Verse 10:[1] The adversaries of the LORD shall be (Ps. 2:9) broken to pieces; (1 Sam. 7:10; Ps. 18:13) out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: (Ps. 96:13; 98:9) the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and (Ps. 89:24) exalt the horn of his anointed.
[The Lord His adversaries shall fear, יְהוָ֞ה יֵחַ֣תּוּ מְרִיב֗וֹ] All, contending against Jehovah, shall be broken to pieces (Junius and Tremellius). Jehovah, let be broken to pieces those quarreling with him (Pagnine), understanding, Samuel (Vatablus). The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces (Tigurinus, English, certain interpreters in Vatablus, similarly the Dutch). By the Lord shall be broken to pieces His enemies (Munster). Jehovah’s (or, O Lord [Montanus]), let His quarrels be broken in pieces, or His disputants shall be broken (similarly Montanus, Mendoza), that is, those that dispute or quarrel with Him (certain interpreters in Vatablus). The Lord shall break those provoking Him (Syriac, similarly the Arabic), or the authors of hostility, etc. (Jonathan). The Lord makes His adversary infirm (Septuagint, similarly Castalio). I prefer, with respect to Jehovah, those that contend with Him shall be broken to pieces; Hebrew, Jehovah, etc., the Nominative placed absolutely (Piscator). The enemies of the pious she calles the enemies of God (Drusius). Certain of the Hebrews say that here Hannah prays for her son, and at the same time for Israel, whom he was going to judge; that the Lord would break his adversaries in pieces, which was done, 1 Samuel 7:10 (Vatablus).
The adversaries of the Lord; and of his people; especially the Philistines, who at this time were the chief oppressors of Israel. Shall be broken to pieces these and the following words are prophetical of what God was about to do: they who are now our lords, shall be subdued.
[And upon them in heaven He shall thunder, עָלוֹ֙ בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם יַרְעֵ֔ם] Upon him (upon them [Jonathan, Arabic, Tigurinus], against them [Syriac]) in the heavens (or out of heaven [Pagnine, Munster, Jonathan, Arabic, Vatablus, Drusius]) He shall thunder (Montanus, Syriac, Junius and Tremellius). Upon (because of [Drusius]) him, that is, the one quarreling, in the place of them (Vatablus). Upon (or against [Junius and Tremellius]) each of them (Munster). The ב/in in בַּשָּׁמַיִם, in heaven, is in the place of מ/from (Vatablus, Drusius). Thus, in Leviticus 22:4, בַּקֳּדָשִׁים, of the holy things, he shall not eat: likewise, Leviticus 8:32, that which is left over בַּבָּשָׂר, of the flesh, וּבַלָּחֶם, and of the bread. Yet, it is able to be rendered, in heaven, He shall emit with thunder in heaven to cast them into confusion; the Septuagint translates it, He ascended into the heavens and thundered, appearing to have read עָלָה, He went up, in the place of עָלוֹ, upon him. Here, Heaven is the middle region of the atmosphere (Drusius). A great many maintain that Hannah here prophesies what God was going to do at some point (Sanchez). God did this, 1. Through Samuel, 1 Samuel 7:10; 12:18 (Lapide). 2. Upon Christ He thundered in His Baptism,[2] Transfiguration,[3] and at other times, John 12:28 (Lapide, similarly Serarius). Nevertheless, perhaps it is here signified that God looks to the case of the poor and weak against the mighty, and fights for them, and strike down their enemies as if by thunder and lightning (after the manner of the Hebrews, the note of similitude must be supplied), just as He formerly did, Genesis 19:24; Joshua 10:11; Judges 5:20. And hence I believe that any great help of this sort is signified in proverbial form, as in Psalm 18:12-14 (Sanchez).
Out of heaven, that is, out of the clouds or air, which is oft called heaven. Shall he thunder upon them; as was done, 1 Samuel 7:10.
[The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth[4]] That is, the inhabitants of the ends of the earth (Piscator, thus Drusius). All men: even, so that the future/ imperfect might be in the place of the present. He is wont to exercise judgment upon all that are on the earth whenever He wills (Vatablus). This is able to be taken of Samuel, through whom He judged the ends of the land, that is, the holy land. For the Judge was attending to its cities, and preserved all Israel in peace and religion. But it has greater regard to Christ (Lapide). She had previously said that princes were deposed, and that the poor and righteous were exalted. The master and exemplar of these was Christ; and Him, abject and poor, Psalm 22; Isaiah 53), He raised from the dust, and gave the kingdom (Sanchez). Some interpret it of the final judgment; others of the time of Messiah (Vatablus). God through Christ judges the ends of the land, or of the whole world, 1. When through the Apostles He subjected all nations to the Evangelical faith and law; according to Psalm 2; 72. 2. He shall do that yet more on the day of judgment (Lapide). Theodoret, Procopius, and others interpret it concerning the first coming of Christ. But the rest take it more aptly concerning His second coming, and the final judgment (Mendoza). He will bring all into judgment, lest one think himself to be able to hide in a corner, and to escape the judgment of God (Martyr).
