Some questions from Samuel I

[menageriekeeper]

While doing some reading today, I came across this passage:

1Sa 2:33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
1Sa 2:34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.


It seems as if God place a generational curse on Eli's decendants to the effect that all the males would die young. Are we ever given any record that God enforced this curse? Other than the fact that both his sons died on the same day, I can't seem to remember any other mention of this curse.

Second question comes from this verse:

1Sa 3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.


What does it mean by "open vision"?

 

[Amy.G]

While doing some reading today, I came across this passage:

1Sa 2:33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
1Sa 2:34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.


It seems as if God place a generational curse on Eli's decendants to the effect that all the males would die young. Are we ever given any record that God enforced this curse? Other than the fact that both his sons died on the same day, I can't seem to remember any other mention of this curse.

The fact that God said it is the enforcement.
But the surety of the curse is stated in verse 34:

1 Samuel 2:34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.

Second question comes from this verse:

1Sa 3:1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.


What does it mean by "open vision"?

It means that revelations from God were very rare in those days because of the unfaithfulness of Israel.

 

[menageriekeeper]

The fact that God said it is the enforcement.
But the surety of the curse is stated in verse 34:

1 Samuel 2:34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.







It means that revelations from God were very rare in those days because of the unfaithfulness of Israel.

I don't know Amy. If I have my time line correct, this all occured before the Jews declared they needed a king. Long before Saul or David were thought of. Disobedience doesn't seem to be an issue yet. So why no vision and more specifically, why are the visions described as "open" as opposed to just a vision, or a propehcy or an oracle.

As for the first, (yeah I know I'm going backward), I know that God took the lives of Eli's sons just a chapter or so later. But I wondered if there was record after that of the curse being fullfilled as this is one of the few times I've seen a prophecy just left hanging open like this one seems to be.

 

[kyredneck]

.... Are we ever given any record that God enforced this curse?

None that I know of or can find.

What does it mean by "open vision"?[/COLOR]

I defer to JFB:

the word of the Lord was precious in those days--It was very rarely known to the Israelites; and in point of fact only two prophets are mentioned as having appeared during the whole administration of the judges (Judges 4:4, 6:8).
there was no open vision--no publicly recognized prophet whom the people could consult, and from whom they might learn the will of God. There must have been certain indubitable evidences by which a communication from heaven could be distinguished. Eli knew them, for he may have received them, though not so frequently as is implied in the idea of an "open vision."

 

[menageriekeeper]

I defer to JFB:

Who? (and I know I'm just not making the connection, but I can't come up with what you mean)

 

[kyredneck]

Who? (and I know I'm just not making the connection, but I can't come up with what you mean)

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary

http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/jfb/

 

[menageriekeeper]

Ah, cool site. I actually had not heard of them, so I'm not as dumb as I thought today! I'll have to do a little research.

 

[kyredneck]

There ain't nothin dumb about you.

 

[Deacon]

In fact Samuel cursed the house twice (the second time is 1 Samuel 3:11–14).

The genealogy is as follows.

Eli >> fathered sons Hophni (1 Sam 1:3, 2:34, 4:4, 11, 17) and Phinehas (both died young and unexpectedly).

Phinehas had already fathered Ichabod (1 Sam 4:21, 14:3) and Ahitub (1 Sam 14:3, 22:9, 11–12, 20)

Actub (2 Sam 8:17, 1 Chron 6:11–12, 52, 18:16, Ezra 7:2)>>Zadok (2 Sam 8:17, 15:24–25, 27, 29, 35–36, 17:15)>>Ahimaaz (2 Sam 15:27, 36, 17:17, 20, 18:19, 22–23)>> Azariah (1 Chron 6:9)>> Johanan (1 Chron 6:9–10).

Rob

 

[drfuss]

While doing some reading today, I came across this passage:

1Sa 2:33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age.
1Sa 2:34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them.


It seems as if God place a generational curse on Eli's decendants to the effect that all the males would die young. Are we ever given any record that God enforced this curse? Other than the fact that both his sons died on the same day, I can't seem to remember any other mention of this curse.

I don't know about dying young, but his decendents were removed from the priesthood as indicated below.

I Kings 2:26,27 - 26 And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the LORD God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. 27 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.