Rejoicing in God's Salvation & the Promised Savior: An Exegetical Study of the Songs of Hannah and Mary

Brynna Clendenen

Throughout Scripture, people often respond to God’s acts of deliverance with songs. Jesus’ mother Mary follows this ancient tradition with her Magnificat in Luke 1:46–55. Her song of praise contains similar structure and themes to several songs in the Old Testament. The most similar of these Old Testament songs is the prayer of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2:1–10, which has often been called an earlier version of the Magnificat. 1 Samuel 2:10 is also the first usage of the Hebrew word “Messiah.” Hannah’s song comes before the Davidic covenant, while Mary’s song comes during the fulfillment of all Messianic longing. This paper will compare in exegetical fashion the similarities and differences between the songs of Hannah and Mary. Their similarities are in both content and structure, and their differences are on what specific words and phrases are used to praise the Savior. Both songs will be treated as messianic, as both Hannah’s prayer and Mary’s Magnificat are songs of praise to God for His covenantal faithfulness and for sending the anointed King.

Hannah’s song of praise comes after the birth of Samuel, the son for which she had earnestly prayed.¹ When Samuel was old enough, Hannah and her husband brought him to Eli the priest for a life of service to the Lord. It is then she sings her prayer. Though Hannah was a poor farmer’s wife, she must have known the existing Scriptures well enough to compose such a poetic prayer. For example, many of her expressions are also found in the song of Moses in Exodus 15:1–18.² Hannah’s song is often classified as a Psalm of Thanksgiving, as many such Psalms contain similar phrases and parallelisms.³ This is also a prayer which speaks of God’s righteous judgement and a coming King, who is here first called the Lord’s “Anointed,” or Messiah.⁴ Similar language is used in the Psalms regarding the Messiah’s kingship, and it is surmised that these psalms used Hannah’s song to inform their messianic theology.⁵ Hannah’s son Samuel would anoint David as King over Israel, instituting the royal house from which would come the Messiah. Thus, in her song, Hannah looks forward in the Holy Spirit to the kingship of both David and the Messiah.

Mary’s song, on the other hand, comes while she is pregnant with Jesus. The Angel Gabriel, one who stands in the presence of God,⁶ had announced to her that she would be the mother of the Messiah. In their conversation, Gabriel had told Mary that her barren relative Elizabeth was also pregnant. After Mary’s submissive response to the Lord’s will, she went to visit Elizabeth. It is during this visit that Mary prays her song, the Magnificat. This song takes its name from its opening line in the Vulgate, “Magnificat anima mea Dominum.”⁷ Like Hannah’s song, the Magnificat is classified as a song of thanksgiving.⁸ This song echoes themes from several Old Testament songs of thanksgiving and deliverance, but Hannah’s song remains its closest parallel, as well as its possible prototype.⁹ Like Hannah, Mary was a poor Israelite woman immersed in the existing Scriptures. Thus, she composed her own song of thanksgiving using themes found in the songs she knew.¹⁰ However, unlike Hannah and all other Old Testament saints, Mary knew and saw the Messiah Himself. She sang to God during her pregnancy to praise Him for the miracle taking place in her womb and her world. Thus, her song praises God for His covenantal faithfulness and the coming of the Anointed King mentioned in Hannah’s song.

These two songs are examples of progressive revelation throughout history. Hannah’s song continues the themes of the protoevangelium (Genesis 3:15), the Judaic prediction (Genesis 49:8–12), the Mosaic prediction (Deut. 18:15–19), and looks to the anointing of the King. Mary’s song takes all messianic longing and prophecy in the Old Testament and looks toward current fulfillment. Additionally, both songs are very similar in content and structure. Both employ the types of parallelism common in Hebrew poetry to communicate praise to God. Both also can be divided into six sections, alternating praise of God’s sovereignty with amazement at the reversal of human fortunes.¹¹ Moreover, both songs end with an emphasis on God’s covenantal faithfulness: Hannah, looking forward to the Messiah, and Mary, looking backward to Abraham.¹²

