Verse 9:[1] Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
[If then He call thee, אִם־יִקְרָ֣א אֵלֶ֔יךָ] If he call thee (Pagnine), or to thee (Montanus). Understanding, the one that previously called thee (Vatablus).
[Thy servant heareth] That is to say, I am paying attention, ready to obey: speak what thou wilt (Vatablus). He heareth, that is, he is ready to hear. It is a Metonomy of the end, in the place of the intended effect (Piscator).
Thy servant heareth, that is, I am ready to hear what thou speakest, and to do what thou requirest.
[In his place]That is, in the anterior part of the court of the Levities, which was not that of which mention was made in the law, but was an annex to the Tabernacle (Vatablus).
[1] Hebrew: וַיֹּ֙אמֶר עֵלִ֣י לִשְׁמוּאֵל֮ לֵ֣ךְ שְׁכָב֒ וְהָיָה֙ אִם־יִקְרָ֣א אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙ דַּבֵּ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֥י שֹׁמֵ֖עַ עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ שְׁמוּאֵ֔ל וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב בִּמְקוֹמֽוֹ׃
William Jay's Morning Exercises: '"Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth."—1 Samuel 3:9
This shows a temper of mind which we should feel on every occasion. But what does He say to us now we are leaving home for a season, and shall in a peculiar sense be for a while strangers and pilgrims on earth?
He requires us in this excursion to look to our motives. Surely sin is out of the question. What a dreadful thing would it be to go from home to get opportunities to commit iniquity without danger of observation and discovery. To such it might well be said, This journey shall not be for thine honor. But the object is lawful if it be business;…
Matthew Henry: 'At length Samuel was put into a posture to receive a message from God, not to be lodged with himself and go no further, but, that he might be a complete prophet, to be published and made an open vision.... Eli, perceiving that it was the voice of God that Samuel heard, gave him instructions what to say, 1 Samuel 3:9. This was honestly done, that though it was a disgrace to him for God's call to pass him by, and be directed to Samuel, yet he put him in the way how to entertain it. Had he been envious of this honour done to Samuel, he would have done what he could to deprive him of it…