Chapter
Verse

1 Samuel 2:27

ESV And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh?
NIV Now a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal myself to your ancestor’s family when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh?
NASB Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, 'This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house?
CSB A man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Didn’t I reveal myself to your forefather’s family when they were in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh’s palace?
NLT One day a man of God came to Eli and gave him this message from the Lord: 'I revealed myself to your ancestors when they were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt.
KJV And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?
NKJV Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house?

What does 1 Samuel 2:27 mean?

The phrase "man of God" nearly always means "prophet" when seen in the Old Testament. The one described in this section is mysterious; his name is never given. The role of any prophet was clearly understood, however. A prophet's job was to report exactly what God told him, and to exactly those God to whom he was sent. In this case, the Lord gave this unknown prophet a specific message for Eli, the priest of Israel.

The man of God makes it abundantly clear that he is not paraphrasing the Lord. He is not watering down or overstating God's message to Eli. He is quoting exactly what the Lord says. Eli is meant to understand these words come directly to him from the Lord God of Israel.

The Lord begins with a question to which Eli is meant to respond "yes." This mentions the exodus from Egypt, accomplished by God's power (Exodus 14:30–31) under the leadership of Moses. The Lord's message here also points to Moses' brother, Aaron, who became the first high priest over Israel (Exodus 28:41; 29:44). Eli was directly descended from Aaron. Eli would have known very well that the Lord showed Himself to Moses and Aaron while all of Israel was in slavery in Egypt.
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