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1 Samuel 3:1-20
With thanks to page sponsor 2015:
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church,
Barrington, Illinois

• Reading the Text:
  • NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
  • Hebrew Interlinear Bible, WLCv, WLC5, CHES, AV.
  • The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
  • The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries.
  • The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
  • The text from the Jewish Publication Society.
• Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
  • Chapter III, The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians, Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110). (Longer version only - 4th cent interpolation.)
  • Vision I.3, Shepherd of Hermas. (c.145)
  • Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org.
  • From the Geneva Notes.
    • "Josephus writes that Samuel was 12 years old when the Lord appeared to him."
  • From Matthew Henry's Commentary.
    • "The call which Divine grace designs shall be made effectual; will be repeated till it is so, till we come to the call."
  • From Wesley's Notes.
    • "God did not impart his Mind by way of vision or revelation openly, or to any public person, to whom others might resort for satisfaction, though he might privately reveal himself to some pious persons for their particular direction. This is premised, as a reason why Samuel understood not, when God called him once or twice."
  • From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
    • "The three successive calls addressed to the boy convinced Eli of the divine character of the speaker, and he therefore exhorted the child to give a reverential attention to the message."
• Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
  • Commentary, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Roger Nam, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2015.
    • "The Lord was with Samuel, but somehow, this divine appointment does not at all diminish the totality of the human experience."
  • "Maybe God's Trying to Tell You Something," H. Beecher Hicks, Jr., ON Scripture, Odyssey Networks, 2015. Video: Faith Activism and Martin Luther King's Legacy.
  • "The One Whose Heart is Searching," Andrew King, A Poetic Kind of Place, 2015.
  • "Sacred Space," Alan Brehm, The Waking Dreamer.
    • "From the very beginning, God has been fully present to everyone and everything in this world. And God is still with us because the Spirit of God still "hovers" and "resonates" over and around and in us all."
  • "Whose Voice?" John C. Holbert, Opening the Old Testament, 2015.
  • "Do You Hear What I Hear?" Faith Element, 2015.
  • "Ignore?" Melissa Bane Sevier, Contemplative Viewfinder, 2015.
  • "God Calling in the Night," Janet H. Hunt, Dancing with the Word, 2015.
    • "How might you 'translate' the 'word of the Lord' spoken then into today's world?"
  • Pulpit Fiction, plus podcast. Reflections of lectionary text, pop culture, current events, etc. Robb Mc Coy and Eric Fistler, 2015.
  • "The Outsider Prophet," Debie Thomas, The Journey with Jesus, 2015.
  • Narrative Lectionary Resources for October 13, 2013, 1 Samuel 3:1-21:
    • Commentary, 1 Samuel 3:1-21, Beth Tanner, 2013.
    • "Can't I Sleep Without Someone Talking to Me?" RevGalBlogPals, 2013.
    • "What Does God Sound Like?" Beth Scibienski, A Thousand Words of Inspiration, 2013.
  • Commentary, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Callie Plunket-Brewton, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2012.
    • "The narrative of the calling of Samuel is replete with irony and foreshadowing."
  • "Do You Hear What I Hear...or is that call me talking to myself?" Unvirtuous Abbey, The Hardest Question, 2012.
    • "Is 'call' a fulfilment of self?"
  • "Prayerful Listening, Prophetic Proclaiming," Luke A. Powery, ON Scripture, Odyssey Networks, 2012. (uses 2012 lectionary texts and MLK Day)
  • "Hello, Is This God?" John C. Holbert, Patheos, 2012.
  • "The Politics of 1 Samuel 3:1-20," Timothy F. Simpson, Political Theology, 2012.
    • "Like so many other biblical narratives, we identify with the underdog, Samuel, yet the sad truth is that, for most of us, in our lives, we’re much more like the doddering Eli, having lost sight of what our mission is, and unable to hear to anything that might correct us."
  • Commentary, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Beth Tanner, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2009.
    • "What does it mean to be called by God?"
  • "Is God Still Speaking? Samuel and the Silence of God," The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself, Daniel B. Clendenin, Journey with Jesus Foundation, 2009.
    • "When and why have you ever felt the silence of God?"
  • 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20), Studies on Old Testament texts from Series B, Ralph W. Klein, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
  • 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20), Epiphany 2, The Old Testament Readings: Weekly Comments on the Revised Common Lectionary,, Theological Hall of the Uniting Church, Melbourne, Australia.
    • "Even though we know his family is condemned, and Eli himself seems powerless to do anything, he is wise enough in the faith to direct the young Samuel to the point where he can ?hear? what Yahweh has to say to him."
