'Begun' in the Bible

And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to wax dim, so that he could not see),

Have I to-day begun to inquire of God for him? be it far from me: let not the king impute anything unto his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for thy servant knoweth nothing of all this, less or more.