1 Samuel 2:1

Contextual Overview

¹ And Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exults in Yahweh; My horn is exalted in Yahweh; My mouth is enlarged over my enemies; Because I rejoice in your salvation. ¹ Then Hannah prayed: "My heart rejoices in the Lord ! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me. ¹ And Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exulteth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. ¹ Hannah prayed: "The Lord has filled my heart with joy; I feel very strong in the Lord . I can laugh at my enemies; I am glad because you have helped me! ¹ Hannah prayed, "My heart rejoices in the Lord ; my horn is exalted high because of the Lord . I loudly denounce my enemies, for I am happy that you delivered me. ¹ And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, my horn is exalted in the LORD; my mouth is enlarged over my enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. ¹ Hannah prayed, and said: My heart exults in Yahweh; My horn is exalted in Yahweh; My mouth is enlarged over my enemies; Because I rejoice in your salvation. ¹Hannah prayed and said, "My heart rejoices and triumphs in the LORD; My horn (strength) is lifted up in the LORD, My mouth has opened wide [to speak boldly] against my enemies, Because I rejoice in Your salvation.¹ And Hannah prayed and said, "My heart exults in the Lord ; my horn is exalted in the Lord . My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. ¹ And Anna worschipide, and seide, Myn herte fulli ioiede in the Lord, and myn horn is reisid in my God; my mouth is alargid on myn enemyes, for Y was glad in thin helthe.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

prayed: Nehemiah 11:17, Habakkuk 3:1, Philippians 4:6

My heart: Luke 1:46, Luke 1:47-56, Romans 5:11, Philippians 3:3, Philippians 4:4, 1 Peter 1:8

mine horn: Psalms 18:2, Psalms 89:17, Psalms 92:10, Psalms 112:8, Psalms 112:9, Luke 1:69

my mouth: Exodus 15:1, Exodus 15:21, Judges 5:1, Judges 5:2, Psalms 51:15, Psalms 71:8, Revelation 18:20

I rejoice: Psalms 9:14, Psalms 13:5, Psalms 20:5, Psalms 35:9, Psalms 118:14, Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 12:3, Habakkuk 3:18

Reciprocal: Genesis 21:6 - God 2 Samuel 22:3 - the horn 2 Chronicles 20:27 - the Lord Psalms 18:1 - in the day Psalms 28:7 - with Psalms 32:11 - Be glad Psalms 89:24 - in my Psalms 148:14 - exalteth Isaiah 38:9 - writing Isaiah 41:16 - thou shalt rejoice Isaiah 60:5 - be enlarged Isaiah 61:10 - will greatly Zechariah 10:7 - their heart 2 Corinthians 6:11 - our mouth Philippians 3:1 - rejoice 1 Peter 1:6 - ye greatly 1 Peter 3:5 - who Revelation 19:7 - be glad

Cross-References

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the sky and the earth.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1
In the bigynnyng God made of nouyt heuene and erthe.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning of God's preparing the heavens and the earth --

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Hannah prayed and said,.... She had prayed before, but that was mental, this vocal; she had prayed and was answered, and had what she prayed for, and now she gives thanks for it; and thanksgiving is one kind of prayer, or a part of it; see 1 Timothy 2:1, wherefore though what follows is a song, it was expressed in prayer; and therefore it is said she prayed, and that by a spirit of prophecy, as the Targum; hence she is by the Jews h reckoned one of the seven prophetesses; and indeed in this song she not only relates the gracious experiences of divine goodness she had been favoured with, and celebrates the divine perfections, and treats of the dealings of God with men, both in a way of providence and grace; but prophesies of things that should be done hereafter in Israel, and particularly of the Messiah and of his kingdom. There is a great likeness in this song to the song of the Virgin Mary; compare 1 Samuel 2:1 with Luke 1:46 and 1 Samuel 2:2 with Luke 1:49 and 1 Samuel 2:4 with Luke 1:51,

my heart rejoiceth in the Lord: not in her son the Lord had given her, but in the goodness and kindness of the Lord in bestowing him on her, as an answer of prayer; which showed great condescension to her, the notice he took of her, the love he had to her, and his well pleasedness in her, and his acceptance of her prayer through Christ; she rejoiced not in her husband, nor in the wealth and riches they were possessed of, nor in any creature enjoyments, but in the Lord, the giver of all; nor in her religious services and sacrifices, but in the Lord Christ, through whom her duties were acceptable to God, and who was the antitype of the sacrifices offered; and it is in the person, offices, and grace of Christ, that we should alone rejoice: see Philippians 4:4 this joy of Hannah's was not worldly, but spiritual; not outward, but inward; not hypocritical, but real and hearty:

