’s House.[a] 27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him: “Thus says the Lord: I went so far as to reveal myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt as slaves to the house of Pharaoh. 28 I chose them out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priests, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, and to wear the ephod[b] in my presence; and I assigned all the fire offerings of the Israelites to your father’s house.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 2:27–36 These verses describe the punishment of Eli from a point of view contemporary with the reform of Josiah (2 Kgs 23:9; cf. v. 36); they hint at the events recorded in 1 Sm 22:18–23 and 1 Kgs 2:27. The older story of this divine warning occurs in 1 Sm 3:11–14. A man of God: often an anonymous figure whose speech foreshadows events in the near future. Cf. 1 Sm 9:6; 1 Kgs 13:1; 2 Kgs 23:16–17.
  2. 2:28 Ephod: a portable container, presumably of cloth, for the lots used in ritual consultation of God during the days of the Judges (Jgs 17:5; 18:14–15) and into the time of David (1 Sm 14:3; 23:6–9; 30:7–8). Attached to the ephod of the high priest described in Ex 28:6–8 is a “breastpiece of decision” which symbolized, but did not facilitate, such consultation. The Exodus text codifies a later form of the tradition.

26 And the boy Samuel continued to grow(A) in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.(B)

Prophecy Against the House of Eli

27 Now a man of God(C) came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh? 28 I chose(D) your ancestor out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense,(E) and to wear an ephod(F) in my presence. I also gave your ancestor’s family all the food offerings(G) presented by the Israelites.

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