The Significant Name of God (7)
The Hymns of Praise of Mariam and Channah
André H. Roosma
11 May 2020 (NL original: 1 Dec. 2014)
At the time I wrote the original of this article in Dutch, Advent time had
started again – a time when we joyfully dwell on the first coming of
Jesus (Yeshu‘a or in
full: YaHU-shu‘a) to this world. Although I know that He was
almost certainly born during the fall festivals and not at the end of
December, I now read Luke 1 once again. The Bible tells us there that the
Angel Gabri’el was sent to Mariam (normally known to us
as Mary1), and spoke to her that she would become pregnant
with Yeshu‘a – God the Savior –
through the Holy Spirit. The story then tells that she traveled to ’Elisabet
shortly thereafter. Once there, ’Elisabet is filled with God’s Spirit and
prophesies encouragingly and affirmatively about Mariam. Then Mariam erupts
into a song of praise, which is usually translated something like this:
46 And Mariam said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord;
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
48 because He has looked upon the humble state
of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me
blessed.
49 For He Who is mighty has done great things
to me, and holy is His Name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him from
generation to generation.
51 He has done a mighty work through His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the mighty from their
thrones, and has exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things;
and He has sent away the rich empty-handed.
54 He has helped Isra’el His servant, and
remembered mercy [or: compassion];
55 (as He spoke to our fathers; to Abraham,
and his seed) for ever! ... ” Luke 1
It is striking how Franz Delitzsch and Salkinson & Ginsburg
translate the beginning of this part back into Hebrew (I just quote Delitzsch’ version):
46
וַתֹּאמֶר מִרְיָם רוֹמֲמָה נַפְשִׁי אֶת־יְהוָֹה
47 וַתָּגֶל רוּחִי בֵּאלֹהֵי יִשְׁעִי׃
That is:
46 And Miriam said:
“My soul magnifies YaHUaH; 47 and my spirit
rejoices in God my Savior; ... ”
As we saw last time, the Greek Kurios was used in the Septuagint
translation of the First Testament for both ’Adonai - My Lord, and
the glorious Name of God: YaHUaH. So when we encounter Kurios
in the Greek version of the New Testament, we have to ask ourselves which
word was meant in the author’s Hebrew or Aramaic thinking. And why do
Delitzsch and Salkinson & Ginsburg think that Mariam used the glorious
Name YaHUaH here in her hymn, and not the title ’Adonai?
One of the reasons is the similarity of her hymn with Hannah’s (in the Hebrew source text she was called Channah):
1 Then Channah prayed
and said: “My heart leaps with joy in YaHUaH, my horn is lifted in
YaHUaH; my mouth is wide open against my enemies, for I rejoice in
Your salvation [in Yeshu‘a-tekha]. ... ”
1 Shemu’el 2: 1
You see the resemblance. In the first part these women praise YaHUaH,
further on they both refer to the salvation He gave. And the word translated
‘Savior’ in Luke 1:47 (other translations do have:
Redeemer) is derived in the Hebrew version from the Hebrew verb
jasha‘ - to save, to redeem; just like the salvation about which
Channah sang. In the basis of this is the element of coming to the
rescue. Both women had experienced with joy that God had come to their
aid in their low state. The root of this verb jasha‘ is also
the basis of the original Hebrew Name of Jesus: JaHU-shu‘a.
So in that sense, what Mariam and Channah sang, also referred to Jesus!
Hallelu YaH !
Notes
| 1 |
The names in the Bible have meaning. That is why I
transliterate them carefully so that they remain recognizable. Especially
the glorious Name of God I represent here as accurately as possible from the
oldest Hebrew original, instead of replacing this grand personal Name of The
Most High by a common word, such as ‘Lord’. For more background
information see:
André H. Roosma, ‘Life, security and belonging in joyful adoration,
from the hand of God’  , brief Hallelu-YaH article about the Biblical Name of God in the earliest
Hebrew (old Semitic) script, January 2011.
André H. Roosma, ‘The Shema‘
– the First Testament declaration of faith (1)’, Hallelu-YaH! web article, February 2012.
André
H. Roosma, ‘The
wonderful and lovely Name of the God Who was there, Who is there, and Who
will be there’ , extensive Accede! / Hallelu-YaH! study, July 2009. |
By the way, the name Mariam (or Maryam) is very special.
One can read her name in the ancient Semitic script as: the abundance of God
gave a mother (details in: my large draft research document
on the oldest form of Hebrew: ‘The Written
Language of Abraham, Moses and David – A study of the pictographic
roots and basic notions in the underlying fabric of the earliest Biblical
script’ , a living document by André H. Roosma, 1st English version: 18 April 2011; 1st Dutch original: January 2011).
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