mine horn is exalted in the Lord: which supposes that she had been in a low estate, was crest fallen, and her horn was defiled in the dust, as Job says was his case, Job 16:15, when God had shut up her womb, and her adversary upbraided her with it, and provoked and fretted her; and when she was so full of grief, that she could not eat her food, and prayed in the bitterness of her soul; but now she could lift up her horn and her head, as horned creatures, to whom the allusion is, do, when they are lively and strong; now she could look pleasant and cheerful, and even triumph, being raised to an high estate, and greatly favoured of the Lord, to whom she ascribes this change of her state and circumstances: it was owing to his power and grace that she was thus strengthened and exalted; as it is owing to the same, that the people of God, who are in a low estate by nature, are raised out of it in conversion, and brought into an open state of grace and favour with God, and put into the possession of rich blessings and mercies, and have hope of eternal glory, on account of which they can exult and triumph:

my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; meaning Peninnah, and those that provoked her, and upbraided her with her barrenness, to whom she was not able to make any reply; but now her mouth was opened, and she could speak largely, and did; not in a way of reproach and reviling, in retaliation for what she had met with from others; but in prayer to God, to whom she could come with open mouth, and use freedom and boldness, and plead with importunity, fervency, and in faith, and in praise and thanksgiving to him for the great and good things he had done for her, and would now freely and largely speak of them to others; to some, her friends, to their joy and pleasure; and to others, her enemies, to their grief and confusion:

because I rejoice in thy salvation; not only in temporal salvation wrought by the Lord for her, whereby she was delivered from the reproach of barrenness, through a son being given unto her; but in spiritual and eternal salvation, through the Messiah, she had knowledge of, and faith in, as appears from 1 Samuel 2:10, as all believers in him do, as it is contrived by the wisdom of God, wrought out by Christ, and applied by his Spirit; it being so great, so suitable, so perfect and complete, entirely free, and of an everlasting duration; see

Psalms 20:5.

h T. Megillah, fol. 14. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The song of Hannah is a prophetic Psalm. It is poetry. and it is prophecy. It takes its place by the side of the songs of Miriam, Deborah, and the Virgin Mary, as well as those of Moses, David, Hezekiah, and other Psalmists and prophets whose inspired odes have been preserved in the Bible. The special feature which these songs have in common is, that springing from, and in their first conception relating to, incidents in the lives of the individuals who composed them, they branch out into magnificent descriptions of the Kingdom and glory of Christ, and the triumphs of the Church, of which those incidents were providentially designed to be the types. The perception of this is essential to the understanding of Hannah’s song. Compare the marginal references throughout.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER II

Hannah's prophetic hymn, 1-10.

Samuel ministers to the Lord, 11.

The abominable conduct of Eli's sons, 12-17.

Farther account of Samuel, and of the Divine blessing on

Elkanah and Hannah, 18-21.

Eli's reprehensible remissness towards his sons in not

restraining them in their great profligacy, 22-26.

The message of God to Eli, and the prophecy of the downfall of

his family, and slaughter of his wicked sons Hophni and

Phinehas, 27-36.

NOTES ON CHAP. II

Verse 1 Samuel 2:1. And Hannah prayed, and said — The Chaldee very properly says, And Hannah prayed in the spirit of prophecy; for indeed the whole of this prayer, or as it may be properly called oracular declaration, is a piece of regular prophecy, every part of it having respect to the future, and perhaps not a little of it declaratory of the Messiah's kingdom.

Dr. Hales has some very good observations on this prophetic song.

