Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Yahweh. Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.
1 Samuel 3:7 does not necessarily mean that Samuel did not then know the Lord at all personally, that he was an unbeliever. One writer took terms such as "knew the Lord" and "did not know the Lord" as evidence of salvation or lack of it (cf. Jeremiah 31:34; John 17:3). [Note: Zane C. Hodges, "The Salvation of Samuel," Grace Evangelical Society News 9:3 (May-June 1994):1, 3-4.] However this may be reading too much into the text. Rather, it means that the boy had not yet come to know Yahweh as he was about to know Him, having heard His voice speaking directly to him. Even though Samuel knew God and His will, God had not previously communicated with him directly. Finally, God not only called to Samuel but also stood by him (1 Samuel 3:10, cf. Genesis 18:22) suggesting the possibility that Samuel could see Him (i.e., a theophany). The Lord’s repetition of Samuel’s name added a note of urgency (cf. Genesis 22:11; Exodus 3:4; Acts 9:4).