The beginning of each song declares the worshipful intent of the speaker. Hannah says, “My heart rejoices in the Lord.”¹³ Using God’s covenantal name, Yahweh (בַּֽיהוָ֔ה), she goes on to express her joy and delight in His deliverance. In Him, her horn is lifted high. Hannah’s “horn” symbolizes her dignity, whereas the horn of Yahweh’s Anointed in verse 10 symbolizes kingship. ¹⁴ Because of Yahweh’s saving nature, Hannah can rejoice over her enemies with dignity and joy. She also praises Yahweh’s holiness with several parallelisms, saying there is no Rock like Him.¹⁵ Moreover, the word “Rock” is later given messianic significance in Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 8:14; 28:16.¹⁶ Though “Rock” dis not yet carry that connotation at this time in redemptive history, it is noteworthy that it had been applied to Yahweh long before being applied to the Messiah. Thus, because of who God is and what He has done, Hannah implores others to put away arrogance in the face of God’s omnipotence.¹⁷

“My soul magnifies the Lord,” Mary says.¹⁸ Rejoicing in God’s salvation is central to both songs. Hannah delights in the Lord’s deliverance, while Mary rejoices in God her Savior with her soul (ψυχή) and spirt (πνεῦμά). These Greek words do have distinct meanings, for ψυχή refers to the physical breath of life, while πνεῦμά refers to spiritual beings.¹⁹ The use of words with similar meaning in two successive lines, however, is an example of synonymous parallelism common in Hebrew poetry.²⁰ Thus, the Magnificat is praise from Mary’s whole being, both physical and spiritual. Moreover, the word “Savior” (σωτήρ) occurs in the Gospel of Luke only two times, both in the first two chapters. The first occurrence is in the Magnificat referring to God, while the second is in the angel song to the shepherds referring to Jesus.²¹ Though much shorter than the opening of Hannah’s song, Mary’s declaration of praise to her Savior is from her heart.

Hannah’s song next dwells on the reversal of human fortunes. 1 Samuel 2:4 dwells on the reversal of fortunes in battle. Since this song describes God as a Mighty Warrior and Savior, it is fitting to describe how He governs human battles. The mighty have their weapons taken from them, while the weak are clothed in strength.²² It is God in His sovereignty who governs the affairs of mankind, and Hannah has seen this in her own life. Hence, she then moves on to sing of how God fills the hungry and restores the barren woman to be the mother of “seven children.”²³ While some commentators point to this phrase as evidence that this song was not composed by Hannah herself,²⁴ others point out the importance of the number “seven” denoting fulness and completeness. Thus, the seven children of the barren woman in 1 Samuel 2:4 may be seen as a poetic idiom for perfection. Since Hannah had been blessed with children after a long period of infertility, it makes sense that her song would poetically describe the perfection of the Lord’s blessing in this way.²⁵

Like Hannah, Mary also dwells on how God has specifically blessed her. In Luke 1:48, Mary is amazed and thankful that God has looked on her “humble estate,” and calling herself the “Lord’s servant” in her conversation with Gabriel.²⁶ Her song uses parallel structures that contrast her lowliness with God’s greatness. Moreover, while such lowliness was used in the Old Testament to refer to a woman’s barrenness, this cannot be the case with Mary, who is a virgin.²⁷ Though both women are poor peasants of Israel’s oppressed generations, Mary’s lowliness takes a different form than Hannah’s. Hers is of the poorest of the poor. She is from Nazareth.²⁸ God delights in the poor and lowly, however, and He chose Mary to be the mother of the Messiah. Her statement “from now on all generations will call me blessed” came to fruition as soon as she met Elizabeth,²⁹ and even in Protestant churches today Mary is still looked to as an example of godly womanhood. This section ends with Mary praising God, “He who is Mighty,” for the great things He has done for her. The image of God shifts from delivering Savior to a Mighty Warrior who fights for His people.³⁰ Like Hannah, Mary praises God for His might and holiness. Again, the theme of rejoicing in God as Savior is key to both songs.

