Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
1 Samuel 2:1-10
The Prayer-Prophecy of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1).
This prayer-prophecy should be seen as continuing the thought of 1 Samuel 1. It does, however, summarise the message of the whole book, leading up to the exaltation of His righteous king, and the promise of an everlasting king arising from David's house. In it Hannah prophesies concerning the greatness of YHWH, and of his dealings with the righteous as against the unrighteous, and then she gazes ahead to the establishment of the glorious, ideal kingship which past prophecy had led true believers to anticipate. This kingship had been prophesied in Genesis 17:6; Genesis 17:16; Genesis 35:11; Genesis 49:10; Numbers 25:17; Deuteronomy 18:14. Once the king came all their problems would be solved. So God had from the beginning led His people to anticipate the coming one day of a great king who would do all His will (Genesis 49:10; Deuteronomy 18:14), and, as we know, the people had already experimented with kingship (Judges 8:22; Judges 8:29). Now as she dedicates her son to YHWH Hannah looks ahead to this greater gift that YHWH will one day give to His people. In view of what follows it is clear that this dream of a coming king was something that was in the minds of all God's people, as it had also been in Judges 8:22, and it was in the light of this desire that we must see the later request for a king (1 Samuel 8:5). God's disapproval would not be of their desire for a king, but of the kind of king that they had in mind, one who essentially displaced YHWH and was like the kings of all the nations.
Hannah had been preparing for this moment for three years and may well have spent considerable time thinking over what she would say when it came, and to that end her mind had clearly ranged far and wide. We must see her words in that light, and not just as the inspiration of the moment. To us the prayer might not seem personal enough for the occasion. But in those days individualism was not emphasised and each Israelite saw himself/herself as a part of a whole rather than as an individual. Their own futures were therefore seen by them as very much tied up in the future of the whole people. If blessing was to come, therefore, it would come upon all who were righteous. And to that end it was her prayer that her gift of her son might contribute to the good of the nation. It is clear that the greatness of her sacrifice had given her great expectations. Surely, she had thought, this must aid in the bringing about of God's ultimate purposes, and even in the coming of the hoped for Shiloh (Genesis 49:10)?
We can divide her prayer up as follows:
1). The Greatness And Saving Power Of YHWH. She exults in the deliverance and security that she anticipates for herself and her people from YHWH. They lived in dangerous days and none were more aware than she was of how much they needed God's continued deliverance and protection. It was this confidence that would sustain the godly in Israel in the dark days that were to come. But it also indicated her own triumph in her deliverance as something accomplished by God in the face of her own adversary (1 Samuel 2:1).
2). A Warning To The Proud And Arrogant. She warns of the need of all men for humility before YHWH in the light of the fact that He knows all things and weighs their actions. She may especially have had in mind here the well publicised behaviour of the priests. But she no doubt also had in mind her own persecution at the hands of Peninnah. As readers we may also see it as pertinent to the behaviour of Saul throughout the first half of the book. It was his arrogance that led to his downfall. If anyone needed this advice, he did (1 Samuel 2:3).
3). God Humbles The Proud And Raises Up The Humble And Needy. Hannah was very much aware that this was what YHWH had done for her and she emphasises YHWH's continual care for the weak, hungry and barren, in contrast with His dealings with the powerful, rich and seemingly well-blessed. Here she has in mind her own experience, as seen in the light of God's continuously revealed concern for the poor, the widow, the fatherless and the needy (e.g. Deuteronomy 10:18; Exodus 22:22; Deuteronomy 14:29 and often). Her own experience of barrenness had given her a realisation of the heartfelt needs of the people (1 Samuel 2:4). She had become one with them in their need. It also, however, depicts the vicissitudes through which David would go in his conflict with Saul.
4). YHWH's Sovereignty Over Humanity As Giver Of Life And As Their Creator. In these verses she beautifully expresses YHWH's control over life and death as Creator, (death was ever close in those days), and over people's future prospects and destinies, having special reference to his love for the downtrodden and His readiness to exalt them. She especially felt that this applied to her because YHWH had given life to her in the giving of her child. But these things were all her people's everyday concerns and this also reflected her compassion and hopes for her people (1 Samuel 2:6). That indeed was why she had given her child to YHWH, so that he might be a blessing to the whole people. But also reflected in these words we can see David's rise to power out of seeming death.
5). She Glories In The Power Of YHWH And In His Coming King. In closing she emphasises YHWH's care for ‘His holy ones' (including herself) and warns those who vaunt themselves against Him of the consequences. And all this is in the light of the future glorious day when YHWH will rule over the whole earth (‘judge the ends of the earth') through His coming anointed king. The hoped for Shiloh will come, and to Him will the gathering of the people be (Genesis 49:10). See also Numbers 23:21; Numbers 24:17; Deuteronomy 17:14. It was her dream that her child might have his part to play in this glorious scenario (as indeed he would). This found partial fulfilment in the enthroning of David, but the ending of 2 Samuel in a plague caused by the king's disobedience (2 Samuel 22) demonstrates quite clearly that even to the writer he was only to be seen as a prototype and not as the real thing. The real thing would lie in the final everlasting king from David's house described in 2 Samuel 7:13; 2 Samuel 7:16.
The Greatness And Saving Power Of YHWH.
‘ And Hannah prayed, and said:
“My heart exults in YHWH,
My horn is exalted in YHWH,
My mouth is enlarged over my enemies,
Because I rejoice in your salvation.
