1 Samuel 2:10

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces,.... Or Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, "shall break in pieces those that contend with him"; with the Lord, or with his people, or with Samuel

The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

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. Out of heaven, i.e. out of the clouds or air, which is oft called heaven. Shall he thunder upon them; as was done, . Shall judge, i.e. shall condemn and punish, as that verb by a synedoche 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. 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, i.e. increase or advance the strength. Of his anointed, i.e. 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.

1 Samuel 2:10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.Ver. 10. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces.] "As a potter’ s vessel." Turk and Pope, both those Antichrists, shall be served on this sort, saith Peter Martyr. Out of heaven shall he thunder upon them.] As he did soon after this prophecy upon the Philistines. The mightiest men quake before God, and as the worms when it thundereth, wriggle into their holes. The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth.] The Lord Christ shall; who is here first of all in Scripture called Messiah, or the Anointed One, of whom David and Solomon were types; and in that sense may also be here understood.

(10) His king . . . of his anointed.—A Lapide, quoted by Wordsworth, wrote here, “haec omnia spectant ad Christum,” “all these things have regard to Christ.” Jewish expositors, too, have generally interpreted these words as a prophecy of King Messiah. The words received a partial fulfilment in the splendid reigns of David and Solomon; but the pious Jew looked on the golden halo which surrounded these great reigns as but a pale reflection of the glory which would accompany King Messiah when He should appear. This is the first passage in the Old Testament which speaks of “His Anointed,” or “His Messiah.” The LXX. render the words “Christou autou.”This song was soon evidently well known in Israel. The imagery, and in several passages the very words, are reproduced in the Psalms. See Excursus A and B at the end of this Book.

Verse 10. The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken] Those who contend with him, מריביו meribaiu, by sinning against his laws, opposing the progress of his word, or persecuting his people. Shall judge the ends on the earth] His empire shall be extended over all mankind by the preaching of the everlasting Gospel, for to this the afterpart of the verse seems to apply: He shall give strength unto his king, and shall exalt the horn of his Christ, or, as the Targum says, וירבי מלכות משיחיה viribbey malcuth Meshicheyh, "he shall multiply the kingdom of the Messiah." Here the horn means spiritual as well as secular dominion. After the clause, The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces, the Septuagint add the following words: Μηκαυχασθωὁφρονιμοςεντῃφρονησειαυτου, κ. τ. λ. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom and let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glorieth rather glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth the Lord; and that he executeth judgment and righteousness in the midst of the earth. This is a very long addition, and appears to be taken from Jeremiah 9:23, but on collating the two places the reader will find the words to be materially different. This clause is wanting in the Complutensian Polyglot, but it is in the edition of Aldus, in that of Cardinal Caroffa, and in the Codex Alexandrinus.

10. The adversaries of the Lord] Render, Jehovah, they that strive with Him shall be broken to pieces:against them in heaven let Him (or, He shall) thunder:Jehovah shall judge the ends of the earth:and may He (or, He shall) give strength unto His king,and exalt the horn of His Anointed.The conclusion of the hymn is partly a prayer for the destruction of Jehovah’s enemies, partly an expression of confidence that this will surely be effected. The mention of Jehovah’s judgments leads up naturally to the thought of those who are his instruments for executing them. Hannah’s prophetic prayer was but partially fulfilled in the king soon to be anointed by her son as the deliverer of Israel: it reaches forward to Him whom the Jewish kings foreshadowed, the King Messiah, in whom alone the lofty anticipations of the prophetess are to be completely realised. shall be broken to pieces] The Sept. here inserts the greater part of Jer 9:23-24. The passage may nave been originally placed in the margin as an illustration, and afterwards incorporated in the text. his anointed] Here first in connexion with the kingly office do we meet the word which was to become the characteristic title of the expected deliverer, the “Messiah” or “Anointed One,” “the Christ.” The Sept. renders “ὑψώσεικέραςχριστοῦαὐτοῦ ?” (cp. Luke 2:26): the Vulgate “sublimabit cornu Christi sui.” See the notes on 1 Samuel 10:1 and 1 Samuel 12:3. It has been alleged that the mention of the king stamps the song as of later date, posterior to the establishment of the monarchy. This is by no means the case. The idea of a king was not altogether novel to the Israelite mind. The promise to Abraham spoke of kings among his posterity (Genesis 17:6): the Mosaic legislation prescribes the method of election and the duty of the king (Deuteronomy 17:14-20): Gideon had been invited to establish a hereditary monarchy (Judges 8:22). Anointing too was recognised as the regular rite of admission to the office (Judges 9:8). Amid the prevalent anarchy and growing disintegration of the nation, amid internal corruption and external attack, the desire for a king was probably taking definite shape in the popular mind. The prophet who came to Eli speaks again of “Jehovah’s anointed” (1 Samuel 2:35). But who so worthy to be first chosen to anticipate the future as the mother of him who was destined to guide the chosen nation through this critical epoch of its existence, and superintend the foundation of the Davidic-Messianic kingdom? Chapters 1 and 2 to 1 Samuel 2:10 form the Haphtarah or lesson from the prophets, appointed to be read in the Jewish synagogues on the first day of the new year. A translation of the Targum or Chaldee Paraphrase of Hannah’s Song is given in Note III. p. 236.

He shall give strength ... - This is a most remarkable passage, containing a clear and distinct prophecy of the Kingdom and glory of the Christ of God. (Compare Luke 1:69-70).

10. Above him — Above the enemy who contends against God. In the heavens he shall thunder — As he did when the Philistines attacked Samuel and the Israelites. 1 Samuel 7:10, and references.