1 Samuel 3:7 (LSB)

Passage

Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, nor had the word of Yahweh yet been revealed to him.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 3:5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; go back, lie down.” So he went and lay down.

1 Samuel 3:6 Then Yahweh called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he answered, “I did not call, my son; go back, lie down.”

1 Samuel 3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, nor had the word of Yahweh yet been revealed to him.

1 Samuel 3:8 So Yahweh called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli discerned that Yahweh was calling the young boy.

1 Samuel 3:9 And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh, for Your slave is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "samuel", "yahweh", "word", "been", and "revealed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "samuel" and "yahweh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Then Yahweh called yet again Samuel So..." into verse 8's "So Yahweh called Samuel again for the...", so "samuel" and "yahweh" 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 "samuel" and "yahweh" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.