1 Samuel 2:31

_BEHOLD, THE DAYS COME, THAT I WILL CUT OFF THINE ARM, AND THE ARM OF THY FATHER'S HOUSE, THAT THERE SHALL NOT BE AN OLD MAN IN THINE HOUSE._ Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, х_ ZªROA`_ (H2220), the arm; also strength, power; and hence, the phrase, 'to cut off,' or 'break' ones arm, is equivalent to destroy his power (cf. Job 22:9; Job 38:15; Psalms 10:15; Psalms 37:17)]. The "arm" of Eli was either his priestly pre-eminence or his children, to whom the tenor of the subsequent context evidently points (cf....

27-36 Those who allow their children in any evil way, and do not use their authority to restrain and punish them, in effect honour them more than God. Let Eli's example excite parents earnestly to strive against the beginnings of wickedness, and to train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In the midst of the sentence against the house of Eli, mercy is promised to Israel. God's work shall never fall to the ground for want of hands to carry it on. Christ is that merciful and faithful High Priest, whom God raised up when the Levitical priesthood was thrown off, who in all things did his Father's mind, and for whom God will build a sure house, build it on a rock, so that hell cannot prevail against it....

Verse 1 Samuel 2:31. _I WILL CUT OFF THINE ARM_] I will destroy the strength, power, and influence of thy family....

I WILL CUT OFF THINE ARM ... - A strong phrase for breaking down the strength and power, of which the arm is the instrument in man (compare Zechariah 11:17). See 1 Samuel 2:33....

EXPOSITION THE DIVINE JUDGMENT UPON ELI AND HIS HOUSE (1 Samuel 2:27-9). 1 SAMUEL 2:27 THERE CAME A MAN OF GOD. The title _man of God_ is the usual appellation of a prophet in the books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings, and as such is applied by Manoah to the angel who appeared to him (Judges 13:6, Judges 13:8). Though the recorded interpositions of the Deity in those times were generally by angels, still the readiness with which Manoah gave his

BEHOLD, THE DAYS COME,.... Or, are coming g; and will quickly come, in a very little time the things, after threatened, began to take place, even in the days of Eli's sons, and the whole was accomplished in about eighty years after: THAT I WILL CUT OFF THINE ARM, AND THE ARM OF THY FATHER'S HOUSE: that is, the strength of him and them, as the Targum, the strength of a man for doing business lying in his arm; meaning by it not long life, as Kimchi, who concludes this sense from what follows; but rather power and authority, or the exercise of the office of high priest, which gave him and his family great esteem and power; or it may be best of all, his children, which are the strength of a man, and the support of his family, see Genesis 49:3 THAT THERE SHALL NOT BE AN OLD MAN IN THINE HOUSE; as there were none when he died, and his two sons, the same day; a

3. THE FAILURE OF ELI AND HIS SONS CHAPTER 2:12-36 _ 1. The wicked sons of Eli (1 Samuel 2:12)_ 2. Samuel before Jehovah and Hannah blessed (1 Samuel 2:18) 3. The empty warning of Eli (1 Samuel 2:22) 4. Judgment announced (1 Samuel 2:27) The corruption of the sons of aged Eli is next exposed. They were sons of Belial; they knew not Jehovah, and yet they ministered in the outward things of the sanctuary. It could result only in the worst corruption. They handled holy things and were wicked in heart and life. It has been well said “a holiness that is but external is the worst unholines

A PROPHET FORETELLS THE DEATH OF ELI'S SONS, AND THE EXPULSION OF HIS FAMILY FROM THE PRIESTHOOD. Composed by the Deuteronomic Editor (see above, p. 273), to connect the misconduct of the sons of Eli with the massacre of his house at Nob and deposition of his descendant, Abiathar, from the priesthood in favour of the house of Zadok (1 Kings 2:26 f.); and perhaps also with the unhappy condition of the priests of the high places, after these were suppressed (2 Kings 23:8 f.), though there is no indication that the priests of the high-places as a class were reckoned descendants of Eli. 1 SAMUEL 2:27. MAN OF GOD: see Judges 13:6. D

BEHOLD. Figure of speech _Asterismos._ App-6. ARM. seed....

The doom of Eli's house 27. _a man of God_ i.e. a prophet commissioned by God. Even in the general decay of religion (1 Samuel 3:1) God still had his messengers. The title "man of God" is applied to Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, and others. It is specially frequent in the Books of Kings. _Did I plainly appear_ Better, _Did I indeed reveal myself_. See Exodus 4:14 ff., Exodus 4:27; Exodus 12:1; Exodus 12:43 for revelations made to Aaron. _in Pharaoh's house_ IN BONDAGE TO PHARAOH'S HOUSE....