Useful Bible Studies > 1 Samuel Commentary > chapter 2
In Exodus 29:9, God said that Aaron’s family would always be Israel’s priests. So, Israel’s chief priest must be from Aaron’s family (Exodus 29:29-30)
When Aaron died, his son Eleazar became chief priest (Numbers 20:23-29). After Eleazar, his son, Phinehas, became chief priest; God had made special promises to him (Numbers 25:10-13).
The Bible does not explain how Eli became Israel’s chief priest. He was from the family of Aaron, but he did not belong to the families of Eleazar or Phinehas. Instead, he came from the family of Ithamar, Eleazar’s brother.
However, it is clear that God accepted Eli as the proper chief priest. If Eli’s family had served God properly, then Israel’s chief priest would always be from Eli’s family. But now, God declared that he would not permit that to happen. God does not give honour to people who hate him. The sons of Eli had dealt with God’s holy things in a shameful manner.
God was not removing from Eli’s future family their right to act as priests (2:36). However, the chief priest would not still come from that family. (The chief priest would still be from Aaron’s family, as God promised to Aaron.)
These things did not happen immediately. Eli’s two sons died before Eli, so neither of them became chief priest. During the rule of King Saul (14:3; 22:11) and the rule of King David (1 Chronicles 24:3), Eli’s family still served as chief priests. However, Abiathar (who was from Eli’s family) opposed King Solomon. So, Solomon would not allow Abiathar to act as chief priest (1 Kings 2:27). Instead, Zadok (who came from the family of Eleazar) served alone as chief priest. After that, Israel’s chief priests no longer came from Eli’s family.
Next part: God removes the authority from wicked people (1 Samuel 2:31-33)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.