Hebrew word · H5941

עֵלִי

'eli

Eli

Appears 33 times in 30 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.1.3;

father of: Hophni (H2652), Phinehas (H6372H)

§ Eli = "ascension"

descendant of Aaron through Ithamar and high priest and judge of Israel when Samuel entered service as a child

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 32
  1. 1 Samuel 1:3 עֵלִ֗י Eli

    Year after year Elkanah would go up from his city to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Hosts at Shiloh, where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the LORD.

    Here: Eli, the aged chief priest at Shiloh. He is named here only as the sons' father before he appears in person in verse 9.

  2. 1 Samuel 1:9 וְעֵלִ֣י and Eli

    So after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a chair by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.

  3. 1 Samuel 1:12 וְעֵלִ֖י and Eli

    As Hannah kept on praying before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth.

  4. 1 Samuel 1:13 עֵלִ֖י Eli

    Hannah was praying in her heart, and though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk

    Here: The priest in charge of the sanctuary at Shiloh. He is seated by the doorpost of the temple (v. 9), the official observer of who comes and how they behave.

  5. 1 Samuel 1:14 עֵלִ֔י Eli

    and said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine!”

  6. 1 Samuel 1:17 עֵלִ֛י Eli

    “Go in peace,” Eli replied, “and may the God of Israel grant the petition you have asked of Him.”

    Here: The old priest of the Shiloh sanctuary. A moment ago he scolded Hannah. Now, speaking as a priest, he blesses her.

  7. 1 Samuel 1:25 עֵלִֽי׃ Eli

    And when they had slaughtered the bull, they brought the boy to Eli.

  8. 1 Samuel 2:11 עֵלִ֥י Eli

    Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but the boy began ministering to the LORD before Eli the priest.

  9. 1 Samuel 2:12 עֵלִ֖י Eli

    Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD

    Here: The aged high priest at Shiloh. Calling them 'sons of Eli' points to their family line and inherited priesthood. That inheritance is exactly what the next phrase undercuts.

  10. 1 Samuel 2:20 עֵלִ֜י Eli

    And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the LORD.” Then they would go home.

  11. 1 Samuel 2:22 וְעֵלִ֖י and Eli

    Now Eli was very old, and he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

  12. 1 Samuel 2:27 עֵלִ֑י Eli

    Then a man of God came to Eli and told him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to your father’s house when they were in Egypt under Pharaoh’s house?

  13. 1 Samuel 3:1 עֵלִ֑י Eli

    And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare, and visions were scarce.

    Here: The aging priest of Shiloh. A man of God has just told him that his family's priesthood will be judged (2:27–36).

  14. 1 Samuel 3:2 וְעֵלִ֖י and Eli

    And at that time Eli, whose eyesight had grown so dim that he could not see, was lying in his room.

  15. 1 Samuel 3:5 עֵלִ֗י Eli

    He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

  16. 1 Samuel 3:6 עֵלִ֔י Eli

    Once again the LORD called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “My son, I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.”

    Here: The old priest of Shiloh, Samuel's guardian and master. He is the only voice Samuel has learned to expect at night.

  17. 1 Samuel 3:8 עֵלִ֔י עֵלִ֔י Eli

    Once again, for the third time, the LORD called to Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy.

  18. 1 Samuel 3:9 עֵלִ֣י Eli

    “Go and lie down,” he said to Samuel, “and if He calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

  19. 1 Samuel 3:12 עֵלִ֔י Eli

    On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his house, from beginning to end.

  20. 1 Samuel 3:14 עֵלִ֑י עֵלִ֛י Eli

    Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, ‘The iniquity of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”

  21. 1 Samuel 3:15 עֵלִֽי׃ Eli

    Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,

  22. 1 Samuel 3:16 עֵלִי֙ Eli

    but Eli called to him and said, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” answered Samuel.

  23. 1 Samuel 4:4 עֵלִ֗י Eli

    So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD of Hosts, who sits enthroned between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

    Here: The aged priest and judge at Shiloh (1:9; 4:18). He stays behind at Shiloh, and his sons go with the ark.

  24. 1 Samuel 4:11 עֵלִי֙ Eli

    The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

  25. 1 Samuel 4:13 עֵ֠לִי Eli

    When he arrived, there was Eli, sitting on his chair beside the road and watching, because his heart trembled for the ark of God. When the man entered the city to give a report, the whole city cried out.

  26. 1 Samuel 4:14 עֵלִי֙ לְעֵלִֽי׃ Eli, to Eli

    Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion?” So the man hurried over and reported to Eli.

  27. 1 Samuel 4:15 וְעֵלִ֕י and Eli

    Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his gaze was fixed because he could not see.

  28. 1 Samuel 4:16 עֵלִ֗י Eli

    “I have just come from the battle,” the man said to Eli. “I fled from there today.” “What happened, my son?” Eli asked.

  29. 1 Samuel 14:3 עֵלִ֜י Eli

    including Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was the son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli the priest of the LORD in Shiloh. But the troops did not know that Jonathan had left.

1 Kings · 1
  1. 1 Kings 2:27 עֵלִ֖י Eli

    So Solomon banished Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD and thus fulfilled the word that the LORD had spoken at Shiloh against the house of Eli.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.