That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

1 SAMUEL 3:4KJV
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1 Samuel 3:4 (KJV)

What does 1 Samuel 3:4 mean?

1 Samuel 3:4 describes the moment when the LORD calls Samuel, and Samuel responds that he is ready to hear. The reader is told who called, even though Samuel’s response does not show that he recognizes the speaker.

“Here am I” is a response to being called by name. Samuel is lying down near the ark of God, a sacred chest kept at the place of worship, when he hears the call. His words begin an exchange whose meaning becomes clear as the passage continues.

The Hebrew behind 1 Samuel 3:4

  • “LORD” — יְהוָה (YHWH): This is the personal name of Israel’s God, often shown as “LORD” in the KJV. The name tells the reader who is calling before Samuel understands who the speaker is.
  • “called” — קָרָא (qara): This word can mean to call out or summon someone. Here the call is directed to Samuel personally, not announced to a crowd.

Why 1 Samuel 3:4 matters

  • Samuel’s first understanding of the call differs from what the reader knows. The verse names the LORD as the caller, but in verse 5 Samuel runs to Eli, the priest, thinking Eli called him.
  • Samuel’s reply becomes part of a repeated exchange. The same words, “Here am I,” appear again as Samuel responds to later calls, before Eli realizes that the LORD is calling him.

Where else these words appear

“Samuel” Hebrew H8050 · used in 120 verses

  • Numbers 34:20 And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
  • 1 Samuel 9:17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.
  • 1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.