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1 Samuel 2:1-10

Biblical editors inserted poems into prose to increase the artistic and religious appeal. The poems may be older or later than the prose. This poem is the literary model for the Magnificat, Mary’s song of thanksgiving (Luke 1:46-55). The “I” of this psalm is the nation, Israel, as well as the individual worshipper. [ NOAB]

1:3: “Shiloh”: There was a temple at Shiloh before the Temple at Jerusalem was built.

2:1: “heart”: Literally “horn”: an image of an animal tossing its head. [ NOAB]

2:2: “Rock”: For Yahweh as my rock, see 2 Samuel 22:2-3; Psalms 18:2; 28:1; 62:2, 6. [ NOAB]

2:4, 2:5, 2:7, 2:8: For reversal of fortunes, see also Psalm 113:7-9. [ NOAB]

2:5: “seven”: Per v. 21, Hannah bore no more than six children; however ”seven" may indicate a sizeable family (after her years of being childless). [ NOAB]

2:6: "brings to life": This may refer to birth rather than resurrection from the dead. [ NOAB]

2:6: “Sheol”: The realm of the dead is often pictured as being below the earth. See also Psalms 86:13; 88:3-7. [ NOAB]

2:7: This verse may refer to deep trouble or desperate injuries, and recovery from them. [ NOAB]

2:9: The idea that the good would prosper and the wicked suffer ill fortune was widespread in the post-exilic period . The books of Job and Ecclesiastes are a protest against this view of life. [ NOAB]

2:10: For God as the final judge of all see Psalm 98:9. [ NOAB]

2:10: “thunder in heaven”: An allusion to the catastrophic natural events at the end of the era.

2:10: "his king": The very mention of a king serves to date Hannah's hymn later than her for king ship dates from a later time; however the hymn's particular theological viewpoint also agrees perfectly with Hannah's situation. [ JBC]

2:10: “his anointed”: This designation of God's agent as “his anointed” was used of both priests and kings: see 9:16; 10:1; 24:6; 2 Samuel 1:14; 19:21. [ CAB]

2:11: Perhaps Hannah remained in Shiloh to look after the infant Samuel.

Psalm 113

A celebration of the incomparable power and compassion of Yahweh who lifts the needy (v. 7). [ CAB]

Almost all of Psalms 111 to 118 contain the phrase “Praise the Lord”. The exception is Psalm 113, but Psalm 114 begins and ends with this phrase.

Verses 1-3: Summons to servants to praise the Lord [ JBC]

Verses 4-6: Exaltation of the Lord [ JBC]

Verses 7-9: Proclamation of the good deeds of God [ JBC]

Romans 12:9-16b

Verse 9: See also 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Galatians 5:14, 22; 1 John 4:19. [ NOAB] [ CAB]

Verse 10: “mutual affection”: The Greek word philadelphia is also used in 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:1; 1 Peter 1:22; 2 Peter 1:7. [ CAB]

Verse 11: “serve the Lord”: Some manuscripts have kairo (time, in the sense of opportune time) rather than kyrio (Lord), leading to the translation serve the hour and the interpretation meet the demands of the time in which you live. [ NJBC]

Verse 12: “Rejoice in hope”: See also 5:2-5 and 1 Peter 1:3-9. [ CAB]

Verse 12: “be patient in suffering”: See also 5:2-4; 8:24-25; 1 Corinthians 13:7; 1 Thessalonians 1:3. [ CAB]

Verse 13: “Contribute to the needs of the saints”: There is possibly a hint here to support the impoverished members of the Jerusalem church. [ NJBC]

Verse 13: Practising hospitality to Christians from other places (“strangers”) was important in the early Church, public accommodation being infested with prostitutes and bandits. [ NOAB]

Verse 14: See also Exodus 23:4-5; 2 Chronicles 28:8-15; Matthew 5:38-39, 44; Luke 6:29, 35; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9.

Verse 14: “who persecute you”: This verse echoes Jesus’ words in Luke 6:27-28. Some important manuscripts (including P⁴⁶) omit “you”, thus giving the verse a more general sense: bless (all) persecutors.

There is no reason to think that Paul knew of official persecution in the Roman church when he wrote. [ NJBC] See also 1 Corinthians 4:12; James 3:9-12; 1 Peter 2:23. [ CAB]

Verse 15: In Philippians 3:1 and 4:4, Paul also calls on his readers to rejoice in the Lord. [ CAB]

Verse 16: Paul also advises his readers to live in harmony with one another in 15:5, as he does in 2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 2:2; 4:2. [ CAB]

Verse 16: “associate with the lowly”: This translation assumes that tapeinos (“lowly”) is masculine, but if it is neuter the translation is give yourselves to lowly tasks. [ NJBC] Paul may have intended the ambiguity. [ BlkRom]

Verse 16: “do not claim ...”: This is Proverbs 3:7, freely quoted. [ NJBC]

Luke 1:39-57

The meaning of God’s inauguration in Jesus of the final stage of salvation history is so rich theologically that Luke interprets it in both vv. 39-45 and 46-56. [ NJBC]

Verse 37: “nothing will be impossible with God”: BlkLk says that this is a reference to Yahweh’s promise to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18:14: “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son”, i.e. after the normal gestation period, Isaac will be born. It seems that Luke recalls the general sense of Genesis 18, where the promise is that the word will be fulfilled. This explains the reference to the time since Elizabeth’s conception in v. 45.

