Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 28 June 2020
Last week, the Municipal Ministerial Association published a letter with the signatures of representatives from about 15 local churches. It talked about “mak[ing] the voice of the oppressed heard” in terms of political protests, but nowhere does it mention praying to God. In 1 Samuel 2, Hannah said that it is God who lifts up the poor, so the poor need to look to God to bring about change. The Ministerial Association, however, said in its letter that it, as a group, was “established in the 1970’s to bring unity, peace and justice… to speak and act until equality and justice are known by all... creating a just world for all people.” Do you see how they took God out of the equation and put themselves in as the change agent and the hope of the oppressed? Of course we are to be agents of reconciliation and to do good works for the poor and needy, but Hanna’s message in her prayer in chapter two is that justice must be framed with the realization that it is God who is in control of the vicissitudes of social & political change, so we must look to Him rather than to human power.
We have already looked at the first three verses of Hannah’s prayer-song of triumphant worship in 1 Samuel chapter 2, including the four results of faith in God in v.1, the incomparable greatness of God in v.2, and the warning against proud, careless words in v.3.
In the remainder of Hannah’s triumph song in verses 4-10, we see the power of God extolled to turn things upside down and rightside up.
Now, Hannah’s prayer sounds like the dream of Marxism and all its revolutionary offshoots, from the overthrow of the French aristocracy in the 1800’s to the overthrow of the Minneapolis and Seattle police this year, but it’s not the same thing.
Karl Marx’s Satanically-inspired writings from a few hundred years ago have become surprisingly-popular, especially among previously-Christianized nations.
He taught a secular, humanistic view of the world which frames history in terms of competition for worldly power. He taught that the problem with this world is not that mankind has sinned against God but rather that that some folks accumulate too much power and wealth and deprive other folks. The solution to this problem, he taught, is for the poor and powerless majority to undermine and destabilize everything that the rich and powerful have established in an effort to turn the tables on them.
The results of Marxist ideology have been horrifyingly consistent, from the French guillotines to the firing squads of Stalin’s Russia and Mao’s China and Hitler’s Germany, and various other dictators throughout South America, Africa, and Asia.
Marxism promotes rebellion against authority and order, and the natural consequence of that is the anarchy and looting that we’ve been seeing lately in our cities, this, in turn, always results in the rise of a new, more-authoritarian government than before, resulting in more anger and frustration with the new folks who have become rich and powerful.
Marxism has no solution; it is never-ending hatred and chaos. But what humans try to do with abysmal results, God accomplishes with perfect justice and goodness. God superintends the overthrow of wicked rich and powerful people and takes care of the people He loves. God can turn the tables without endless revenge cycles and chaos, and so we must look to Him rather than to human effort when we see injustice.
When Jesus taught on this earth, He also spoke of God’s good, divine reversals in His Beatitudes in Matthew 5, where He lists nine reversal statements – which is about the same number as Hannah makes in 1 Samuel!
Jesus’ mother Mary also took notes from Hannah when she composed her Magnificat, although her list of reversal statements is much shorter. (See Appendix chart)
The first divine reversal to bring about social justice in Hannah’s prayer-song comes in v.4:
This first contrast is between strong/mighty/warriors and weak/feeble/stumbling folk.
In this first upset, the strong, mighty warrior’s weapons are coming apart and becoming useless, while the weak, feeble, stumbling folk are effectively equipping for war with weapons and arms and military power!
Now, longbow archers generally store and transport their bows unstrung. At the point of use, they bend their bow over their leg and set the string on. But if the bow breaks while stringing it – or if the bowstring snaps under the tension, then they no longer have a weapon!
Hannah attributes this shift in the balance of military power to God, just as David did later on.
Psalm 18:39 “You really equip me with resource[s] for the battle; You cause him who rises up against me to kneel under me.” (NAW)
Psalm 33:16-21 The king does not exist who is secured by a lot of power; a champion does not deliver himself by a lot of strength. A disappointment is the horse when it comes to security; even with a lot of power, it will not escape. Look, the eye of Yahweh is on those who respect Him (because they are hoping for His lovingkindness) in order to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive during the famine. Our soul waits for Yahweh; He is our helper and our shield, for it is in Him that our heart is happy, because we have trusted in His holy name.” (NAW)
Hannah may have been thinking immediately of her situation with Peninnah, where her rival would no longer have ammunition to question God’s love for her because her rival’s womb may have slowed down in production while Hannah’s ramped up. (The tradition of the Jews is that for every child Hannah bore afterward, Peninnah buried two until she had none1.)