Shall judge, that is, shall condemn and punish, as that verb by a synecdoche is oft used. Of the earth, or, of the land, to wit, the Philistines who dwelt in the utmost borders of Canaan, even upon the sea-coast.
[He shall give the government to His king, and shall exalt the horn of the Christ] This they explain, 1. Of the kings of the Hebrews. Unto whom Hannah was able with good reason to have regard: after she gave birth to Samuel, who inaugurated that kingdom, inasmuch as he anointed and installed the first two Kings, Saul and David (Mendoza). With these words she prophesies that there is going to be a change in the Republic from Aristocracy to kingdom. In the first times, the children of Israel were oppressed by the Ammonites, Moabites, etc. To whatever extent they were helped by the Judges, they were not altogether delivered: but afterwards, when Royal power ascended, they lived beyond all fear. Indeed, the Philistines were diminished by Saul, and were almost entirely destroyed by David and Solomon (Martyr). This exposition is not displeasing, if you take it in this way, that God would remove the kingdom from the King not His own [Saul], that is, who yielded not to the will of God; and would deliver it to His own King, that is, one just, who would govern himself and his own according to the will of God [she understands David]. And so his horn and power, which the arrogance of Princes was suppressing, so that it might have more authority, He shall exalt unot the highest place (Sanchez). An anointed one is called Christus in Latin. Now, they were anointing priests, Exodus 30:30; Leviticus 8:12; and kings, 1 Samuel 10:1; 16:13. And prophets, 1 Kings 19:16. And these were all types of Christ, who in the ultimate sense was Priest, King, and Prophet (Malvenda). He shall give the government to His King, etc. He is going to extend quite broadly the borders for that King, whom Samuel is going to anoint, even David. Nevertheless, mystically these things are rightly referred to the Gospel (Grotius). 2. Others take this of Christ (thus Munster, Vatablus, Drusius, Junius, Piscator, Menochius, Tirinus, Martyr, Serarius, Lapide, Mendoza, Lyra, Tostatus). The Chaldean paraphrast agrees, translating it, He shall give strength to His King: and He shall multiply the kingdom of His Messiah (Mendoza). The other Rabbis of the Hebrews also accommodate both this passage, and many others, to Messiah. And, that this is the genuine exposition of the Old Testament, Zechariah bears sufficient witness, Luke 1:69, 70, He hath raised up an horn of salvation…as He had spoken; it is to be taken as a fixed principle that temporal thing in the Old Testament pertain to eternal things. God promised to David and his posterity a kingdom. But that is also to be understood of Christ, according to Luke 1:32, He shall give unto Him the throne of David. Thus that saying in Deuteronomy 18:18, I will raise them up a prophet, etc., even if it is able to be understood of the prophets, who were at no time going to be lacking; nevertheless, Peter transfers it to Christ, Acts 3:22. Evidently, in considering all the blessings of God, it is seemly to return to the fount, when they flow, which is Christ. Add that there is one and the same covenant in the Old and New Testament; and that the ceremonies were referred to Christ. See Hebrews 9. Being not ignorant of this matter, the ancient Prophets treat the matters of their own times in such a way that they accommodate the greatest part of their doctrine to Christ; and so sometimes, in comparison with thos matters of which they treat, they appear to write too magnificently, and the event does not appear to answer to their words. Thus in Zechariah 2:5, He promises to be a wall of fire, etc. Yet not long after the Hebrews were overthrown by the Macedonians. And in Psalm 72:11, all kings shall fall down before him (that is, Solomon). And in Isaiah 2:4, their speaks shall be turned into pruninghooks, etc. Which, if they be referred to those times, are altogether hyperbolical. But they properly and truly square with Christ. And so no one is able rightfully to complain, if these and similar things are turned by us to Christ (Martyr). The sense of this passage is, He shall give power and authority to His Christ, namely, the Messiah, according to the interpretation of the Hebrews (Munster, thus the Chaldean in Vatablus). He shall make His King strong; that is to say, the Lord will send the Messiah, and make Him most glorious and powerful. Horn in the place of glory, as in verse 1 (Vatablus). She prophesies of the coming kingdom among the people of God, which properly pertains to Christ: that is to say, He shall preserve His own, and overthrow His enemies by His King, Christ, to whom He is going to give all power in heaven and on earth[5] (Junius).
Unto his king; either, 1. Unto the judge or ruler whom he shall set up for the protection and deliverance of his people; the word king being elsewhere so taken. Or, 2. The King properly so called; and so she prophesieth, that Israel should have a king, and that there should be a great difference between king and king; between the people’s king, Saul, whom they would obstinately and passionately desire, by whom therefore they should have but little relief; and God’s king, David, whom God would choose as a man after his own heart, and whom he would strengthen and assist so, as by his hands to break all his enemies to pieces. Exalt the horn, that is, increase or advance the strength. Of his anointed, that is, of his king. The same thing repeated in other words, although it may have a mystical sense and respect to Christ, the singular anointed one of God, and the special King of his people, whom all their other kings did typify and represent, and from whom they received authority and power.