Verse 39: “with haste”: If this is the correct translation, Luke does not tell us why. Note that v. 56 tells us that Mary then stayed three months with Elizabeth but returned home before John was born.

Verses 41,44: “leaped”: The “leaping” of Esau and Jacob in Rebekah’s womb (Genesis 25:22, Septuagint translation) presents a parallel to the leaping of John the Baptist: such activity is a foreshadowing of future relationships (different as these relationships are). [ NJBC]

Verse 42: Elizabeth’s words recall Sisera’s words to Jael (before she killed him): “Most blessed of women be Jael” (Judges 5:24). They also recall Uzziah’s words to Judith after she decapitated Holofernes: “you are blessed by the Most High God above all other women” (Judith 13:18). In both cases, women liberated Israel. [ NJBC]

Verse 42: In 11:27-28, a woman in the crowd shouts similar words to Jesus. [ NOAB]

Verse 45: “blessed”: In Luke, Mary is the model believer. In 2:19, after the shepherds have told Mary and Joseph what they have heard, “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart”. [ NJBC]

There is a strange anomaly in vv. 46-47: the NOAB, CAB and QVNR have “My soul magnifies the Lord,” in v. 46 while Nlsn has these words in v. 47. The REB is like the NOAB, CAB and QVNR.

The Magnificat is based largely on Hannah’s prayer: see 1 Samuel 2:1-10. [ NOAB] Both Elizabeth and Hannah were childless for a long time and dedicated their children as Nazirites. [ JBC] Vv. 46-50 deal with Mary and vv. 51-55 universalize from Mary’s experience to reflect God’s dealing with all who hold God in awe (v. 50). [ NJBC]

Some copies of the Old Latin version say that Elizabeth is the speaker, but all Greek manuscripts say the speaker is Mary. [ NJBC]

Verse 47: “God our Saviour”: God is also referred to as Saviour in 1 Timothy 2:3; Titus 3:4; Jude 25. [ NOAB]

Verses 48-49: “all generations will call me blessed ...”: An allusion to Malachi 3:12: “Then all nations will count you happy, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts”. See also Psalm 111:9. [ JBC]

Verse 49: “Mighty”: The might of God, for whom nothing is impossible (v. 37) is contrasted with the “lowliness” (v. 48) of Mary. [ NJBC]

Verses 51-53: The verbs in the Greek are in the aorist (past) tense. Because the aorist can indicate various times of action, scholars differ as to the precise meaning because they do not see how God has accomplished (past tense) all this in the mere conception of Jesus. NJBC prefers the interpretation that these actions are what God characteristically does ( gnomic aorist) and is beginning to do now in the conception of Jesus.

Verses 51-53: Who are the rich, arrogant, mighty, powerful, proud and the lowly, hungry? Scholars vary in their opinions. The poor seem to be those best able to receive God’s grace, without wealth, etc. getting in the way. [ NJBC]

Verse 51: For redemption through God’s might in the Old Testament, see Exodus 6:6 (delivery from slavery in Egypt); Deuteronomy 4:34 (“by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by terrifying displays of power, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt”); Jeremiah 27:5 (“It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth”); Isaiah 40:10; 51:9. [ JBC]

Verse 52: For the notion that those in need will be saved and that the blind will be given light by God, see Isaiah 40:29-31; 41:8-10, 17-20; 42:7; 57:15; 61:1-3. [ JBC]

Verses 54-55: These verses gather up the ideas of the Magnificat in terms of the servant theology of the Old Testament, and particularly of Deutero-Isaiah. See also Genesis 17:7 (to Abraham); 18:18; 22:17; Micah 7:20; Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-7; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12. Jesus applied this theology to himself (see 3:22; 5:35; 9:22) and the very early church thought of him in these terms (see Acts 3:13: “... his servant Jesus ...”). [ NOAB]

Verse 55: “Abraham”: A common theme in Luke. See also 1:54-55, 72-73; 3:34; 13:16, 28-29; 19:9; 20:37; Acts 3:13, 25; 7:17, 32; 13:26; 26:6; 28:20; John 8:33, 39; Romans 2:28-29. [ NJBC]

God builds the new in salvation history upon promises made to Abraham, but membership in the reconstituted Israel is God’s gift. It elicits a response of appropriate conduct, and is not solely contingent on one’s ethnic heritage. [ NJBC]

© 1996-2022 Chris Haslam