  • Lectionary Commentary, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Herbert R. Marbury, The African American Lectionary, 2009.
    • "When we empower children by ensuring that they have healthcare and housing, quality education and safe environments, then they will hear a word from the Lord and heal our land!"
  • "Not about Me," study guide, Robert B. Kruschwitz, (other resources at) "Prayer," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University, 2009. Focus article: "Not about Me," Merold Westphal.
  • "The Call of Samuel," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com: A Lectionary Resource for Catholics.
    • "Have I experienced God in the early morning? Or, have I experienced my own weakness? Can I see my self as Eli or as Samuel? Or as both?"
  • "For Every Season," Cantor Naomi Hirsch, Urim v'Tumim, Yale University.
    • "As we begin a new year, how can we be fully present to the roll calls we may hear? What does it mean to say, "Hineni, I am here?" How shall we enter a new place and make the minhag ha-makom, the local customs, our own?"
  • "The Rise of Samuel and the Fall of Eli and Sons (1 Samuel 3:1 - 4:22)," by Robert Deffinbaugh at the Biblical Studies Foundation.
    • "Men were not listening to God in those days, and God did not speak very often. This ?silence? is often a form of divine judgment, and if not broken, would prove to be Israel?s undoing (see 1 Samuel 28; Psalm 74:9; Isaiah 29:9-14; Micah 3:6-7; also Proverbs 29:18). We are told that prophecy was rare, so that we see the calling of Samuel as an end to God?s silence (see 1 Samuel 3:19-21)."
  • Eli and his Two Sons of Belial, from And Adam Knew Eve: A Dictionary of Sex in the Bible by Ronald L. Ecker.
• Recommended articles from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are linked below. ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices. Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
  • Firth, David G., "'Play it again, Sam': The Poetics of Narrative Repetition in 1 Samuel 1-7," Tyndale Bulletin, 2005.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Harvey, John E., "Tendenz and Textual Criticism in 1 Samuel 2-10," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2001.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Johnson, Susan B.W., "A Word and a Calling," The Christian Century, 1997.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Leuchter, Mark, "'Now There Was a [Certain] Man': compositional Chronology in Judges - 1 Samuel," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2007.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Lewis, Peter E., "Is There a Parallel between 1 Samuel 3 and the Sixth Chapter of the Egyptian Book of the Dead?" Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2007.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Prince, Robert, "Top Ten Preaching Texts from 1 Samuel," Review and Expositor, 2002.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Roth, Diane M., "Living by the Word," The Christian Century, 2015.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Ruffin, Michael L., "First Samuel 3:1-20," Interpretation, 1997.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Spina, Frank Anthony, "Eli's Seat: The Transition from Priest to Prophet in 1 Samuel 1-4," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1994.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Wardlaw, Theodore J., "News from Our Forebears: The Calling Voice," Journal for Preachers, 2003.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
• Sermons:
  • The Voice, David E. Leininger, SermonStudio.
  • "My God and Your God," Jason Byassee, Faith and Leadership, 2010.
  • "Great, Good Work," Stephen B. Chapman, 1 Samuel 3:1-21, Faith & Leadership, Duke Divinity, 2010.
  • "Avoiding Absurd Living," Dr. Mickey Anders, Lectionary.org.
  • "Having Trouble Sleeping through the Night?" the Rev. Dr. William J. Carl, Day 1, 2008.
  • "Samuel," from an Old Testament Sermon Series, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington - Sermons from Seattle.
  • "Call Answerers," the Rev. Dr. George Mason, Day 1, 2005.
  • "Not Without a Witness," the Rev. Irvin Moxley, Day 1, 1997.
• With Children:
  • Worshiping with Children, Epiphany 2B, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2012.
  • "God Calls Samuel by His Name," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
  • "Samuel Is Called," children's study, puzzles, coloring sheet, etc. Higher Praise Christian Center.
  • "The Call of Samuel," online computer java-based coloring pages from Grace Baptist Church of Feeding Hill.
  • 1 Samuel 3:9, memory verse activity, MSSS Crafts and Resources for Bible Stories.
• Drama:
  • "The Call of Samuel,"Reader's Theater, Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, 2012.
• Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
  • Clip Art: Calling of Samuel, Julius Schnoor von Carolsfeld woodcuts, World Mission Collection, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.
• Hymns and Music:
  • Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
  • Hymns with Scripture Allusions: 1 Samuel 3:1, 10. The Cyber Hymnal.
  • Hymn Selections, The Lutheran Hymnal, Lutheran Worship.
• Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
• Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
• Study Links and Resources for the Book of 1 Samuel

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