There is none holy as YHWH,
For there is none besides you,
Neither is there any rock like our God.”
Hannah exults in YHWH Who has given her a son, and even more over her great privilege of giving him to YHWH. This has raised her status above all women in Israel (her horn is exalted in YHWH, i.e. she can now toss her head like the horned stag in his triumph). At the same time she no longer has to keep silent in humiliation in the face of her adversaries because she has borne a son to the discomfiture of all her enemies who had criticised her. For God has saved her from her humiliation and proved that none is holy like Him (compare Exodus 15:11), none can be compared with Him, none is so firm a foundation as He is. The idea of God as her rock comes from Deuteronomy 32:4; Deuteronomy 32:15; Deuteronomy 32:18; Deuteronomy 32:30.
A Warning To The Proud And Arrogant.
“Talk no more so exceeding proudly,
Let not arrogance come out of your mouth,
For YHWH is a God of knowledge,
And by him actions are weighed.”
Hannah may have had in mind here her treatment by Peninnah and other spiteful women of her acquaintance who had expressed their own pride and had given her a hard time. But in mind also may have been the behaviour of the current priesthood as soon to be described. It is, however, a general warning to all. She wants all to humble themselves before YHWH as she has, so that they may also enjoy similar blessings to the ones which she has received from the One Who has weighed her actions and responded accordingly. If only Saul had heeded these words, what a difference it might have made to him.
Her point is not that she has been blessed because her good actions have outweighed the bad, but that God has weighed up the longing of her heart and the purity of her purpose. That is why He has blessed her.
God Humbles The Proud And Raises Up The Humble And Needy.
“The bows of the mighty men are broken,
And those who stumbled are girded with strength.
Those who were full have hired out themselves for bread,
And those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
Yes, the barren has borne seven,
And she who has many children languishes.”
Hannah here contrasts the proud, self-sufficient warriors with those who stumble on their way, and is pointing out that it is God Who brings down and disarms the one while giving strength to the other. That is what He has done for her. In her weakness He has girded her with strength. (We can compare here also the contrast between Saul and David). She then contrasts the rich with their high standard of living with those who go hungry, and warns that God will cause the rich to have to fend for bread, while the hungry will cease being hungry because their needs will be supplied, in the same way as God has fed her own hungry soul. This is also relevant to Saul and David. In both cases the warning is to the proud and arrogant of what God does to those who are so proud unless they consider their ways, while at the same time being gracious to the weak and helpless, something that she has now experienced for herself. She lived at a time when such vicissitudes of life were constantly being revealed. They were turbulent times.
The third example of the three is especially pertinent to her own case, and again warns against arrogance in the face of other people's sufferings. She who was barren has borne a child who has fulfilled her desire. To her he is the equivalent of seven children the divinely perfect number (compare 1 Samuel 4:15). In contrast the one who has many children will languish (either because of her pride and unkindness to those less fortunate than herself, with Peninnah in mind, or because she loses her children and is left bereft - Jeremiah 15:9).
The overall point is that all such people should take into account God and His ways so that they are not caught out. For she has learned through her own experience what matters most is not to trust in one's own strength and resources, but to trust in YHWH.
YHWH's Sovereignty Over Humanity As Their Creator.
“YHWH kills, and makes alive,
He brings down to Sheol, and brings up.
YHWH makes poor, and makes rich,
He brings low, he also lifts up.
He raises up the poor out of the dust,
He lifts up the needy from the dunghill,
To make them sit with princes,
And inherit the throne of glory.
For the pillars of the earth are YHWH's,
And he has set the world upon them.”
This now turns her thoughts to YHWH's overall sovereignty both in life and death, and in regard to wealth and poverty. She is very much aware of this because of the life that God has given her in her son. There is no reference here to resurrection. The thought is rather that life and death are in His hands. Some die, others are ‘given life', or revive after illness. But all depend on YHWH. Some are brought down to the grave world (Sheol), others are raised up from their beds of sickness. And in the same way it is He Who makes men poor or rich, Who brings men low, or raises them up. This indeed is what has happened to her, She herself feels that she has been lifted out of a living death, and has been made rich and exalted in her bearing of a son.
For she has come by it to recognise that YHWH is the One Who lifts the poor and needy from the dust and from the dunghill (the place of misery and humiliation. See Isaiah 47:1; Lamentations 4:5), and makes them enjoy the privilege of being princes, and of sitting on a glorious throne (a total contrast to the dust and the dunghill). No doubt at that moment she felt that she, who had spiritually been mourning on a dunghill, was indeed now enthroned in glory at her joy over Samuel's birth. The picture in general is, of course, idealistic, although examples can certainly be found from history. Perhaps Jephthah sprang to mind. And it would certainly be true of David. But she has in mind what will happen ultimately when the ideal king who has been promised has come. And all this will be so because YHWH controls creation itself and is Lord over it all. Its very continuance is dependent on His provision, as is demonstrated by the fact that ‘the pillars of the earth are YHWH's, and He has set the world upon them'. This vivid description pictures the world as being like a house or temple (see Judges 16:26). If He were to pull the pillars away the house would come crashing down.
We gain from this some understanding of how Hannah's soul is exalted, for in her eyes all these descriptions bring out what YHWH has done for her. He has turned her world upside down. And her point is that He not only does it for her, but will do it for others. David will be a prime example.