But Hannah is talking about something bigger than just herself. The “mighty-men” and the “weak” people are plural. She sees herself as one of God’s people and applies these patterns of God’s revolutionary activity with broad strokes to the entire church.
You who once were feeble spiritually under the controlling power of the Devil and sin have, by the revolutionary power of Jesus, been set free from their power to fight and win over them. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day... taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” (Eph. 6:12-16, NKJV)
The next reversal statement moves from a martial theme to an economic theme:
This is part of the blessings and curses in Leviticus 26. God controls who has the food!
The Prophet Isaiah later on observed that the wicked who are focused on food rather than God "...on the one hand snatches, yet is hungry, and on the other hand eats but does not get full..." (Isaiah 9:19-20. NAW)
Psalm 33:18 “Look, the eye of Yahweh is on those who respect Him (because they are hoping for His lovingkindness) in order to deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive during famine/hunger." (NAW)
Psalm 22:26 "Lowly ones will eat and be satisfied; they will praise Yahweh – those who seek Him..." (NAW, cf. Ps. 37:18-19)
This is no Marxist revolution that is focusing on “haves” verses “have-nots,” this is God’s providing for those who focus on worshipping Him.
Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for it is they who will be satisfied." (Matt. 5:3-12, NAW)
Productivity is also in the hands of the LORD. Isaiah used the last word in 1 Sam. 2:5, more than any other author in the Bible, describing how God caused
fields to stop growing crops (Isa. 16:8),
the Nile River to stop spawning fish (Isa. 19:8),
the vineyards of Tyre to quit growing grapes (Isa. 24:7),
and the land of Israel to wither its produce (Isa. 33:9).
When it comes to economic downturns, God claims responsibility, it is not merely about the rich and powerful who control the means of production.
Hannah also links childbearing along with agricultural bounty in the economy because God put it that way in the blessings and curses of the law:
Exodus 23:25-26 "So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days." (NKJV)
Deut. 7:12-14 "Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock." (NKJV)
Hannah remembers great women in the Bible who were unable to have children like herself: Sarah, Rachel, and Samson’s mother, and how God gave them children miraculously, and she declares God to be in control of birth. Not Planned Parenthood. Not “the pill.” Not omega 3 fatty acids. Not obstetricians or midwives. God!
The wording here in verse 5 doesn’t explain why there are seven children in particular.
Perhaps she is remembering the history of Leah whose fertility was also in doubt and who bore six sons and one daughter to Jacob.
Perhaps she is expecting more children herself (v.21 says she ended up with 6).
Or perhaps – and this seems most likely to me and to most other commentators – the number seven is just symbolic for the perfect number of children, enough for her, however many or few it turned out to be in literal numbers. This is poetic language, after all.
Later on, Isaiah prophecied of the new covenant community: Isaiah 54:1 Sing, barren one – who has not given birth; Break forth into song and cry aloud, she [who] has not been in labour, for the children of the desolate one are more than the children of one who has a husband, says Yahweh." (NAW)
Because God controls the economy and God controls the population, we can trust Him to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory” - even if resources are scarce.
We also can be satisfied with what He provides and with what we produce, however much or little it looks like. At the end of the day if we’ve been faithful, we can be content with what we’ve produced because God is sovereign over the amount of children and the amount of other wealth we have and the amount of work projects we can accomplish.
Now, after proclaiming God’s revolutionary sovereignty over the military and the economy, Hannah moves on the issues of life and death!
All four verbs in this verse have causal meanings in Hebrew2. God causes life and death! His sovereignty is emphasized by the placement of His name Yahweh/the LORD emphatically as the first word in the Hebrew verse.