1 Samuel 2:6–7 returns to the theme of God’s sovereignty. He is the One who governs death, life, poverty, and wealth. In a few short parallelisms,³¹ Hannah recognizes that any blessing she experiences can only be from the hand of the Lord. Thus, she here affirms His sovereign rule over all human life, wealth, and pride. The emphasis of God’s power over the grave³² itself is highlighted throughout the Old Testament.³³ This is Yahweh’s total authority over life and death. Moreover, the Lord governs what goes on during human lifetimes, between life and death. He is the one who controls all human status, both material and social.³⁴

Mary also returns to dwell on the sovereignty of God in all He does for His people. Though the Magnificat is in the first person, Mary nonetheless speaks for all Israel throughout her song.³⁵ From Luke 1:49b onward, God is the subject of every verb in the Magnificat. The Lord is the One who has done all these things for His people, granting His mercy to “those who fear Him.”³⁶ One commentator points out that to speak of God’s mercy immediately brings into mind the corporate people of God, for it is only by His mercy that He chose them for His own. Moreover, it is only by His mercy that humanity was created imago Dei for the express purpose of relationship with God.³⁷ In calling attention to God’s holiness and mercy, Mary worships the Lord by reminding herself and Israel that He is the One who called them, despite their constant failures. The phrase “He has shown strength with His arm”³⁸ is an expression often used in the Old Testament, most notably when describing God’s acts of creation and the Exodus.³⁹ Thus, this section of the Magnificat further magnifies the Lord by considering how He has shown His faithfulness to Israel.

Both songs now turn again to dwell on God’s hand in reversing human fortunes to the most unexpected outcomes. 1 Samuel 2:8a describes God’s care for the poor. It is He who lifts them up and gives them great blessing. The poor and needy are raised from the dust and the ash heap to sit in thrones of honor with princes. Mary expresses this same sentiment using very similar language. God has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly.⁴⁰ These mighty ones mock God with their pride, and He brings them down from their high positions. Thus, by God’s great kindness and might, poor people like Hannah and Mary are lifted from their lowly positions to honorable ones.

1 Samuel 2:8b–10a returns to the theme of God’s holy sovereignty for the third time. Hannah dwells on His sovereignty as the Creator of all things, speaking of how the world is set upon the foundations He has made.⁴¹ This specific phrasing is found elsewhere in the Psalms and the book of Job.⁴² Hannah’s meditation on the Lord’s sovereign works of the past aids her praise for His work in the present and future. As well as upholding the foundations of the physical world, God also gives moral and spiritual protection to His people. 1 Samuel 2:9 says that He will guard the feet of the faithful, while the wicked will be “silenced in darkness.” This darkness is the deep gloom engulfing the wicked, both in life and death.⁴³ Moreover, as both Hannah and Mary have reiterated in their songs, those prideful in their own strength will be disappointed. The Lord’s response is to shatter them, thunder from heaven, and judge them according to their wicked pride.⁴⁴ The metaphor of thunder is often used in the Old Testament in the context of battle and destruction.⁴⁵ As the Creator, Yahweh is sovereign over all nature and humanity. Thus, His wrath against all wickedness is just, for He is the holy Creator. It is Yahweh who acts in the world, for He made it. He is the God who sees both the rich and poor, the wicked and faithful. Those who oppose Yahweh, making themselves His enemies, will face His wrath.

Mary’s song dwells less on the destruction of the wicked and more on God’s continual care for His people. Here in Luke 1:53, the wealthy are turned away that He might favor the poor. Indeed, one of the Magnificat’s major themes is how God favors the weak over the strong, the oppressed over the mighty, and the hungry over the rich. Like Hannah’s song, God’s sovereignty is central, as well as the reversal of human fortunes to favor the lowly. Though expressed in different lengths and poetic devices, the two songs contain such similarities that they must be connected. However, their connection goes much deeper than mere similarity in structure or specific parallelisms.

Both Hannah’s prayer and Mary’s Magnificat speak of the Messiah. This similarity stands far above their similar structure and content.⁴⁶ Moreover, all the things described in these songs regarding God’s sovereignty and the exaltation of the humble are given much attention by Jesus—the Messiah Himself. Thus, even the verses where the Messiah is not specifically mentioned may be seen as being indirectly messianic.

