This chapter, telling of a divine revelation to Samuel, is clearly marked off from the earlier chapters dealing with the birth of Samuel, his dedication to the Shiloh sanctuary and the wickedness of the house of Eli. Verse la (cf. 2:11b) brings the attention back to Samuel after the oracle against the Elides, and the theophany account itself begins with v lb. The present peri- cope ends with 3:21 since 4:la has been judged secondary from a text-critical perspective. The ark narrative begins the next major section of the book in 4:1b.