Where did Hannah get this theological idea? I suggest she got it from the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:39 “...there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.” (NKJV)
David echoes this a couple hundred years after Hannah in his Psalm 30:3 Yahweh, you brought my soul up from Sheol; you revived me from going down the drain.” (NAW)
And in Revelation 1:18, Jesus says, “...I have the keys to Death and Hell!” This after dying and rising from the dead Himself, and in Hannah’s song we have an incipient prophecy of what would happen to Jesus.
This Hebrew verb “rise up” is used in the Old Testament to indicate just about anything that goes upward literally or figuratively, but when placed opposite “going down to Sheol” the figurative meanings of hell3 and heaven seem to be intended.
In the Old Testament, when God or an angel would visit someone and then depart, he would leave by “going up.” (Gen. 17:22, 28:12, 35:13, Judges 13:20, etc.)
When anyone wanted to worship God, they would go up on a hill as a symbolic way of stepping closer to God, (Gen. 35:1-3, Judges 20:18&26: 21:5-8)
and when the burnt sacrifice was offered to appease God, the smoke would go up to Him, (Gen. 8:20, 22:7, Judges 6:21, 21:4, etc.)
so Hannah says, whether you live or die, God is in control of that, and whether you spend eternity apart from God or up in heaven with God after death, God is in control of that too!
Some people might say that’s Fatalism, where you believe, “It doesn’t matter what I do because I am just a puppet that God is manipulating,” but Fatalism is not the application the Bible applies to the doctrine of God’s sovereignty over death and hell:
Remember, these sovereignty statements in Hannah’s Song are couched in worship, “My heart has been exuberant in Yahweh, my ‘horn’ has risen up in Yahweh; my mouth has gone wide over my enemies; I have become happy in Your salvation.” Our response to the doctrine of God’s sovereignty should be eagerness to press in to a closer relationship with this awesome God who controlls the gates of life and heaven!
Four more actions are ascribed to God’s causation in...
Causing to dispossess/become poor
Proverbs 23:5 observes the tendency of riches to “take wing” and “leave those miserable who, when they had them, placed their happiness in them... This is not to be ascribed to fortune, nor merely to men's wisdom or folly... (Eccl. 9:11)... it is God's doing." (M. Henry) And if God is the one behind your economic situation (Prov. 22:2), you're barking up the wrong tree to hound after the wealthy to fix your problem, instead you should hound after God and let Him set things right.
The context of this Hebrew word yarash is rooted in God’s promise to the Hebrew slaves from Egypt that He would give them the Promised Land. Exodus 34:24 "...I will cast out the nations before you…” (NKJV) - even nations stronger than you. And the books of Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Samuel all detail the incremental conquering of the Canaanite tribes and possession of the Promised Land by the children of Israel.
Later Jews also looked back on this process of gaining ownership of the Promised Land as God’s work: Psalm 44:1-3 “...our fathers recounted for us the accomplishment You accomplished in their days – in the early days. It was You – Your hand – that disinherited nations. Instead You planted them [our fathers]. You caused calamity to the peoples but them [our fathers] You released. So it was not by their own sword that they inherited the land, and their arm-strength is not what brought deliverance to them, for it was Your right hand and Your arm-strength and the light of Your face by which you favored them.” (NAW)
This dispossession of the wealthy is not to be determined by the whims of violent mobs a la Marxism; it is to be determined by God. The reversals God orchestrates don’t usually happen as fast as we want them to, but they are more fair and just than we could ever pull off.
He also causes to be rich/wealthy
Proverbs 10:22 “The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.” (NKJV)
Years ago, I was flying to a conference somewhere, and the airline assigned me a seat on the plane next to an Arab man. He struck up a conversation with me, and we got to talking about our families. At the time I had four sons, and when I told him that, his eyes got wide and he said, “You are a rich man!”
In Hannah’s immediate context, if she had no children, she would be considered poor, and there would be no descendants of hers to inherit and possess the Promised Land after her.
In the larger context, we know that wealth ebbs and flows.
Israel lost its possession of of the Promised Land when it went into exile in 586BC, then got it back, then lost it again in 70AD, and now 1,900 years later they’re making a comeback again and are about to take over more of the West Bank.
I’m told that lottery-winners tend to spend their millions quickly and return to poverty.
Others, like Joseph and Mordecai in the Bible have rags-to-riches stories.
