The passage should be rendered thus: "And it came to pass at that time that Eli was sleeping in his place; and his eyes had begun to grow dim; he could not see. And the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was; and the Lord called Samuel, etc." Eli's old age and dimness of sight is probably mentioned as the reason why Samuel thought Eli had called him. Being a blind and feeble old man, he was likely to do so if he wanted anything, either for himself, or for the service of the temple.

Eli was laid down in his place - It is very likely that as the ark was a long time at Shiloh, they had built near to it certain apartments for the high priest and others more immediately employed about the tabernacle. In one of these, near to that of Eli, perhaps under the same roof, Samuel lay when he was called by the Lord.

And it came to pass at that time,.... When the word of the Lord was scarce and precious, and there was no open vision; or, as Ben Gersom, the same day the man of God came to Eli at night, the following affair happened:

when Eli was laid down in his place; on his bed to sleep, in one of the chambers or apartments of the tabernacle; for as there were such in the temple for the priests, so in that:

and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; to help himself to anything he might want when in bed; which seems to be the reason Samuel lay near him, and why, when he heard his voice, he immediately ran to him, supposing he needed his assistance. Some, as Kimchi and others, understand this not of the eyes of his body, but of his mind; and that the Holy Spirit, as a spirit of prophecy, was departing from him, because of his connivance at the sins of his sons; and so the following prophecy came not to him, but to Samuel.

The word of the Lord was then issued for the first time to Samuel. 1 Samuel 3:2-4 form one period. The clause, "it came to pass at that time" (1 Samuel 3:2), is continued in 1 Samuel 3:4, "that the Lord called," etc. The intervening clauses from ועלי to אלהים ארון are circumstantial clauses, intended to throw light upon the situation. The clause, "Eli was laid down in his place," etc., may be connected logically with "at that time" by the insertion of "when" (as in the English version: Tr.). The dimness of Eli's eyes is mentioned, to explain Samuel's behaviour, as afterwards described. Under these circumstances, for example, when Samuel heard his own name called out in sleep, he might easily suppose that Eli was calling him to render some assistance. The "lamp of God" is the light of the candlestick in the tabernacle, the seven lamps of which were put up and lighted every evening, and burned through the night till all the oil was consumed (see Exodus 30:8; Leviticus 24:2; 2 Chronicles 13:11, and the explanation given at Exodus 27:21). The statement that this light was not yet extinguished, is equivalent to "before the morning dawn." "And Samuel was lying (sleeping) in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God was." היכל does not mean the holy place, as distinguished from the "most holy," as in 1 Kings 6:5; 1 Kings 7:50,

(Note: The Masoretes have taken היכל in this sense, and therefore have placed the Athnach under שׁכב rednu, to separate שׁכב וּשׁמוּאל from יי בּהיכל, and thus to guard against the conclusion, which might be drawn from this view of היכל that Samuel slept in the holy place.)

but the whole tabernacle, the tent with its court, as the palace of the God-king, as in 1 Samuel 1:9; Psalm 11:4. Samuel neither slept in the holy place by the side of the candlestick and table of shew-bread, nor in the most holy place in front of the ark of the covenant, but in the court, where cells were built for the priests and Levites to live in when serving at the sanctuary (see at 1 Samuel 3:15). "The ark of God, i.e., the ark of the covenant, is mentioned as the throne of the divine presence, from which the call to Samuel proceeded.

And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his {c} place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;

(c) In the court next to the tabernacle.

3:2 His place - In the court of the tabernacle.

3:1-10 The call which Divine grace designs shall be made effectual; will be repeated till it is so, till we come to the call. Eli, perceiving that it was the voice of God that Samuel heard, instructed him what to say. Though it was a disgrace to Eli, for God's call to be directed to Samuel, yet he told him how to meet it. Thus the elder should do their utmost to assist and improve the younger that are rising up. Let us never fail to teach those who are coming after us, even such as will soon be preferred before us, Joh 1:30. Good words should be put into children's mouths betimes, by which they may be prepared to learn Divine things, and be trained up to regard them.