A Close Reading of 1 Samuel 3:1-9
A close reading and reflection on the Holy One calling to Samuel.
This assignment meant a lot to me, and I wanted to share it with you all.
I will reflect and converse with 1 Samuel 3:1-9 using the Jewish Publication Society (1985) Tanakh. In this portion of the text, young Samuel hears the voice of Indwelling Presence, and listens to the Voice, mistaking it multiple times for his teacher, Eli. I have chosen the name Indwelling Presence, inspired by the text by a poem titled for embodied knowing[1] that fits with the guide to use female language for the Holy One in the reading. The poem was open on my desk as I was doing the reading, and alongside the introduction of Samuel’s relationship with Presence even before he knew Her, I was struck by the ways it is possible to hear the voice of Indwelling before we recognize Her by name, and how precious it can be when we have others who can help us recognize when She is speaking.
There is profound Knowing within Samuel. One that Samuel does not even recognize. He is in service for the Indwelling Presence. The first two verses set up interesting imagery – stating that words from Presence are in rare form. Prophetic conversation is in short supply. And then, in verse two, the author states that Eli, Samuel’s teacher, was advanced in age and could not see well. What other sense might the author be asking the reader to rely on in this passage? Is there a form of trust being established through the text between author and reader, implying that what is about to come to pass in the story requires a much deeper understanding than simply seeing? Verse three continues the lack of literal sight, the lamp had not yet gone out, but it is still burning, if only just. It is interesting that the Indwelling Presence speaks but has no dialogue within the passage. This is important, there is power in speaking through other mediums. A picture is worth a thousand words, but in this, there is only the body and an unknown voice. Each time there is a calling, Samuel responds, assuming it is Eli. Eli says repeatedly, no not I! Who could the voice be that speaks to Eli? I wonder what Eli was thinking. Was the Indwelling Presence felt? Did she sit somewhere in his stomach? Was She a whisper in the back of his mind, or a shout in one of his ears? Each time he is called, Samuel responds without wavering.
Finally, when Eli realizes who is speaking to Samuel, he puts no prescription on the boy. He doesn’t set him aside for anything special. He doesn’t elevate or even say much at all, other than an instruction to return to his bed, and to rise once more without pause, and say ‘Speak, Indwelling Presence, for Your servant is listening.” I wonder what it must be like to be so encouraged into Divine annunciation. It is no small thing to listen and respond. What good it might do for us to say to one another who feels the Indwelling Presence, ‘Go lie down. When Presence calls, respond with; I’m listening.
This kind of invitation to rest can bring deep hope often in spaces seeking to create community. Prophetic imagination and conversation are necessary to the life of a faith community – both when we listen and respond like Samuel, and when we give breathing room for Being, like Eli. What might become of us if we don’t seek to exploit the Indwelling of those around us, but rather live together with the instruction of ‘Go lie down’. There is deep resistance to division in simply resting. What kind of Presence might ask of us to rest before She tugs us into annunciation? What might it look like for church spaces to not glorify ‘serving’ but instead make room for rest? I wonder what transformation we might see – even in places like Brite Divinity School. What community might we find on the other side of rigid doctrines and absolute truths, where we listen to the calling of the Indwelling through our bodies, the ones we say she has so lovingly crafted?
[1]Evans, Shannon K., Feminist Prayers for My Daughter: Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Life, 1st ed (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2023).