The influence of "Hannah's song" (1 Samuel 2:1-10, LXX) on Paul's boast in weakness(s)

[gryan]

1 Samuel 2:4
Swete's Septuagint and Brenton Septuagint Translation (which I altered to highlight key words)

τόξον δυνατῶν ἠσθένησεν,
The bow of the powerful was weak,

ἠσθένησεν
Cf Philippians 2:25-27
But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus,
my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier,
who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.
For he has been longing for all of you
and is distressed because you heard he was weak/ill (ἠσθένησεν).
He was weak/ill (ἠσθένησεν) indeed, nearly unto death.
But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me,
to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

1 Samuel (cont.)
καὶ ἀσθενοῦντες περιεζώσαντο δύναμιν·
and the weak have girded themselves with power.

Cf. καὶ εἴρηκέν μοι Ἀρκεῖ σοι ἡ χάρις μου·
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
ἡ γὰρ δύναμις ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελεῖται.
for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Ἥδιστα οὖν μᾶλλον καυχήσομαι ἐν ταῖς ἀσθενείαις,
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
ἵνα ἐπισκηνώσῃ ἐπ’ ἐμὲ ἡ δύναμις τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
so that Christ's power may rest on me.

δύναμιν/power
https://biblehub.com/greek/dunamin_1411.htm

Cf. Heb 11:11
Westcott and Hort / [NA27 variants]
Πίστει καὶ αὐτὴ Σάρρα [στεῖρα] δύναμιν εἰς καταβολὴν σπέρματος ἔλαβεν καὶ παρὰ καιρὸν ἡλικίας, ἐπεὶ πιστὸν ἡγήσατο τὸν ἐπαγγειλάμενον·

Berean Literal Bible
By faith also Sarah, herself barren, received power for the conception of seed, even beyond the opportune age, since she considered the One having promised faithful.

1 Samuel 2:5
πλήρεις ἄρτων ἠλαττώθησαν,
They that were full of bread are brought low;
καὶ ἀσθενοῦντες παρῆκαν γῆν.
and the weak have forsaken the land;
ὅτι στεῖρα ἔτεκεν ἑπτά,
for the barren has born seven,
καὶ ἡ πολλὴ ἐν τέκνοις ἠσθένησεν.
and she that abounded in children has waxed feeble.

στεῖρα, barren, Cf Galatians 4:27 (quoting Isaiah 54:1, Paul has readers meditate on the image of a barren woman giving birth)

γέγραπται γάρ Εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα,
For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα·
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα.
For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.”

ὠδίνω, ódinó: to have birth pangs, to travail

Galatians 4:27 (Paul identifies with a woman in labor pains)
τέκνα μου, οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν·
My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

1 Sam 2:10

Κύριος ἀσθενῆ ποιήσει ἀντίδικον αὐτοῦ· Κύριος ἅγιος.
The Lord will weaken his adversary; the Lord is holy.

[1] μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ φρόνιμος ἐν τῇ φρονήσει αὐτοῦ,
Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom,

καὶ μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ δυνατὸς ἐν τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ,
nor let the powerful man boast in his power,

Cf. 2 Cor 11:30
εἰ καυχᾶσθαι δεῖ, τὰ τῆς ἀσθενείας μου καυχήσομαι.
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

1 Samuel cont.
καὶ μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ πλούσιος ἐν τῷ πλούτῳ αὐτοῦ·
and let not the rich man boast in his wealth

[2] ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐν τούτῳ καυχάσθω ὁ καυχώμενος,
but let him that boasts boast in this,
συνίειν καὶ γινώσκειν τὸν κύριον,
to understand and know the Lord,

καὶ ποιεῖν κρίμα καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς.
and to execute judgement and justice in the midst of the earth.
Κύριος ἀνέβη εἰς οὐρανούς,
The Lord has gone up to the heavens,

καὶ ἐβρόντησεν·
and has thundered:

αὐτὸς κρινεῖ ἄκρα γῆς.
he will judge the extremities of the earth,

καὶ δίδωσιν ἰσχὺν τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν ἡμῶν,
and he gives strength to our kings

καὶ ὑψώσει κέρας χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ.
and will exalt the horn of his Anointed One [lit. Christ].