I don’t doubt that there are Marxist-style conspiracies and human jockeying for power, but ultimately it is all in the hands of God, who wisely decides which direction the wealth and power and ownership will flow among people. So He can be trusted and worshipped – and that not only with temporal riches but also with eternal riches, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9, NKJV).
Causing to be humble/low
Once again, I believe Hannah’s theology is informed by Scripture, for it had been written in Job 40:6-12 "Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, "...Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? ... [Can you] Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him..." (NKJV)
Hannah saw God take Peninnah down a notch, but this prayer isn’t about a personal rivalry; it is about the universal sovereignty of the one, true God and the revolutions of justice and righteousness which He brings about in this world.
David affirmed the same thing in his lifetime, speaking of God: Psalm 18:27 "For You Yourself will cause to save a lowly people, but haughty eyes You will bring low." (NAW)
Isaiah prophecied of how the Messiah would do this on a grand scale: "Every valley will be raised And every mountain and hill will be lowered And it will be that the crooked becomes even And the ridges become a cleft, And the glory of Yahweh will be revealed..." (Isaiah 40:4-5, NAW)
And emperors throughout history from Pharoah to Nebuchadnezzar to Hitler to President Nixon have been humbled before the King of Kings while others like Moses, David, and Cyrus – and the current powers-that-be, have been raised up by God into national and international leadership.
and causing to raise/lift up
Like the others, this theme was carried by Job before Hannah and by David after her:
Concerning “mockers” Job said, “...You have hidden their heart from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them." (Job 17:4, NKJV)
But faithful David said to God in Psalm 18:48 “...You exalt me apart from the one who rises up [against] me. You cause me to escape from a man of violence." (NAW)
Psalm 37:32-40 "Raring to put him to death, the wicked person keeps watch on the righteous person. As for Yahweh, He will not abandon him into his hand and will not make him out to be wicked during His judgment. So wait for Yahweh and keep His way, and He will exalt you to possess the land; when wicked men are cut off you will see. There was a wicked man I saw, formidable and coming out like a new normal, but then he passed on, and look, he wasn't [there]. I even searched for him, but he was not to be found! Use care regarding a man of integrity and observe a righteous man, because there will be an "after" for the man of peace, but transgressors will be altogether destroyed; the "after" of wicked men will be cut off. Truly the salvation of righteous men is from Yahweh; He is their strength in a time of crisis. Yahweh will also help them and deliver them. He delivers them from wicked men and saves them because they have taken refuge in Him." (NAW)
So when you see good guys down and bad guys up, the solution is not “revolution now!”, the solution is active trust in God – it may include removing bad leaders in a lawful way, but it will be done with eyes on God, waiting on His timing.
1 Peter 5:5-6 "...'God arrays Himself against proud men, but to humble men He gives grace.' Therefore let yourselves start being humbled under the mighty hand of God, in order that He may exalt y'all in [His] appointed time..." (NAW, cf. Mt. 23:12, Jas. 4:10)
As regards humble, godly Hannah, I cannot think of a greater honor than for her story of faith and answered prayer to be enshrined forever in God’s word!
Hannah continues in v8 with four more sovereign actions God does in regard to social standing and political power, but I’m going to have to save that for another sermon!
Clearly, God is concerned about political and social and economic justice. Hannah helps us see that God is actively engaged in turning injustice upside down and justice rightside up and that He has the power to pull off what no human can do.
Christians can reflect God’s character by seeking peace and justice for everyone without prejudice.
However, we realize that human agencies are not the place to start, nor are they the ultimate end when it comes to pursuing social justice. If you want an effective revolution, start with prayer and worship toward God like Hannah did, humbling ourselves and asking Jesus to make things right because it is those who trust in Him to deliver from oppression and who take refuge in Him that He undertakes for.
