1 Samuel 2:10

The adversaries of theLord] Render,

Jehovah, they that strive with Him shall be broken to pieces:

against them in heaven let Him (or, He shall) thunder:

Jehovah shall judge the ends of the earth:

and may He (or, He shall) give strength unto His king,

and exalt the horn of His Anointed.

The conclusion of the hymn is partly a prayer for the destruction of Jehovah's enemies, partly an expression of confidence that this will surely be effected. The mention of Jehovah's judgments leads up naturally to the thought of those who are his instruments for executing them. Hannah's prophetic prayer was but partially fulfilled in the king soon to be anointed by her son as the deliverer of Israel: it reaches forward to Him whom the Jewish kings foreshadowed, the King Messiah, in whom alone the lofty anticipations of the prophetess are to be completely realised.

shall be broken to pieces The Sept. here inserts the greater part of Jeremiah 9:23-24. The passage may nave been originally placed in the margin as an illustration, and afterwards incorporated in the text.

his anointed Here first in connexion with the kingly office do we meet the word which was to become the characteristic title of the expected deliverer, the "Messiah" or "Anointed One," "the Christ." The Sept. renders " ὑψώσει κέρας χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ " (cp. Luke 2:26): the Vulgate "sublimabit cornu Christi sui." See the notes on 1 Samuel 10:1 and 1 Samuel 12:3.

It has been alleged that the mention of the king stamps the song as of later date, posterior to the establishment of the monarchy. This is by no means the case. The idea of a king was not altogether novel to the Israelite mind. The promise to Abraham spoke of kings among his posterity (Genesis 17:6): the Mosaic legislation prescribes the method of election and the duty of the king (Deuteronomy 17:14-20): Gideon had been invited to establish a hereditary monarchy (Judges 8:22). Anointing too was recognised as the regular rite of admission to the office (Judges 9:8). 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. The prophet who came to Eli speaks again of "Jehovah's anointed" (1 Samuel 2:35). But who so worthy to be first chosen to anticipate the future as the mother of him who was destined to guide the chosen nation through this critical epoch of its existence, and superintend the foundation of the Davidic-Messianic kingdom?

Chapter s 1 and 2 to 1 Samuel 2:10 form the Haphtarahor lesson from the prophets, appointed to be read in the Jewish synagogues on the first day of the new year.

A translation of the Targumor Chaldee Paraphrase of Hannah's Song is given in Note III. p. 236.