What does 1 Samuel 3:20 mean?

Samuel became known through the land of Israel as a prophet of the Lord. The phrase "from Dan to Beersheba" had come to mean from border to border, with the traditional territory of Dan in the north and the town of Beersheba in the south. Similarly, modern phrases might say someone is known "from London to the Mediterranean Sea," to mean throughout all of Europe.

This trust wasn't merely about accurate predictions. The citizens of Israel understood that he had been established as a prophet by the Lord Himself. Samuel had been chosen as a boy to become God's official prophet to Israel. His predictions were not trivial; they were clearly statements from the Lord. The Hebrew word for prophet, nābî', can mean "spokesman." In truth, God's prophets were men and women called to speak to others on His behalf, including Abraham, Moses, Elisha, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and many more.