1 Samuel 2:10b is the first instance of the specific Hebrew word “Messiah” (מְשִׁיחֽוֹ), meaning “Anointed One.” These ending lines of Hannah’s song say:

He will give strength to his king

and exalt the horn of his anointed.⁴⁷

While a form of this word does occur earlier in the Old Testament, it is only applied to the anointing of Levitical priests for service in the Tabernacle.⁴⁸ Until Hannah’s song, this word had not yet been applied to the coming Deliverer who would crush the Serpent’s head.⁴⁹ Moreover, 1 Samuel is the first of several books dealing with Israel’s kings, and the term “Messiah” is used later on for those anointed by God through prophets to rule Israel.⁵⁰ Thus, Hannah’s song ends with the theme of kingship and the exaltation of an Anointed King to come. This is expressed in another parallelism, connecting the king to the “Anointed.” While this is also a foreshadowing of the Davidic covenant, the Davidic covenant itself is messianic. Thus, later Psalms which meditate on the triumph of God’s Anointed King over all the earth may have been inspired by this first expression of messianic kingship in Hannah’s song.⁵¹

The final section of Mary’s Magnificat is also profoundly messianic. Unnlike Hannah, however, Mary was living in the days of messianic fulfillment. She was carrying the Anointed One—named by Hannah—in her womb. The last lines of the Magnificat say:

He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.⁵²

Here, Mary remembers God’s covenantal faithfulness to His people. She began her song with declaring that her whole being rejoices in God her Savior, and she ends with a remembrance of the Lord’s covenantal mercy as spoken to the patriarchs and their descendants. It is clear from the outset of the Magnificat that Mary gives praise to God because He is sending the promised Deliverer to His people.⁵³ However, the word “Messiah” is seen nowhere in Luke 1:46–55. Thus, He must be mentioned under another name. The reference to Abraham is the key to unraveling this puzzle, as the Abrahamic covenant was also given with messianic meaning and purpose. Thus, while Hannah foretells the Davidic covenant, Mary looks all the way back to the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12:1–3. The promise of the Messiah is now being granted through Mary’s physical body to the descendants of Abraham.

Who are the offspring of Abraham? The Greek word used here is the dative form of the word for “seed” (σπέρμα). The word “seed” immediately recalls Genesis 3:15, where the promised Deliverer is called “the Seed of the woman.” Moreover, the Apostle Paul makes a key connection in his letter to the Galatians:

For the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ…God gave it to Abraham by a promise.⁵⁴

According to Paul, the “seed of Abraham” is the Messiah. This is an example of corporate solidarity, where an individual representing a given group and the group represented have equal parts of the same prophetic meaning.⁵⁵ Thus, all the promises of the Abrahamic covenant are fulfilled with the coming of the Messiah. God will never forget His mercy to the people He makes His own, and He has provided a Savior to take away their sins.

Both Hannah’s prayer and Mary’s Magnificat portray God as Savior, the Mighty Warrior who delivers His people. God blessed both of these women greatly by giving them sons who gave hope to Israel. Hannah’s son Samuel anointed the kings of Israel and served the Lord as a prophet for many years. Mary’s son Jesus was the Anointed King to which all other kings pointed. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the theme of the Anointed One is key in the songs of Hannah and Mary. The Messiah would be a King coming to deliver His people from their enemies. He would come to lift up the poor and lowly, bringing down those who trust in themselves. Moreover, He would come as the fulfillment of all covenants given to Israel from Abraham forward. The coming of Jesus is the climax of redemptive history, and it is the reason for which all God’s people can say with Hannah and Mary, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…for I delight in your deliverance.”⁵⁶

Bibliography

"ψυχή," "πνεῦμά." A Lexicon: Abridged from Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1891, 566-567, 798.

Edwards, James R. The Gospel According to Luke. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2015.

Green, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997.

Kaiser, Walter C. Jr. The Messiah in the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995.

Klein, Ralph W. 10 Word Biblical Commentary: 1 Samuel, 2^nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.

Tsumura, David Toshio. The First Book of Samuel. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007.

