The Magnificat

[Augustine3]

Did Mary really say the Magnificat?

Of course as a Catholic I believe the bible is inerrant. I was just wondering (as silly as this question sounds) was this the typical day to day dialogue people had back then? Imagine in the middle of a conversation someone would chant a canticle…

All comments are welcome.

 

[Dorothy]

Perhaps the words of Our Blessed Mother in the Magnificat represents a summary of what she shared with her cousin Elizabeth during her stay until John the Baptist was born.

 

[ByzCathCantor]

I was just wondering (as silly as this question sounds) was this the typical day to day dialogue people had back then?

This was no ordinary conversation in any era and by any measure.

Imagine in the middle of a conversation someone would chant a canticle…

She expressed a profound and beautifully poetic thought, expressing her love of God, which became a canticle chanted by the Church.

 

[TimothyH]

Mary was obviously a Jew who knew the Jewish scriptures, because she cries out with the words of the Prophet Isaiah from Isaiah 63, and with the prayer of thanksgiving of Hannah who bore the prophet Samuel from 1 Samuel 2.

I will rejoice heartily in the LORD,
my being exults in my God;
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation,
and wrapped me in a robe of justice,
Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
(Isaiah 63:10)

The fact that Mary recites from chapter 63 from the Book of Isaiah is significant. The Jews divided the writings of the Prophet Isaiah into two sections. What we know as Chapters 1 through 39 were called the “Book of Woes”, while chapters 40 through 66 were known as the “Book of Consolation.” The Book of Woes was what was preached in all the synogogues. They never read from the Book of Consolation in the synagogues.

Jesus however, reads from the Book of Consolation when he reads in the synagogue.

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. (Luke 4:16-20)

They all looked intently at Jesus because he is reading from Isaiah 61, the section titled “The Annointed Bearer of Glad Tidings.” Jesus is reading from the Book of Consolation. Israel had been looking for consolation, looking for their Messiah for many centuries. Jesus’ audience is probably stunned.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the holy Spirit was upon him. (Luke 2:25)

Simeon was “Looking for the consolation if Israel” and he found it when he took Jesus from Mary and held him in his arms. Having looked upon and held the “Consolation of Israel”, Simeon told God that he could now die a happy man. Simeon is one of my hero’s.

Mary quoting from the Book of Consolation in her Magnificat, Jesus’ reading from the Book of Consolation when he was in the synagogue, and Simeon finding the “Consolation of Israel” when he holds Jesus in his arms would have been clearly recognizable signals to the Jews who read Luke’s Gospel. They would have immediately recognized Luke’s references, and understood that Luke was claiming that Jesus is the Consolation of Israel written about in Isaiah 40 through 61, and that the “Woes” of Israel from the Book of Woes in Isaiah 1 through 39 were over.

Mary’s Magnificat would have also had special significance to a Jew based on her drawing from the exultant prayer of thankgiving prayed by Hannah in the second chapter of 1 Samuel.

Hannah was barren, but prayed to God for a son and vowed to give such a son back to God, to be consecrated and dedicated to God’s service in the Temple. Hannah then gives birth to Samuel, a mighty prophet and the one who annoints King David.

***Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.” Then they worshiped there before the LORD. And Hannah prayed:

“My heart exults in the LORD,
my horn is exalted by my God.
I have swallowed up my enemies;
I rejoice in your victory.
There is no Holy One like the LORD;
there is no Rock like our God.
Speak boastfully no longer,
Do not let arrogance issue from your mouths.
For an all-knowing God is the LORD,
a God who weighs actions.
“The bows of the mighty are broken,
while the tottering gird on strength.
The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
while the hungry no longer have to toil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
while the mother of many languishes.
The LORD puts to death and gives life,
casts down to Sheol and brings up again.
The LORD makes poor and makes rich,
humbles, and also exalts.
He raises the needy from the dust;
from the ash heap lifts up the poor,
To seat them with nobles
and make a glorious throne their heritage.
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s,
and he has set the world upon them.
He guards the footsteps of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall perish in the darkness;
for not by strength does one prevail.
The LORD’s foes shall be shattered;
the Most High in heaven thunders;
the LORD judges the ends of the earth.
May he give strength to his king,
and exalt the horn of his anointed!”

