Monday, December 9, 2019

1 Samuel 2:30: Biblical Evidence for the Contingent Nature of Prophecy and Foreknowledge


A very potent text showing the contingent nature of prophecy (and God's foreknowledge [I am an Open Theist]) is that of 1 Sam 2:30. As background, God promised the household of Eli, himself a righteous man, an everlasting priesthood to his descendants. Notwithstanding, this was revoked into something much more conditional as a result of Eli's own sons who were sinful. To give greater context, here are vv. 27-36:

A man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus said the Lord: Lo, I revealed Myself to your father's house in Egypt when they were subject to the House of Pharaoh, and I chose them from among all the tribes of Israel to be My priests -- to ascend My altar, to burn incense, and to carry an ephod before Me -- and I assigned to your father's house all offerings by fire of the Israelites. Why, then, do you maliciously trample upon the sacrifices and offerings that I have commanded? You have honored your sons more than Me, feeding on the first portions of every offering of My people Israel. Assuredly -- declares the Lord, the God of Israel -- I intended for you and your father's house to remain in My service forever. But now -- declares the Lord -- far be it from Me! For I honor those who honor Me, but those who spurn Me shall be dishonored. A time is coming when I will break your power and that of your father's house, and there shall be no elder in your house. You will gaze grudgingly at all the bounty that will be bestowed on Israel, but there shall never be an elder in your house. I shall not cut off all your offspring from My altar; but, to make your eyes pine and your spirit languish, all the increase in your house shall die as ordinary men. And this shall be a sign for you: The fate of your two sons Hophni and Phinehas -- they shall both die on the same day. And I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest, who will act in accordance with My wishes and My purposes. I will build for him an enduring house, and he shall walk before My anointed evermore. And all the survivors of your house shall come and bow low to him for the sake of a money fee and a loaf of bread, and shall say, 'Please, assign me to one of the priestly duties, that I may have a morsel of bread to eat.'" (1985 JPS Tanakh)

Even commentators who hold to exhaustive foreknowledge admit that this prophecy was conditional, although no conditions were initially given to Eli and his household. One popular traditional Catholic commentary stated the following:


Ver. 30. Ever. God had promised the priesthood to Aaron’s seed (C.) as long as the Jewish religion should subsist. H.—He had also selected the branch of Eleazar, to recompense the zeal of Phinees; (Num. 25:13,) and yet we find that the house of Ithamar had possession for a time of the high priesthood. We know not when or by what means by obtained it. The promises of God to them were surely only conditional; and some think that they only meant, that as He had permitted them to acquire this high dignity, so it was an earnest that he would not deprive them of it, unless they proved unworthy. But it is generally supposed that God had expressed his determination of this head. Heli, Achitob, Achias, Achimelech, and Abiathar, (C.) were the only pontiffs of the family of Ithamar. The last was obliged to resign to (H.) Sadoc, under the reign of Solomon, 3 K. 2:27. Some suppose that Heli usurped this dignity, (Capel) when he entered upon the civil administration, as the people thought none more fit for the office, in a time of trouble. Bertram.—Others think that the descendants of Eleazar forfeited this honour by their crimes or indolence, or because they were not of sufficient age. But this reason would not have excluded them for ever. The Scripture, therefore, insinuates that Heli was appointed by God, and that his descendants would have enjoyed his office, if they had not offended. C.—These promises were of a conditional nature both to Phinees and to Heli, and Sadoc, v. 35. (George Leo Haydock, Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary [New York: Edward Dunigan and Brother, 1859])


Had Joseph Smith received a revelation like this and it was thwarted by the free-will actions of his sons, anti-Mormons would use this as proof Joseph was a false prophet, but as this appears in the Bible, many will ignore this. In reality, all prophecy is contingent upon the free-will actions of mankind, Eli’s sons included. For more, see:



Resources on Joseph Smith's Prophecies