Footnotes

1. 1 Samuel 1:11.

2. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Messiah in The Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), 67-68.

3. Ralph W. Klein, 10 Word Biblical Commentary: 1 Samuel (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 14-15.

4. Kaiser, 69; David Toshio Tsumura, *The First Book of Samuel (*Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007), 150.

5. Kaiser, 69.

6. Luke 1:19.

7. James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Luke (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2015), 54.

8. Edwards, 54.

9. Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 101; Edwards, 54; Tsumura, 135.

10. Edwards, 54.

11. Tsumura, 141; Green, 99. I have applied Tsumura’s analysis of Hannah’s song to Mary’s song as well, given the information in Green’s analysis.

12. 1 Samuel 2:10; Luke 1:55.

13. 1 Samuel 2:1, NIV (1984).

14. Tsumura, 141-142.

15. 1 Samuel 2:2.

16. Tsumura, 143.

17. 1 Samuel 2:3.

18. Luke 1:46b, ESV.

19. "ψυχή," "πνεῦμά," *A Lexicon: Abridged from Liddell and Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon (*Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1891), 566-567, 798.

20. Edwards, 55.

21. Edwards, 55.

22. Paraphrase of 1 Samuel 2:4, NIV (1984).

23. 1 Samuel 2:5b.

24. Klein, 14. This commentator points out that Hannah only bore six children (Samuel and five more), and thus “she who was barren who has borne seven children” cannot be Hannah.

25. Tsumura, 145.

26. Luke 1:38, 1:48a.

27. Green, 103.

28. Nathanael’s scoffing remark in John 1:46 (“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”) tells the reader of the Gospels that Nazareth was an unrefined village of deep poverty.

29. Luke 1:41-45 contains Elizabeth’s greeting of blessing to the mother of her Lord.

30. Green, 103.

31. Or “merismatic pairs,” emphasizing the contrasting nature of life and death, wealth and poverty, and pride and humility.

32. Or “Sheol,” the realm of the dead (Tsumura, 146).

33. See Deuteronomy 32:39b, Psalm 30:4, and other passages (Tsumura, 146-147).

34. Tsumura, 147.

35. Green, 103.

36. Luke 1:50, ESV.

37. Green, 103-104.

38. Luke 1:51a, ESV.

39. Green, 104.

40. Luke 1:52.

41. 1 Samuel 2:8b.

42. Klein, 18.

43. Tsumura, 148.

44. 1 Samuel 2:9b-10a.

45. Tsumura, 148.

46. This exegesis of these passages has been meant to be extensive, though not exhaustive. Much more can be said, for example, on the specific parallelisms or simple phrases that show up in both 1 Samuel 2:1-10 and Luke 1:46-55. A few of these are: the contrasts between the poor and mighty, the hungry and rich, the weak and strong, and the faithful and the wicked.

47. 1 Samuel 2:10b, NIV (1984).

48. Leviticus 4:3, 5, 16; 6:22.

49. See Genesis 3:15 for the protoevangelium.

50. It is noteworthy to mention that Hannah’s son (the initial reason for her song of praise) was Samuel, the prophet who anointed both King Saul and King David. In 2 Samuel 7, it would be revealed by the prophet Nathan to David that his royal line would be the family of the Deliverer and Messiah still to come. Thus, the mother of Samuel, who would anoint King David, through whom would come Jesus of Nazareth, was the first to apply the term “Messiah” to the coming Deliverer.

51. Walter C. Jr. Kaiser, The Messiah in the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), 69.

52. Luke 1:54-55, ESV.

53. The language used by Gabriel to describe Mary’s son is very similar to the Davidic covenant given in 2 Samuel 7. Thus, Mary knew, as a good Jewish girl, that if her child was to be “the Son of God” and will have “the throne of His father David,” then He was the Messiah promised from the beginning of man’s Fall.

54. Galatians 3:16-18, ESV.

55. Kaiser, 13-35.

56. Luke 1:46-47, ESV; 1 Samuel 2:1b, NIV (1984).

Brynna is a senior Classical Liberal Arts major from West Virginia.