1 Samuel 3:2 (DBY)

Passage

And it came to pass at that time, when Eli lay in his place (now his eyes began to grow dim, he could not see),

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 3:1 And the boy Samuel ministered to Jehovah before Eli. And the word of Jehovah was rare in those days; a vision was not frequent.

1 Samuel 3:2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli lay in his place (now his eyes began to grow dim, he could not see),

1 Samuel 3:3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel lay in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God was,

1 Samuel 3:4 that Jehovah called to Samuel. And he said, Here am I.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "came", "pass", "time", "place", "eyes", "began", and "grow". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "came" and "pass", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "And the boy Samuel ministered to Jehovah..." into verse 3's "and the lamp of God had not...", so "came" and "pass" belong inside that flow. In 1 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "came" and "pass" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.