Song of Hannah

The Song of Hannah is a poem interpreting the prose text of the Books of Samuel. According to the surrounding narrative, the poem (1 Samuel 2:1–10) was a prayer delivered by Hannah, to give thanks to God for the birth of her son, Samuel. It is similar to Psalm 113[1] and the Magnificat.[2]

Hannah giving her son Samuel to the priest by Jan Victors, 1645. According to the biblical account, Hannah sang her song when she presented Samuel to Eli the priest.

Contents and themes

Hannah praises Yahweh, reflects on the reversals he accomplishes, and looks forward to his king.

There is a movement in this song from the particular to the general. It opens with Hannah's own gratitude for a local reversal, and closes with God's defeat of his enemies – a cosmic reversal.[3]

Through the theme of reversal, the Song of Hannah functions as an introduction to the whole book. Keil and Delitzsch argue that Hannah's experience of reversal was a pledge of how God "would also lift up and glorify his whole nation, which was at that time so deeply bowed down and oppressed by its foes."[4]

The reference to a king in verse 10 has provoked considerable discussion. Biblical commentator A. F. Kirkpatrick argues that this does not imply a late date for the song, since "the idea of a king was not altogether novel to the Israelite mind" and "amid the prevalent anarchy and growing disintegration of the nation, amid internal corruption and external attack, the desire for a king was probably taking definite shape in the popular mind."[5]

Walter Brueggemann suggests that the Song of Hannah paves the way for a major theme of the Book of Samuel, the "power and willingness of Yahweh to intrude, intervene and invert."[6]

Text

English

And Hannah prayed and said:

“My heart rejoices in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation.

“No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.

“Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed.

“The bows of the mighty men are broken, and those who stumbled are girded with strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, and the hungry have ceased to hunger. Even the barren has borne seven, and she who has many children has become feeble.

“The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and lifts up. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory.

“For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness.

“For by strength no man shall prevail. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces; from heaven He will thunder against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. “He will give strength to His king, and exalt the strength of His anointed.”

(1 Samuel 2:1–10 New King James Version)

Identity of persons referred to in the song

The first 10 verses of 1 Samuel 2 record her song of praise to the Lord for answering her petition. The attribution of this song to Hannah distinguishes her among biblical personages. Her song is essentially a hymn of praise to God for good fortune, and includes many themes of Israel's national culture. Fertility and childbirth are thus included as equal in importance to other motifs and worthy of Israel's singers.[7]

Samuel

According to some contributors to the Classical Rabbinical literature, the first half of the poem was a prophecy, predicting Samuel's later role as a prophet, that her great grandson would be a musician in the Jerusalem Temple, that Sennacherib would destroy the Kingdom of Israel, that Nebuchadnezzar would fall from power, and that the Babylonian Captivity would come to an end.[8]

David

Although the "king" of verse 10 is left unspecified, the blessing to the king and to the anointed forms a clear parallel with 2 Samuel 22, which finishes with Yahweh being a tower of salvation to his king, and showing mercy to his anointed (2 Samuel 22:51).

Use

Judaism

In Judaism the song of Hannah is regarded as the prime role model for how to pray, and is read on the first day of Rosh Hashanah as the haftarah.

Magnificat

The poem has several features in common with the Magnificat, which was sung in early Christian circles and continues to be regularly sung or said in many Christian denominations. These common features include the themes, and the order in which they appear. A number of scholars believe that Luke used the song of Hannah for the basis of the Magnificat.[9] Charles Anang and others see Hannah as a "type" of Mary.[10] Both "handmaids" of God bore sons through divine intervention who were uniquely dedicated to God.[11]

Church practice

The Song of Hannah is also known as the "Canticle of Anna", and is one of seven Old Testament canticles in the Roman Breviary. It is used for Lauds on Wednesdays.[12]

In the Revised Common Lectionary, which provides the appointed Scripture readings used by most mainline Protestant denominations, the song of Hannah is recited or sung as the response to the First Lesson (1 Samuel 1:4–20) for Proper 28 in Year B, for those churches following Track 1.

See also

References
  1. David Noel Freedman, “Psalm 113 and the Song of Hannah,” in Pottery, Poetry and Prophecy: Studies in Early Hebrew Poetry (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1980) 243 – 261.
  2. Durken, Daniel (2017-11-15). New Collegeville Bible Commentary: One Volume Hardcover Edition. Liturgical Press. ISBN 9780814646830.
  3. Walters, "The Voice of God's People in Exile," 76.
  4. C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1872), 29.
  5. A. F. Kirkpatrick, The First Book of Samuel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1911), 55-56.
  6. Walter Brueggemann, First and Second Samuel (Interpretation; Louisville; John Knox, 1990), 21.
  7. Klein, Lillian. "Hannah: Bible", Jewish Women's Archive
  8. Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel
  9. Craddock, Fred B.; Hayes, John H.; Holladay, Carl R. and Tucker, Gene M., Preaching Through the Christian Year, Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 1994 ISBN 9780567434005
  10. Anang, Charles. "Hannah as a Type of Mary", Marian Library, University of Dayton
  11. Kaminsky, Joel S.; Lohr, Joel N. and Reasoner, Mark. The Abingdon Introduction to the Bible, Abingdon Press, 2014 ISBN 9781426751073
  12. Lauds, Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.
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