What Does 1 Samuel 3:4 Mean in the King James?
That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The Hebrew reply means “Behold me”, the answer is a person made present, not a location reported.
THE MEANING
A call reaches you before its full meaning is clear, and “Here am I” offers presence before explanation. The reply places the speaker fully in view.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie that a call must be understood before it can be answered dissolves here: the first reply is simply, “Here am I.”
THE ROOT
וַיִּקְרָא
wayyiqra
GROWS FROM
קרא
qara
To call out, summon, or proclaim.
“called” in this verse is wayyiqra. The root carries both calling and proclamation; one of its branches, miqra, names a gathering summoned into presence. Here, the call addresses Samuel, and his reply, hinneni (הִנֵּנִי, hinneni; “Behold me; I am here”), makes that presence visible.
ALSO GROWS
qara: To call, summon, or proclaim.
קָרָא
The LORD’s call brings Samuel into direct address.
miqra: A convocation or public reading.
מִקְרָא
This branch shows how calling can gather people into presence.
שְׁמוּאֵל
Shemu'el
GROWS FROM
שמע
shama
To hear, listen, or heed.
Samuel’s name is commonly glossed “heard by God,” though its derivation is debated. That hearing resonance meets the call-and-response here: a voice is heard, and presence answers.
ALSO GROWS
shama: To hear, listen, or heed.
שָׁמַע
Hearing in this scene is relational: the call is received and met with a response.
shemu'ah: A report, news, or something heard.
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch names what arrives through hearing, keeping the voice itself at the center of the scene.
THE PATTERN
A call becomes an encounter when the one called answers by making themselves present.
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.THE THREAD
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.Genesis 22:1 echoes Samuel’s reply with hinneni (הִנֵּנִי, hinneni; “Behold, I am here”). The shared expression makes both answers a declaration of presence before the summons is fully understood.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us