The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. The word of Yahweh was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision.
The only critical complaints against this chapter question its unity and what some have called the "reworking" of the prophecy regarding Eli's priesthood in the preceding chapter.  Regarding the unity of this chapter, H. P. Smith declared that, "The chapter seems to be a unit,"[2] admitting that objections to its unity are "not well founded."[3]