Cf. 2 Cor. 12 vs. 2 and vs. 5
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven...
οἶδα ἄνθρωπον ἐν Χριστῷ... ἁρπαγέντα τὸν τοιοῦτον ἕως τρίτου οὐρανοῦ...

I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.
ὑπὲρ τοῦ τοιούτου καυχήσομαι, ὑπὲρ δὲ ἐμαυτοῦ οὐ καυχήσομαι εἰ μὴ ἐν ταῖς ἀσθενείαις.

Note the echo of Pauline "weaknesses" (pl.) in Hebrews 4:15 and "weakness" (singular) in Hebrews 5:2

ἀσθενείαις, weaknesses plural
https://biblehub.com/greek/astheneiais_769.htm

ἀσθένειαν, weakness singular
https://biblehub.com/greek/astheneian_769.htm

Heb 4:15-5-3
For we do not have a high priest who is unable
to sympathize with our weaknesses (ἀσθενείαις),
but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God,
to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He can deal gently with the ignorant (ἀγνοοῦσιν)
https://biblehub.com/greek/agnoousin_50.htm
and wayward (πλανωμένοις),
https://biblehub.com/greek/4105.htm
since he himself is beset with weakness (ἀσθένειαν).
Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins
just as he does for those of the people.

[schillingklaus]

Already Stuart G. Waugh knew that these passages of 2 Cor are post-marcionist antimarcionist interpolations.

[gryan]

Re: A question about the origin of LXX verses (underlined) not in the Hebrew

Swete's Septuagint 1 Samuel 2:10
Κύριος ἀσθενῆ ποιήσει ἀντίδικον αὐτοῦ·

Κύριος ἅγιος.
[1] μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ φρόνιμος ἐν τῇ φρονήσει αὐτοῦ,
καὶ μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ δυνατὸς ἐν τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ,
καὶ μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ πλούσιος ἐν τῷ πλούτῳ αὐτοῦ·
[2] ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐν τούτῳ καυχάσθω ὁ καυχώμενος,
συνίειν καὶ γινώσκειν τὸν κύριον,
καὶ ποιεῖν κρίμα καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἐν μέσῳ τῆς γῆς.

Κύριος ἀνέβη εἰς οὐρανούς, καὶ ἐβρόντησεν·
αὐτὸς κρινεῖ ἄκρα γῆς.
καὶ δίδωσιν ἰσχὺν τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν ἡμῶν,
καὶ ὑψώσει κέρας χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ.

Brenton Septuagint Translation 1 Samuel 2:10
The Lord will weaken his adversary;

the Lord is holy.
[1] Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom,
nor let the mighty man boast in his strength,
and let not the rich man boast in his wealth;
[2] but let him that boasts boast in this,
to understand and know the Lord,
and to execute judgement and justice in the midst of the earth.

The Lord has gone up to the heavens, and has thundered:
he will judge the extremities of the earth,
and he gives strength to our kings,
and will exalt the horn of his Christ.

English Standard Version of the Hebrew text
The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces;

against them he will thunder in heaven.
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

-----------

What is the origin of the parts of the LXX not found in the Hebrew? Interpolation? At what date?

[gryan]

Based on Dead Sea Scrolls evidence,
here is an extended quotation from an article arguing that
the LXX my represent the more ancient text of 1 Samuel:

"If the LXX and the MT are of a different textual tradition
and if the DSS have been found to support the LXX textual
tradition at a very early stage in the transmission of the text,
then the LXX text type should not be dismissed lightly. To state
it more strongly, if that text type can be demonstrated to be the
basis for the MT Chronicles readings it means that the text type
represented by the LXX should be given careful consideration.
Though it can be shown that various text types occurred in other
books as well, only in 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings do
parallel texts (Chronicles) exist which can show that the Palestinian text type (line d in Figure 1 ) was the basis ofthat portion of
the MT.
LXX Φ MT
This point need not be belabored. The difference between
the Greek text and the MT has been well documented. The illustrations below come from 1 Samuel, in the sections (a and bb) in
which the majority text is the Old Greek. Klein has used these
examples to show the characteristic of haplography (the
accidental omission of one or more words or lines in copying)...

