In response to Elizabeth's exclamation of joy, Mary replies with a song to the Lord. Geldenhuys says, “In its form as uttered by Mary it is a beautiful lyrical poem. It is remarkable how genuinely Hebrew it is in thought and manner of expression, in extolling praise and in worship. It is almost wholly made up of Old Testament quotations.” Most commentators note especially how close in thought it is to Hannah's hymn found in I Samuel 2. It is given below in the RSV, with parallel thoughts from the Old Testament indented below the appropriate verses:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, (46b-47)
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. (Psalm 34:3)
Then my soul will find gladness in the Lord; it will take pleasure in His salvation. (Psalm 35:9)
My heart is strengthened in the Lord...I delight in your salvation. (I Samuel 2:1-2)
I shall find gladness in the Lord; I shall rejoice n God my Savior. (Habakkuk 3:18)
They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt. (Psalm 106:21)
for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. (48a)
O Lord of hosts, if you will look on the low estate of your handmaid. (I Samuel 1:11)
Because the Lord has regarded my low estate. (Genesis 29:32)
God heard your handmaid and regarded by low estate, and considered my distress and gave me a son. (4 Ezra 9:45)
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; (48b)
Fortunate am I, for all women call me fortunate. (Genesis 30:13)
for he who is mighty has done great things for me, (49a)
He is your God who has done great things in you. (Deuteronomy 10:21)
Who is the King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle. (Psalm 24:8)
You who have done great things, O, God, who is like you? (Psalm 71:19)
The LORD has done great things for us. (Psalm 126:3)
and holy is his name. (49b)
Holy and awesome is His name. (Psalm 119:9)
Our Redeemer – the LORD of hosts is his name – is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 47:4)
For thus says the high and lofty one...whose name is Holy. (Isaiah 57:15)
“for the sake of my holy name” (Ezekiel 36:22)
And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation. (50)
With my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness from generation to generation (Psalm 89:1)
The Lord has compassion for those who fear him. (Psalm 103:13)
But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:17)
His mercy upon those who fear Him. (Psalms of Solomon 13:11)
He has shown strength with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, (51)
Your right hand, O LORD, scattered the enemy. (Exodus 15:6)
Arise, O LORD, let your enemies be scattered. (Numbers 10:35)
Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered. (Psalm 68:1)
You have reduced the proud to lowliness like a wounded thing; and by your mighty arm you have scattered your enemies. (Psalm 89:10)
His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory. (Psalm 98:1)
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD! (Isaiah 51:9)
he has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree; (52)
He sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. (Job 5:11)
He has overthrown the mighty. (Job 12:19)
But it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. (Psalm 75:7)
He pours contempt on princes...but he raises up the needy out of distress. (Psalm 107:40-41)
He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy fro the ash heap. (Psalm 113:7)
The LORD lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground. (Psalm 147:6)
The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low; he also exalts. (I Samuel 2:7)
You deliver a humble people, but your eyes are upon the haughty to bring them down. (II Samuel 22:28)
Having reduced the proud to lowliness, and having exalted the man of low degree. (Ezekiel 21:26)
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away. (53)
He has filled the soul of the hungry with good things. (Psalm 107:9)
Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry are fat with spoil. (I Samuel 2:5)
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, (54)
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.” (55)
I will indeed bless you [Abraham], and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. (Genesis 22:17)
You, O Israel, my servant Jacob whom I chose...whom I have helped from the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 41:8-9)
He has remembered His mercy to Jacob and His goodness to the House of Israel. (Psalm 98:3)
And the Lord will remember His servants in mercy. (Psalms of Solomon 10:4)
You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Israel as you have sworn to our fathers from days of old. (Micah 7:20)
Showing mercy to His anointed one, to David and to his posterity forever. (II Samuel 22:51)
In light of the excellent poetic parallelism of this song and the close correspondences in thought and language with many different Old Testament texts, the question naturally arises as to how a simple teenage girl like Mary could have composed it on the spot. Some NT scholars, ranging from conservative to more liberal, weigh in on that question:
Geldenhuys: “In discussing this hymn of praise, some critics have asked whether she had her Old Testament open before her when she uttered the song. They forget that all pious Israelites from their childhood days knew by heart songs from the Old Testament and often sang them in the home circle and at celebrations. Mary was steeped in the poetical literature of her nation, and accordingly her hymn also bears the unmistakable signs of it.”
Porter: “The Magnificat is in form a beautiful lyrical poem uttered by a Jewish peasant girl whose cultural background was the OT writings, which supply the very expressions she uses.”
Marshall: “It is probable that Mary employed words already familiar in Jewish praise (she will hardly have composed the hymn extempore) and that what she said has been written up and elaborated later.”
Ellis feels that “it need not be regarded as Mary's spontaneous or exact reply. But neither should it be considered merely as an editorial reconstruction.” Its significance for Luke lies in the fact that it is Mary's prophecy, i.e. that its contents sprang from her lips and express her mind and her heart.”
Fitzmyer: “Since there is no evidence that the Magnificat ever existed in a Semitic (Hebrew or Aramaic) form, there is no reason to think of Mary as the one who has composed it. It has not been preserved by a family tradition.”
R.E. Brown: “It is not farfetched to suggest that Luke got is canticles from a somewhat parallel community [to the Qumran Community] of Jewish Anawim [i.e. “poor”] which has been converted to Christianity.” He then proposes that Luke himself composed v. 48 and added it to his prior source so that the song would apply specifically to Mary's situation.
I find it interesting that although the Roman Catholic Church reveres Mary far more than Protestants do, those last two critical appraisals above come from Catholic priests
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