When Elkanah returned home to Ramah, the child remained in the service of the LORD under the priest Eli. **
(1 Samuel 1:28, 2:1-11)*

Mary draws from both Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving for a son who will be dedicated to God and destined to play a central role in creating a unified kingdom, and from the Book of the Consolation of Israel to signal that the woes of Israel are over.

Mary’s Magnificat is more than just a song.

The Magnificat is Mary’s, Luke’s and God’s way of informing all who heard it or read it that Jesus is a mighty prophet, that he is the the fulfillment of the royal Davidic Kingdom, that he is the Consolation of Israel all rolled into one, and that Israel’s woes are over.

-Tim-

 

[Augustine3]

A fantastic in-depth explanation Tim, thanks very much!

God bless,

 

[Augustine3]

The Book of Woes was what was preached in all the synogogues. They never read from the Book of Consolation in the synagogues.

Do you have any references or evidence showing the Jews never read the book of consolation in their synagogues?

God bless,

 

[TimothyH]

Do you have any references or evidence showing the Jews never read the book of consolation in their synagogues?

God bless,

It is right that you called me on it. It is good to be humble, and sometimes to be humbled.

I recall that being said in a Bible Study by Jeff Cavins and as with all things, it is probably an oversimplification to state that they “Never” read from Isaiah 39 through 66. Now that I have looked at one source which I have been meaning to read for some time, I seems that it might not have been the case at all.

In this system, the haftarah served not as a further expression of the Torah theme of the day but as a messianic peroration, which summed up the reading of Torah with an eschatological hope. For this reason, almost half of the Palestinian haftarot were taken from Isaiah, especially chaps. 40–66, and another one fourth derive from the Minor Prophets.

I’ve had it on my to-do list, along with 567,398 other things, to read “The Public Reading of Scripture in Early Judaism”, a paper by Michael Graves which was quoted above.

Clearly Jesus’ reading from that particular portion of the writings of the prophet Isaiah caused everyone to fall silent. The significance of his having read from the Book of Consolation is noteworthy when studying Luke’s writings. Luke draws on the theme of consolation several times in the early chapters of his Gospel.

-Tim-

 

[Janefromengland]

Tim thankyou for your posts in answer to Augustine3’s question. I had never heard about the Jews dividing the writings of Isaiah, noe about the significance of Jesus reading that portion. I’ve also saved a copy of the Michael Graves article for future reading. There’s always something new to learn - thankyou!

 

[scobie0]

very good thread, but i have never understood how Luke was able to quote from what Mary said. How did he know this had happened and that these were the words she said Chronologically, there’s a pretty big gap.

 

[Della]

very good thread, but i have never understood how Luke was able to quote from what Mary said. How did he know this had happened and that these were the words she said Chronologically, there’s a pretty big gap.

Luke would have heard it from Mary’s own lips because she was alive at the time and accessible. Mary no doubt remembered the words she spoke for they came from her heart overwhelmed with wonder and gratitude.

To cite a more recent example, when St. Bernadette was asked to tell about seeing and hearing the Blessed Virgin Mary she never wavered in her words, but always gave the same account. Why? Because as it was burned into her soul.

We have to remember that people before our times often did not have easy access to written materials, certainly not the poor. What they learned they often memorized, word for word. We call it rote learning, but for them it was the surest way to remember what they’d been taught.

 

[scobie0]

Thank you, Della; that does make sense. I have heard Luke described as ‘an historian of the first rank’ and one whose statements are trustworthy. There is something very moving about Mary using those beautiful words. But i had always been slightly worried that Luke had - with the most honourable of motives - imagined rather than known Mary’s ecstatic response to Elizabeth. Thanks again.

 

[Della]

Thank you, Della; that does make sense. I have heard Luke described as ‘an historian of the first rank’ and one whose statements are trustworthy. There is something very moving about Mary using those beautiful words. But i had always been slightly worried that Luke had - with the most honourable of motives - imagined rather than known Mary’s ecstatic response to Elizabeth. Thanks again.

You’re welcome. :tiphat: I’m so grateful to St. Luke for recording the Annunciation, the delicate scenes between Mary and Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s naming ceremony and the words spoken by those involved. None of the other NT writers gave us these bits of information we now hold so dear.