1 Samuel 12:8 MT
"And Samuel slept until the morning and he opened the doors
"And Samuel slept until the morning and he got up in the morning,
and he opened the doors . . . ."
32
"And the word of Samuel came to all
Israel. And Israel went out to meet
the Philistines for war."
"And the word of Samuel came to all
Israel. And in those days the Philistines gathered themselves for war
against Israel, and Israel went out to
meet them for war."
"Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance?"
"Has not the Lord anointed you as
commander over his people, over
Israel? And you shall govern the people of the Lord and save them from
the hand of their enemies around
them. And this will be a sign to you
that the Lord has anointed you to be
a commander over his inheritance."
"After Jacob entered Egypt they
cried to the Lord for help . . . ."

The Text of Samuel 217
LXX "After Jacob and his sons entered
Egypt the Egyptians afflicted them,
and they cried to the Lord for
help

1 Samuel 14:41 MT "Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the
God of Israel, 'Give me the right
answer.' "

LXX "Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the
God of Israel, 'Give me the right
answer. Why have you not answered
your servant today? If the fault is in
me or my son Jonathan, respond
with Urim, but if the men of
Israel are at fault respond with
Thummim.' "

1 Samuel 29:10 MT "Now get up early, along with your
master's servants who have come
with you, and leave in the morning
as soon as it is light."

LXX "Now get up early in the morning,
you and your master's servants who
have come with you, and go to the
place which I picked out for you, and
do not have a hostile idea in your
heart for you are acceptable to me,
but get up in the morning, as soon
as it is light."

Other examples could be cited but these will suffice.
Differences exist in the text between the MT and the LXX."

The Text of Samuel
John A. Martin

[gryan]

Brenton's Septuagint Translation
Hannah’s Prayer of Thanksgiving

1My heart is established in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God; my mouth is enlarged over my enemies, I have rejoiced in thy salvation.

2For there is none holy as the Lord, and there is none righteous as our God; there is none holy besides thee.

3Boast not, and utter not high things; let not high-sounding words come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and God prepares his own designs.

4The bow of the mighty has waxed feeble, and the weak have girded themselves with strength.
τόξον δυνατῶν ἠσθένησεν,
The bow of the powerful was weak,
καὶ ἀσθενοῦντες περιεζώσαντο δύναμιν·
and the weak have girded themselves with power.

5They that were full of bread are brought low; and the hungry have forsaken the land;
and the hungry have forsaken the land;
for the barren has born seven,
and she that abounded in children has waxed feeble.
καὶ ἀσθενοῦντες παρῆκαν γῆν.
and the weak have forsaken the land;
ὅτι στεῖρα ἔτεκεν ἑπτά,
for the barren has born seven,
καὶ ἡ πολλὴ ἐν τέκνοις ἠσθένησεν.
and she that abounded in children was weak.

Cf. For it is written: "Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child [στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα]; shout for joy..." Gal 4:27]

6The Lord kills and makes alive; he brings down to the grave, and brings up.

7The Lord makes poor, and makes rich; he brings low, and lifts up.

8He lifts up the poor from the earth, and raises the needy from the dunghill;
to seat him with the princes of the people, and causing them to inherit the throne of glory:

9granting his petition to him that prays;
and he blesses the years of the righteous,
for by strength cannot man prevail [ὅτι οὐκ ἐν ἰσχύι δυνατὸς ἀνήρ·].