# |
Hannah (1 Sam. 2) |
Mary (Luke 1:51-53, NKJV) |
Jesus (Matt. 5:3-12, NAW) |
1 |
v. 4 The bow of mighty-men came undone, while those who were enfeebled strapped on a weapon. |
He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. |
“Blessed are the ones who are lowly in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. |
2 |
v.5a Those who were filled with bread went job-hunting while those who were hungry ceased [to be so]. |
He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. |
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for it is they who will be satisfied. |
3 |
v.5b Even the barren woman has had seven children while she who abounded in children became unproductive! |
|
Blessed are the peace-makers, for it is they who will be called the sons of God. |
4 |
v.6 It is Yahweh who causes to die and who prolongs life, who causes to go down to Sheol and who causes to rise up. |
|
“Blessed are the ones who mourn, because it is they who will be comforted. |
5 |
v.7 It is Yahweh who causes dispossession and who causes wealthiness, who causes lowliness, moreover who causes exaltation. |
|
“Blessed are the meek, because it is they who will inherit the earth.” |
6 |
v.8 He who causes the poor to get up from the dust lifts up the needy from the dumps to reside among noblemen. He bequeaths to them a throne of glory, because the substructures of the earth belong to Yahweh, and He sets the world upon them. |
|
Blessed are those who have been hunted down for the sake of righteousness, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. |
7 |
v.9 It is the way of His godly one that He keeps, while He silences the wicked ones in the darkness. {He granted the thing vowed to the one who vowed, and He blessed the years of the righteous,} because it is not through manpower that a man prevails. |
|
Y'all are being blessed whenever liars reproach you and hunt [you] down and speak every evil against you for my sake. Keep rejoicing and leaping for joy, because your reward is bountiful in heaven, for they hunted down the prophets before you in the same way. |
8 |
His rival against him will be undone by Yahweh {Yahweh Himself is holy. Let not the wise boast in his wisdom, and let not the strong boast in his strength, and let not the rich boast in his riches, for in this let the boaster boast: in understanding and knowing Yahweh and doing justice and righteousness in the midst of the earth.} Yahweh will rumble [against] them in the heavens. He will judge the ends of the earth and give strength to His king and lift up the horn of His Anointed One. |
He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers... |
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are those who show mercy, for it is they who will receive mercy. |
LXX |
Brenton (LXX) |
DRB (Vulgate) |
KJV |
NAW |
Masoretic Txt |
1 Καὶ εἶπεν X Ἐστερεώθη ἡ καρδία μου ἐν κυρίῳ, ὑψώθη κέρας μου ἐν θεῷ [μου]· ἐπλατύνθη ἐπὶ ἐχθροὺς τὸ στόμα μου, εὐφράνθην ἐν σωτηρίᾳ σου. |
1:28
...and |
1:28 ...And Anna prayed, and said: 2:1 My heart hath rejoiced in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God: my mouth is enlarged over my enemies: because I have joyed in thy salvation. |
1 And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlargedB over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. |
1 Then Hannah prayed and said, “My heart has been exuberant in Yahweh, my ‘horn’ has risen up in Yahweh; my mouth has gone wide over my enemies; I have become happy in Your salvation, |
א וַתִּתְפַּלֵּל חַנָּה וַתֹּאמַר עָלַץ לִבִּי בַּיהוָה רָמָה קַרְנִי בַּיהוָה רָחַב פִּי עַל אוֹיְבַי כִּיC שָׂמַחְתִּי בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ. |
2 ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἅγιος ὡς κύριος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν δίκαιος ὡς ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν· οὐκ ἔστιν [ἅγιος] πλὴν σοῦ X X X X X X. |
2 For there is none holy as the Lord, and there is none righteous as our God; there is none [holy] besides thee XXXX. |
2 There is none holy as the Lord is: for there is no other beside thee, and there is none strong like our God. |