"This admirable hymn excels in simplicity of composition, closeness of connection, and uniformity of sentiment; breathing the pious effusions of a devout mind, deeply impressed with a conviction of God's mercies to herself in particular, and of his providential government of the world in general; exalting the poor in spirit or the humble-minded, and abasing the rich and the arrogant; rewarding the righteous, and punishing the wicked. Hannah was also a prophetess of the first class, besides predicting her own fruitfulness, 1 Samuel 2:5, (for she bore six children in all, 1 Samuel 2:21,) she foretold not only the more immediate judgments of God upon the Philistines during her son's administration, 1 Samuel 2:10, but his remoter judgments 'upon the ends of the earth,' 1 Samuel 2:10, in the true spirit of the prophecies of Jacob, Balaam, and Moses. Like them, she describes the promised Saviour of the world as a KING, before there was any king in Israel; and she first applied to him the remarkable epithet MESSIAH in Hebrew, CHRIST in Greek, and ANOINTED in English, which was adopted by David, Nathan, Ethan, Isaiah, Daniel, and the succeeding prophets of the Old Testament; and by the apostles and inspired writers of the New. And the allusion thereto by Zacharias, the father of the Baptist, in his hymn, Luke 1:69, where he calls Christ a 'horn of salvation,' and the beautiful imitation of it by the blessed Virgin throughout in her hymn, Luke 1:46-55, furnishing the finest commentary thereon, clearly prove that Hannah in her rejoicing had respect to something higher than Peninnah her rival, or to the triumphs of Samuel, or even of David himself; the expressions are too magnificent and sublime to be confined to such objects. Indeed the learned rabbi, David Kimchi, was so struck with them that he ingenuously confessed that 'the King of whom Hannah speaks is the MESSIAH,' of whom she spake either by prophecy or tradition; for, continues he, 'there was a tradition among the Israelites, that a great King should arise in Israel; and she seals up her song with celebrating this King who was to deliver them from all their enemies.' The tradition, as we have seen, was founded principally on Balaam's second and third prophecies, Numbers 24:7-17; and we cannot but admire that gracious dispensation of spiritual gifts to Hannah (whose name signifies grace) in ranking her among the prophets who should first unfold a leading title of the blessed Seed of the woman."

In the best MSS. the whole of this hymn is written in hemistich or poetic lines. I shall here produce it in this order, following the plan as exhibited in Kennicott's Bible, with some trifling alterations of our present version: -

1 Samuel 2:1. My heart exulteth in Jehovah;

My horn is exalted in Jehovah.

My mouth is incited over mine enemies,

For I have rejoiced in thy salvation.

1 Samuel 2:2. There is none holy like Jehovah,

For there is none besides thee;

There is no rock like our God.

1 Samuel 2:3. Do not magnify yourselves, speak not proudly, proudly.

Let not prevarication come out of your mouth;

For the God of knowledge is Jehovah,

And by him actions are directed.

1 Samuel 2:4. The bows of the heroes are broken,

And the tottering are girded with strength.

1 Samuel 2:5. The full have hired out themselves for bread,

And the famished cease for ever.

The barren hath borne seven,

And she who had many children is greatly enfeebled.

1 Samuel 2:6. Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive;

He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.

1 Samuel 2:7. Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich;

He bringeth down, and he even exalteth.

1 Samuel 2:8. He lifteth up the poor from the dust;

From the dunghill he exalteth the beggar,

To make him sit with the nobles,

And inherit the throne of glory.

For to Jehovah belong the pillars of the earth,

And upon them he hath placed the globe.

1 Samuel 2:9. The foot of his saints he shall keep,

And the wicked shall be silent in darkness;

For by strength shall no man prevail.

1 Samuel 2:10. Jehovah shall bruise them who contend with him;

Upon them shall be thunder in the heavens.

Jehovah shall judge the ends of the earth;

And he shall give strength to his King.

And shall exalt the horn of his Messiah.

It is not particularly stated here when Hannah composed or delivered this hymn; it appears from the connection to have been at the very time in which she dedicated her son to God at the tabernacle, though some think that she composed it immediately on the birth of Samuel. The former sentiment is probably the most correct.

Mine horn is exalted in the Lord — We have often seen that horn signifies power, might, and dominion. It is thus constantly used in the Bible, and was so used among the heathens. The following words of Horace to his jar are well known, and speak a sentiment very similar to that above: -

Tu spem reducis mentibus anxiis,

Viresque et addis CORNUA pauperi.

Hor. Odar. lib. iii., Od. 21, v. 18.

Thou bringest back hope to desponding minds; And thou addest strength and horns to the poor man.

Paraphrastically expressed by Mr. Francis: -

"Hope, by thee, fair fugitive,

Bids the wretched strive to live.

To the beggar you dispense

Heart and brow of confidence."

In which scarcely any thing of the meaning is preserved.

My mouth is enlarged — My faculty of speech is incited, stirred up, to express God's disapprobation against my adversaries.