10The Lord will weaken his adversary;
Κύριος ἀσθενῆ ποιήσει ἀντίδικον αὐτοῦ·

the Lord is holy.
Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom,
nor let the mighty man boast in his strength,
καὶ μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ δυνατὸς ἐν τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ,
nor let the powerful man boast in his power,

and let not the rich man boast in his wealth;
but let him that boasts boast in this,
to understand and know the Lord,
συνίειν καὶ γινώσκειν τὸν κύριον,
but let him that boasts boast in this,
ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐν τούτῳ καυχάσθω ὁ καυχώμενος,

and to execute judgement and justice in the midst of the earth.
The Lord has gone up to the heavens [ἀνέβη εἰς οὐρανούς], and has thundered [cf. οὐ γὰρ Δαυεὶδ ἀνέβη εἰς τοὺς οὐρανούς, Acts 2:34; τὸ δὲ Ἀνέβη τί ἐστιν, "what does 'he ascended" mean?" Eph 4:9]:
he will judge the extremities of the earth,
and he gives strength [δίδωσιν ἰσχὺν] to our kings, and will exalt the horn of his Christ.
And she left him there before the Lord,

11and departed to Armathaim: and the child ministered in the presence of the Lord before Heli the priest.

-------

Cf. 2 Cor 11:30
If I must boast, I will boast [of] the things [that show] my weakness.
Εἰ καυχᾶσθαι δεῖ τὰ τῆς ἀσθενείας μου καυχήσομαι

2 Cor 12:9
But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for [My] power is perfected in weakness [γὰρ δύναμις ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελεῖται].” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.γὰρ δύναμις ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελεῖται

[gryan]

4The bow of the mighty has waxed feeble, and the weak have girded themselves with strength.
τόξον δυνατῶν ἠσθένησεν,
The bow of the powerful was weak,
καὶ ἀσθενοῦντες περιεζώσαντο δύναμιν·
and the weak have girded themselves with power.

Such paradoxical word play with power (δυν- root) and weakness (ἀσθεν- root) as found in Hanna's song appears to be very unusual before Paul. In the LXX, this is the closest I've found, which is to say, not close at all! The δυν- root word is synonymous with the ἀσθεν- root word.

Swete's Septuagint
ἀσθενοῦντάς τε ἐξανέστησας ῥήμασιν, γόνασίν τε ἀδυνατοῦσιν (from the verb, ἀδυνατέω) θάρσος περιέθηκας·
https://www.studylight.org/interlinear- ... b/4-4.html
Brenton Septuagint Translation
and hast supported the failing (the ones being weak) with words, and hast imparted courage to feeble (to the ones powerless) knees.

I wonder if, apart from Hanna's song, I'm missing some examples of "weak" who are "powerful" and "powerful" who are "weak" in literature that could have influenced Paul's oxymoron in 2 Cor 12:10:
ὅταν γὰρ ἀσθενῶ, τότε δυνατός εἰμι.
For when I am weak, then I am powerful.

[gryan]

and the weak have forsaken the land;
ὅτι στεῖρα ἔτεκεν ἑπτά,
for the barren has born seven,
καὶ ἡ πολλὴ ἐν τέκνοις ἠσθένησεν.
and she that abounded in children was weak.

Cf. For it is written: "Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a child [στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα]; shout for joy..." Gal 4:27]

It is well known that Paul spoke of being in "labor pains":

Gal 4:19
τέκνα μου, οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν·
My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,

--------
And it is often observed that the verb, ὠδίνω (I am in travail, suffer birth-pangs) appears again later in the same chapter:

Gal 4:27
For it is written: “Rejoice, [O] barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, [you] who {have} never travailed; because more [are] the children of the desolate woman, than of her who has a husband.”

27γέγραπται γάρ
Εὐφράνθητι στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα

All scholars are aware that Gal 4:27 is a word for word quotation of the LXX of Isaiah 54:1,
Εὐφράνθητι στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα

-------
Oddly, the hero of the Isaiah quotation is the woman who, unlike Paul, had no "labor pains".

By contrast, like Paul, Hannah presumably had "labor pains". It seems obvious to me that Paul was alluding to Hannah's song, but I seek in vain for a reference to this among professional scholars. Can anyone find a scholarly examination (ancient or modern) of the parallels between Hannah's song and Paul's odd combination of a boast of "power in weakness" along with a claim of having "labor pains"?

