In his writing on Hannah’s Song in 1 Samuel 2 Augustine confirmed the value of this series. Contemporary commentaries are filled with catalogues of controversies. Ancient writers came to the Scriptures one on one and shared  their wonder and excitement. Over the years controversies have grown over their insights and now they are all but forgotten.

Augustine wrote,

Surely, anyone who is appropriately moved by the events whose fulfillment has already begin, even in this earthly pilgrimage, must listen to these words and observe and recognize that through this woman (whose very name, Hannah, means “God’s grace”), there speaks by the spirit of prophecy, the Christian religion itself, the City of God itself, whose king and founder is Christ. There speaks, in fact, the grace of God itself, from which the proud are estranged so that they fall, with which the humble are filled so that they rise up, which was in fact the chief theme that rang out in her hymn of praise. Now it may be that someone will be ready to say that the woman didn’t utter a prophecy but merely praised God in an outburst of exultation for the son who was granted in answer to her prayer. If so, what is the meaning of this passage, “He has made weak the bow of the mighty ones, and the weak have girded themselves with strength. Those who were full of bread have been reduced to want, and the hungry have passed over the earth. Because the barren woman has given birth to seven, while she who has many children has become weak.” Had Hannah herself really born seven children, although she was barren? She had only one son when she spoke these words; and even afterwards she did not give birth to seven, or to six, which would have made Samuel the seventh. She had in fact three male and two female children. And then observe her concluding words, spoken among that people at a time when no one had yet been king over them: “He gives strength to our kings and will exalt the horn of his anointed.” How is it that she said this if she was not uttering a prophecy?”

Compare Augustine’s enthusiasm to Bergen’s matter-of-factness in the New American Commentary.

Much scholarly discussion has centered around Hannah’s use of the terms “king” and “anointed” (Hb. melek and mešîah?) in her prayer. Many scholars judge these words to be anachronistic, since Israel obviously had no king at the time. However, it is possible that these words are (1) allusions to the office of kingship mentioned in the Torah (cf. Deut 17:15), (2) references to local Israelite rulers (cf. Judg 9:6), (3) prophetic of the Davidic dynasty (cf. Gen 49:10-12), or (4) references to an anticipated, eschatological figure. The close parallel between Hannah’s Prayer and Mary’s Song (Luke 1:46-55) suggest that the first-century Christian community considered the entire passage, and especially the phrases “his king” and “his anointed” to be prophetic references to Jesus Christ and his ministry.[1]

Augustine’s delight and his direct evaluations of Hannah’s prayer are superior to Bergen’s detached, grocery-list of options. They also exceed the shallow commentary provided in Zondervan’s Expositor’s Bible Commentary.

Hannah voices the divine promise of strength to the coming "king"--initially David, who will found a dynasty with messianic implications ("king" is used in a messianic sense in, e.g., Ps 2:6; Isa 32:1; Jer 23:5; Ezek 37:22, 24; Hos 3:5; Zech 9:9). The king--the "anointed" one--will rule by virtue of God's command and will therefore belong to him body and soul. The king will be "his" (v. 10; 2 Sam 22:51).

Both of these commentaries provide meager value to the student of Scripture. Expositor’s doesn’t even pick up on the presence of the Messiah in Hannah’s prayer. Bergen mentions it only by way of the “first-century Christian community.” Augustine picks up the reference to the Messiah and runs with it. He makes observations in the text that the astute student would do well to imitate. Hannah never had enough children to interpret “The barren has borne seven” as a reference to herself. Her use of “king” and “anointed” also warns us that we have more in this prayer than personal thankfulness. Augustine goes on to make an application that we may interact with. He uses Hannah’s name as a reference to the church.

Therefore, let the church of Christ speak, the “city of the great king,” the church that is “full of grace,” fruitful in children. Let it speak the words that it recognizes as spoken prophetically about itself so long ago, by the lips of this devout mother.

Augustine’s direct application of Hannah prophecy to the church is problematic. Jesus is the Messiah, but speaking of Jesus is not the same as speaking of the church. We can apply Hannah’s song to him not the church. We can disagree with Augustine. Bergen, on the other hand, gave us little to interact with. The detached posture of this and other current commentaries cultivates arrogance. By not committing to any of his four options, Bergen avoids being wrong. He also fails to contribute anything to our understanding of these options. His contemplation of Hannah’s prayer stops with his list.

We need to continue considering the implications of Hannah’s prophetic utterance. If there is value in studying the Scriptures, we must come to know and cherish the Scriptures. This requires that we continue beyond a list of possible interpretations. We must observe the Scriptures as Augustine did, noticing the relationships between passages. Expositor’s includes a list of passages in which “king” is used messianically without direct reference to the Messiah. Better would have been to discuss the divine promise of a messiah. Where can we find out more about this promised Messiah? What did Hannah know about the Messiah?

Bergen is deft at handling knowledge about the Scriptures, but I want to read someone who can actually handles the Scriptures. Rightly handling the word of truth is preferred, but at least handle it. These ancient scholars did handle the word of truth. They weren’t perfect, but they had little else to toy with. Thank you, Augustine, for digging into the Scriptures and contributing to our understanding of them.