2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. |
2 for there is no one holy like Yahweh, and there is no one righteous like our God; there is no one besides You, and there is no rock like our God! |
ב אֵין קָדוֹשׁ כַּיהוָה כִּיD אֵין בִּלְתֶּךָ וְאֵין צוּר כֵּאלֹהֵינוּ. |
3
μὴ καυχᾶσθε
[καὶ
μὴ]
λαλεῖτε ὑψηλά,
[μὴ]
ἐξελθάτω
μεγαλορρημοσύνηE
ἐκ τοῦ στόματος
ὑμῶν, ὅτι θεὸς
γνώσεων κύριος
καὶ |
3 Boast not, and utter not high things; let not high-sounding words come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and God prepares his own designs. |
3
Do not multiply to speak lofty things, boasting: let |
3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. |
3 Don’t overdo [it when] y’all talk high [and] mighty. [Don’t] let careless-speech go out from y’all’s mouth, for Yahweh is the God of knowledge and licentious-deeds are not worth [it]. |
ג אַל תַּרְבּוּ תְדַבְּרוּ גְּבֹהָה גְבֹהָה יֵצֵא עָתָק מִפִּיכֶם כִּי אֵל דֵּעוֹת יְהוָה ולאF נִתְכְּנוּ עֲלִלוֹת. |
4 τόξον δυνατῶν ἠσθένησεν, καὶ ἀσθενοῦντες περιεζώσαντο δύναμιν· |
4 The bow of the mighty has waxed feeble, and the weak have girded themselves with strength. |
4 The bow of the mighty is overcome, and the weak are girt with strength. |
4
The bow[s]
of the mighty men are
broken,
and they that stumbled |
4 The bow of mighty-men came undone, while those who were enfeebled strapped on a weapon. |
|
5 πλήρειςI ἄρτων ἠλαττώθησανJ, καὶ οἱ πεινῶντες παρῆκανK [γῆν]· ὅτι στεῖρα ἔτεκεν ἑπτά, καὶ ἡ πολλὴ ἐν τέκνοις ἠσθένησεν. |
5 They that were full of bread are brought low; and the hungry have forsaken [the land]; for the barren has born seven, and she that abounded in children has waxed feeble. |
5
They that were full [before],
have hired out themselves for bread: and the hungry are |
5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feebleL. |
5 Those who were filled with bread went job-hunting while those who were hungry ceased [to be so]. Even the barren woman has had seven children while she who abounded in children became unproductive! |
ה שְׂבֵעִים בַּלֶּחֶם נִשְׂכָּרוּM וּרְעֵבִים חָדֵלּוּ עַדN עֲקָרָה יָלְדָה שִׁבְעָה וְרַבַּת בָּנִים אֻמְלָלָהO. |
6 κύριος θανατοῖ καὶ ζωογονεῖ, κατάγει εἰς ᾅδου καὶ ἀνάγει· |
6 The Lord kills and makes alive; he brings down to the grave, and brings up. |
6 The Lord killeth and maketh alive, he bringeth down to hell, and bringeth back [again]. |
6 The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. |
6 It is Yahweh who causes to die and who prolongs life, who causes to go down to Sheol and who causes to rise up. |
|
7 κύριος πτωχίζει καὶ πλουτίζει, ταπεινοῖ καὶ ἀνυψοῖ. |
7 The Lord makes poor, and makes rich; he brings low, and lifts up. |
7 The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, he humbleth and he exalteth: |
7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. |
7 It is Yahweh who causes dispossession and who causes wealthiness, who causes lowliness, moreover who causes exaltation. |
|
8 ἀνιστᾷ ἀπὸ γῆς πένητα [καὶ] ἀπὸ κοπρίας ἐγείρει πτωχὸν καθίσαι μετὰ δυναστῶν [λαῶν] καὶ θρόνον δόξης κατακληρονομῶν αὐτοῖς. X X X X X X X X |
8 He lifts up the poor from the earth, and raises the needy from the dunghill; to seat [him] with the princes [of the people], and causing them to inherit the throne of glory: X X X X X X X X |
8 He raiseth up the needy from the dust, and lifteth up the poor from the dunghill: that [he] may sit with princes, and hold the throne of glory. For the poles of the earth are the Lord's, and upon them he hath set the world. |
8
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and
lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill,
to set |
8 He who causes the poor to get up from the dust lifts up the needy from the dumps to reside among noblemen. He bequeaths to them a throne of glory, because the substructures of the earth belong to Yahweh, and He sets the world upon them. |
ח מֵקִים מֵעָפָר דָּל מֵאַשְׁפֹּתR יָרִים אֶבְיוֹן לְהוֹשִׁיב עִם נְדִיבִים וְכִסֵּא כָבוֹד יַנְחִלֵם כִּי לַיהוָה מְצֻקֵיS אֶרֶץ וַיָּשֶׁת עֲלֵיהֶם תֵּבֵל.