[gryan]

Re: Hays on echos of both Jeremiah and Hannah in Paul's boast in weakness

1 Cor 1:22f
Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews
and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom,
ὅτι τὸ μωρὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστίν
and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
τὸ ἀσθενὲς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἰσχυρότερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων

Brothers, consider the time of your calling:
Not many of you were wise by human standards;
not many were powerful;
not many were of noble birth.
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;
God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
καὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τὰ ἰσχυρά

He chose the lowly and despised things of the world,
and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,
so that all flesh may not boast before God.
ὅπως μὴ καυχήσηται πᾶσα σὰρξ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.

It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus,
who has become for us wisdom from God:
our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
Therefore, as it is written:
“Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
ἵνα καθὼς γέγραπται Ὁ καυχώμενος ἐν Κυρίῳ καυχάσθω.

Jeremiah 9:23f
Thus saith the Lord,
Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom,
Μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ σοφὸς ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ
and let not the strong man boast in his strength,
and let not the rich man boast in his wealth;
but let him that boasts boast in this,
the understanding and knowing that I am the Lord
that exercise mercy, and judgment, and righteousness, upon the earth;
for in these things is my pleasure, saith the Lord.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
when I will visit upon all the circumcised their uncircumcision...
for all the Gentiles are uncircumcised in flesh,
and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts.

--------
Hays writes:

"When this whole passage is called up in memory, its appropriateness to Paul's argument is evident: it looks as though Jeremiah has provided not only the clincher quote against boasting but also the pattern for Paul's threefold rhetorical dismissal of the wise, the powerful, and the well-born in 1 Corinthians 1: 26-28. Even the reference to Christ as becoming "righteousness" in verse 30 might be heard as an echo of the last part of Jeremiah 9:24.

There is, however, another equally possible source for the quotation. The Septuagint version of Hannah's prayer has a long conclusion that is lacking in the Hebrew text of 1 Samuel 2:10:

1 Kingdoms 2:10 LXX (1 Sam 2:10)
The Lord will weaken his adversary;
Κύριος ἀσθενῆ ποιήσει ἀντίδικον αὐτοῦ·

the Lord is holy.
Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom,
μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ φρόνιμος ἐν τῇ φρονήσει αὐτοῦ
nor let the mighty man boast in his strength,
καὶ μὴ καυχάσθω ὁ δυνατὸς ἐν τῇ δυνάμει αὐτοῦ,
nor let the powerful man boast in his power,

and let not the rich man boast in his wealth;
but let him that boasts boast in this,
to understand and know the Lord,
συνίειν καὶ γινώσκειν τὸν κύριον,
but let him that boasts boast in this,
ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐν τούτῳ καυχάσθω ὁ καυχώμενος,

The wording is nearly identical to Jeremiah 9:24, but the context is different: whereas Jeremiah 9 pronounces judgment, Hannah's song celebrates God's gracious blessing and, most significantly, highlights the theme of reversal of status, a theme that has dominated Paul's whole discussion of wisdom and folly, strength and weakness, in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. The passage in 1 Kingdoms 2:10 LXX, however, lacks the key link-words sophos and sophia, which are present in Jeremiah. Does Paul's brief citation in 1:31 allude distinctly to one or the other of these passages? It is difficult to say; possibly we should hear echoes of both. It is clear, however, that Paul's disparagement of wisdom, power, and privilege draws upon Old Testament sources. The God with whom the Corinthians must learn to deal is the God of Jeremiah and Hannah..."

Extended quotation from:
First Corinthians
Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching
By Richard B. Hays · 2011

[gryan]

I wonder if Paul's identification with a woman in labor pains began on the road to Damascus,
and if he remembered this other image to be found in the book of Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 49:24 JPS Tanakh 1917

Damascus is waxed feeble,
she turneth herself to flee,
And trembling hath seized on her;
Anguish and pangs have taken hold of her,
as of a woman in travail.