And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to wax dim, so that he could not see),
And at that time, when Eli was resting in his place, (now his eyes were becoming clouded so that he was not able to see,)
And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to grow dim, that he could not see;
It happened at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see),
And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, (now his eyes had begun to wax dim, that he could not see,)
Eli was laid down in his place - It is very likely that as the ark was a long time at Shiloh, they had built near to it certain apartments for the high priest and others more immediately employed about the tabernacle. In one of these, near to that of Eli, perhaps under the same roof, Samuel lay when he was called by the Lord.
The passage should be rendered thus: "And it came to pass at that time that Eli was sleeping in his place; and his eyes had begun to grow dim; he could not see. And the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was; and the Lord called Samuel, etc." Eli's old age and dimness of sight is probably mentioned as the reason why Samuel thought Eli had called him. Being a blind and feeble old man, he was likely to do so if he wanted anything, either for himself, or for the service of the temple.
3:2 His place - In the court of the tabernacle.