Eli

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(going up). A descendant of Aaron (Lev. 10:12¹²And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the altar: for it is most holy: (Leviticus 10:12)). First of a line of high priests (1 Sam. 1:9-17; 2:22-36; 3:1-14⁹So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. ¹¹And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. ¹²And it came to pass, as she continued praying before the Lord, that Eli marked her mouth. ¹³Now Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought she had been drunken. ¹⁴And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee. ¹⁵And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto. ¹⁷Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. (1 Samuel 1:9‑17)
²²Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. ²³And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. ²⁴Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord's people to transgress. ²⁵If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them. ²⁶And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the Lord, and also with men. ²⁷And 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? ²⁸And did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? ²⁹Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? ³⁰Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. ³¹Behold, 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. ³²And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. ³³And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. ³⁴And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. ³⁵And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. ³⁶And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices, that I may eat a piece of bread. (1 Samuel 2:22‑36)
¹And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. ²And 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; ³And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; ⁴That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. ⁵And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. ⁶And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him. ⁸And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. ⁹Therefore 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. ¹⁰And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. ¹¹And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. ¹²In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. ¹³For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. ¹⁴And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever. (1 Samuel 3:1‑14)); and Judge of Israel for 40 years (1 Sam. 4:14-18¹⁴And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult? And the man came in hastily, and told Eli. ¹⁵Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see. ¹⁶And the man said unto Eli, I am he that came out of the army, and I fled to day out of the army. And he said, What is there done, my son? ¹⁷And the messenger answered and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken. ¹⁸And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: for he was an old man, and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years. (1 Samuel 4:14‑18)). Line extinguished (1 Kings 2:26-27²⁶And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord God before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. ²⁷So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord; that he might fulfil the word of the Lord, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. (1 Kings 2:26‑27)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

Descendant of Ithamar, and high priest in Israel. It is not recorded whom he succeeded; the book of First Samuel opens with Eli as priest. Samuel was lent to the Lord by his pious mother, and he ministered unto the Lord before Eli. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were “sons of Belial:” they assisted their father, but interfered with the due offering of the sacrifices, and sinned greatly before the people. Eli spoke to his sons of their evil doings, but he did not with energy prevent the dishonor to the Lord. It should be remembered that the responsibility of maintaining Israel, the people of the Lord, before Him, rested on the priestly house, hence the enormity of the young men’s sin, and the solemnity of Eli’s negligent conduct. A man of God came and told Eli plainly that he honored his sons before the Lord, and detailed some judgments that should befall his house, and that his two sons should be slain in one day.

As Eli allowed his sons to continue in their evil ways, God sent a message to him by Samuel, reminding him of the judgments of which the man of God had warned him, and repeating that it was because “his sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not.” Alas, poor Eli merely said, “It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth Him good.” A pious remark, but which did not correct the evil. This was Eli’s great failing, though he otherwise apparently cared for God’s honor. He trembled when the ark of God was carried to the war, which ended so disastrously. His two sons were killed and the ark was taken by the Philistines, and “Ichabod”—“the glory is departed”—marked the state of Israel through Eli’s sin. When Eli heard these sad tidings he fell backward, and his neck brake. He had judged Israel forty years and was 98 years old (1 Sam. 1-4). Abiathar his descendant was thrust from the priesthood by Solomon that the word of the Lord might be fulfilled which He spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh (1 Kings 2:27²⁷So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the Lord; that he might fulfil the word of the Lord, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. (1 Kings 2:27)).

Jackson’s Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names:

my God :