Texts in Conversation
1 Samuel celebrates God lifting the poor from the ash heap and bringing down the mighty. In Luke, Mary’s song echoes Hannah’s song by praising God for casting down rulers and exalting the lowly.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1 Samuel 2:8
Hebrew Bible
7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy; he humbles and he exalts. 8 He lifts the weak from the dust; he raises the poor from the ash heap to seat them with princes—he bestows on them an honored position. The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord—he placed the world on them. 9 He watches over his holy ones, but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness, for it is not by one’s own strength that one prevails.
Luke 1:52
New Testament
51 He has demonstrated power with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance of their hearts. 52 He has brought down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and has sent the rich away empty.
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Notes and References
... The song of Mary in Luke 1:46–55 explicitly echoes the Song of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2:1–10. In 1 Samuel 2:4–8, Hannah celebrates how the Lord "has broken the bows of the mighty" and "exalted the poor," which Luke draws upon when Mary sings that God "has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly" (Luke 1:52–53). The thematic reliance demonstrates how the Gospel infuses traditional Hebrew song into the nativity narrative. ...
Levine, Amy-Jill
The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus
(p. 198) HarperSanFrancisco, 2006
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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