The two texts of 1 Samuel 2:1-10 and Luke 1:46-55 are unique passages of Scripture recording first person prayers to God from women. Each occurs as a response to a miraculous pregnancy, and both of the resulting sons are dedicated to God. Hannah’s son Samuel becomes a priest and prophet who anoints the first king and then the greatest king of Israel. Mary’s son comes as prophet, priest, king, and sacrifice. These momentous births change the history of Israel and the history of the world. Neither is announced with worldly proclamations or imperial decrees; instead, two remarkable women of faith fall to their knees, raise their arms to heaven, and praise the God who has given these miracles to the lowly.
Hannah’s song of thanksgiving and praise in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 is a rousing hymn of triumph, an exultation in the blessing of God. The song juxtaposes the arrogant and the humble, with a consistent warning to the arrogant that they will be brought low. Hannah clearly has her rival Peninnah in mind here, a woman who “would provoke her bitterly to irritate her.” (1 Sam 1:6) Hannah, though beloved by her husband, endured years of barrenness and the constant gloating of Peninnah, who had many children. In her song, Hannah is finally able to do a bit of gloating of her own, though she boasts in the Lord’s goodness and not her own merit. “My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.” (1 Sam 2:1) In verses 3 through 9, Hannah warns the proud not to brag because all the good things they have come from the Lord. She repeats over and over again how the Lord delights in turning the tables on the arrogant, bringing them down while raising up the humble. “Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to hunger.” (1 Sam 2:5)
The main point of Hannah’s song, however, is not the elevation of the poor and humble, but rather the almighty power of God. The text does not give Hannah’s age, but there are clues in the text that imply she is no longer in her fertile youth. She is listed before Peninnah as Elkanah’s wife, which suggests she was his first wife. The theory of her advanced age is also supported by the fact that Elkanah loved her more than he loved Peninnah; (1 Sam 1:5) he may have married Peninnah so that he could have children once it became clear that Hannah was barren. Then the text indicates that Peninnah had many children, (and was therefore a wife for many years); Elkanah gives sacrifices for “all her sons and her daughters.” (1 Sam 1:4) Also, the phrase “year after year” implies that a significant amount of time has passed. (1 Sam 1:7) All this is to say that Hannah is fully aware of the miraculous nature of her pregnancy, and this leads her to praise God for His matchless power.
Hannah praises God for His power over circumstances throughout the song, giving examples of the ways in which He controls earthly resources. She also praises Him for His power of life and death, and for His judgment: “The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.” (1 Sam 2:6) Continuing in the litany of praises to His power, she declares His power over creation: “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He set the world on them.” (1 Sam 2:8) Hannah then ends her song of praise with a forceful image of the ultimate power of the God who will both judge and save: “Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed.” (1 Sam 2:10) After experiencing a miracle pregnancy and birth, Hannah delights and trusts in the power and goodness of God’s plan, not just for her but for all people.
Mary, in the New Testament, responds to the news of her pregnancy with a similar outpouring of praise, and her song in fact echoes Hannah’s several times, both in language and in content. But where Hannah’s song was a triumphant paean to God’s power, Mary’s speaks with awe and reverence of God’s mercy. This attitude makes sense in terms of Mary’s character and circumstances. Unlike Hannah, she has not been pleading with the Lord for years for a pregnancy. She is young, unmarried, and her circumstances are overwhelmingly ordinary. Hannah’s pregnancy was miraculous; Mary’s redefines the term.
Clearly, Mary recognizes God’s power. She refers to Him as “the Mighty One,” and recalls that “He has done mighty deed with His arm.” (Luke 1:49, 51) Like Hannah, Mary recognizes that God has the power to manipulate circumstances in any way He pleases, and, again like Hannah, praises Him for so often flipping the world’s expectation of divine favor. “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. He has filled the hungry with good things, And sent away the rich empty-handed.” (Luke 1:52-53) Yet while Hannah warned the arrogant and gloried in God’s triumph in her life, Mary emphasizes her own smallness and insignificance which the Lord has transformed into everlasting fame. “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bond slave For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.” (Luke 1:48) This sudden elevation fills Mary not with arrogance but with awe, and the humility and wonder of her response to the vastly important role God has given her shows the wisdom of His choice.
Repeatedly in the song, Mary praises God for His mercy. This focus demonstrates the fact that she understands God, in His infinite mercy, is sending Jesus into the world to save sinners who would be literally damned without Him. That one so young and humble would understand God’s plan and character to such a great extent is amazing. It is obvious from the language of her song that Mary knows the Scriptures by heart. “Her familiarity with the Word of God must have come from hearing it read regularly in the synagogue. It settled in her heart and was readily on her mind…”1 It is this knowledge, along with insight from the Holy Spirit, that gives her a truly remarkable awareness of the profound mercy involved in the coming of Christ. Hannah spoke of a king empowered and anointed by God; Mary speaks of a salvific deliverer sent from a loving and merciful God to all “those who fear Him.” (Luke 1:50)
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1. John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Luke 1-5, (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 73.
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