The World Upside Down

The World Upside Down

Samuel 2:1-10

Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies because I rejoice in my victory… the bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble gird on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. 1 Samuel 2:1, 4:4-5

Hannah has just left her long-desired infant son with the priest at the temple in Shiloh. She has fulfilled her vow to God: If she were given a son, she would give him to the temple to become a nazarite, a servant of God, for his lifetime. She had been barren, enduring both the clumsy sympathy of her husband and the jeers from his fertile, second wife. 

Now she breaks out in a prayer of praise to God. But this is not the expected joyful thanksgiving for a son. It is a song praising God’s power to create reversals: rich to poor, low to exalted places, bringing to Sheol and raising up.

Scholars believe this is an ancient Hebrew hymn, placed in Hannah’s mouth since her story emphasizes a particular example of Yhwh’s theology of reversal. These great reversals can also be seen in Mary’s prayer of praise in Luke, and even in Jesus’ Jewish theology in his Sermon on the Mount. This upside-down world of our Judeo-Christian tradition is truly a call for joy in this Advent season, our “hope for years to come.”

Sandy Shapoval

Dean of the Library

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