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1 Henry/Gill cited Jarchi Vid. Hieron, Trad. Heb. in. lib. Reg. fol. 34. K
2“Die,” “go down,” and “go up” are in the Hebrew Hiphil stem which denotes causality, while “live” is in the Piel stem which, for this verb, at least connotes (if not outrightly denotes) causality in the sense of prolonging life.
3For the O.T. Jew, Sheol could be where the unbelievers go after they die or it could be merely the intermediate state of all souls at death. The context generally indicates which is being denoted.
AMy
original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in
footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB,
or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not
in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use
of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different
from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far
from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout.
And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I
insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between
the various editions and versions when there are more than two
different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea
Scroll containing any part of 1 Samuel 2 is 4Q51Samuela,
which contains fragments of vs. 1-10 and 16-36 (highlighted in
purple), and which has been dated between 50-25 B.C. Where the DSS
supports the LXX with text not in the MT, I have highlighted
with yellow the LXX
and its translation into English.
B cf. NASB “speaks boldly against,” NIV “boasts over,” ESV “derides”
C This conjunction is is bumped forward to the first word in v.3 in the DSS and LXX, but curiously, not in the Vulgate.
DThere is more text here in the DSS, but it is obscured. It appears to support the extra text from the LXX: “and there is none righteous like our God”
E Α = μεταρσις (?), Σ = ανομια (lawlessness)
FSymmachus interpreted the original (ketib) MT literally “and not,” but the Vulgate and all the standard English translations follow the qere (alternate reading) וְלוֹ “and for Him.” The ketib and qere words are homonyms in Hebrew, so it’s possible that a scribe taking dictation could have confused the two. Curiously, the LXX switches two letters in the MT ketib to make the subject explicitly “God” ואל and adds an “of him” at the end to boot! This could be evidence of this variant being present in the Hebrew text at least as early as the fourth century AD. The DSS is obliterated at this point.
G cf. NIV “are armed with,” NASB “gird on” (active voice), ESV “bind on”
HThe DSS spelled this word singular instead of plural. This root חת only occurs elsewhere in Gen. 9:2 (animals will be scared of humans), Job 41:25 (Leviathan will not be scared of humans), and Jer. 46:5 (mighty men scared), the related verb חתת is more common, though. Note its use in conjunction with אזר in Isaiah 8:9 “Break, you peoples, and be shattered. Give ear, every distant land; strap on your armor and be shattered...” (NAW)
I Aq. & Sym. = κεχορτασμενοι “fattened up/gorged/satiated”
J Α = συνετριβησαν
K Σ = ανενδεεις
L cf. NASB “languishes,” NIV “pines away,” ESV “is forlorn”
M This is the only Niphal form of this verb in the Hebrew O.T.
N“The use of עַד as a conjunction, in the sense of “yea” or “in fact,” may be explained as an elliptical expression, signifying “it comes to this, that.” ~Keil & Delitzsch
O Cf. Jer. 15:9 “She languishes who has borne seven...”
PThe Piel participle stands out from the three Hiphils in this verse. The Piel form of chayah is used to denote “sparing” life, “reviving” life, and “prolonging/continuing life” throughout the O.T.
QOnce again a single exception is made to the pattern of Hiphil participles, this time in the fourth verb being Polel. But for this verb, the Polel spelling denotes causation just as the Hiphil.
RIn addition to the verbatim quote in Ps. 113:7 this word is only found in the post-exilic books of Nehemiah (2:13; 3:13,14; 12:31) – referring to the trash gate and Lam. 4:5.
SLexicographers seem to be divided over the root and meaning of this word. The only other places in the O.T. this word can be found with the same three radicals in order are: 1 Ki. 7:16 (an extruded pillar), 2 Chr. 4:3 (a cast metal stand), Job 11:15 (a man being “steadfast” like a pillar of his community). If the word search is expanded to include the addition of a vav between the second and third radical (מצוך), several instances of a word for “distress” appear in Deut. 28, Psalm 107, and, most notably, 1 Sam. 14:5 (describing “straights” between two rock pinnacles in Israel).