Mary’s Song, The Magnificat, in Hebrew
For those who regularly read the Greek Septuagint (LXX) and the Hebrew Bible, the magnificat or “Mary’s Song,” as recorded in Luke’s Gospel (1.46–55), presents a very interesting example of language use. When I read the Greek, I cannot help but “feel” the Hebrew sound of it. It sounds very much like something you might find in the LXX. As such, given the time of year, I thought I would try my hand at reconstructing what this song might have looked like if originally uttered/composed in Hebrew. I have highlighted in bold parallel cola to call attention to the “Hebrew” parallelism as well:
| Verse | Greek | Hebrew Retroversion | Translation of the Hebrew |
| 1.46b | μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν κύριον | תְּגַדֵּל נַפְשִׁי לַיהוָה | My soul magnifies the LORD |
| 1.47 | καὶ ἠγαλλίασεν τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ τῷ σωτῆρί μου | וַיָּגֶל רוּחִי בֵּאלֹהֵי יִשְׁעִי | And my spirit rejoices in the God of my salvation |
| 1.48a | ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ | כִּי רָאָה בָּעֳנִי אֲמָתוֹ | For he has looked upon the humble state of his servant |
| 1.48b | ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσίν με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί | כִּי הִנֵּה מֵעַתָּה יְאַשְּׁרוּנִי כָּל־הַדּוֹרוֹת | For behold, from now all generations will bless me. |
| 1.49a | ὅτι ἐποίησέν μοι μεγάλα ὁ δυνατός | כִּי עָשָׂה לִי גְּדוֹלוֹת הַגִּבּוֹר | For the Mighty One has done great things for me. |
| 1.49b | καὶ ἅγιον τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ | וְקָדוֹשׁ שְׁמוֹ | And holy is his name. |
| 1.50 | καὶ τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ εἰς γενεᾶς καὶ γενεᾶς τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν | וְחַסְדּוֹ לְדוֹר וָדוֹר לִירֵאָיו | And his mercy is for generation upon generation, for those who fear him. |
| 1.51 | ἐποίησεν κράτος ἐν βραχίονι αὐτοῦ | עֹז עָשָׂה בִּזְרוֹעוֹ | He has done strength with his arm. |
| 1.51 | διεσκόρπισεν ὑπερηφάνους διανοίᾳ καρδίας αὐτῶν | פִּזַּר זֵדִים בְּקֶרֶב לִבָּם | He has scattered the proud in the inmost part of their heart. |
| 1.52a | καθεῖλεν δυναστὰς ἀπὸ θρόνων | הוֹרִיד נְדִיבִים מִכִּסְאוֹתָם | He has brought down nobles from their thrones, |
| 1.52b | καὶ ὕψωσεν ταπεινούς | וַעֲנָוִים הֵרִים | and has raised up the humble. |
| 1.53a | πεινῶντας ἐνέπλησεν ἀγαθῶν | רְעֵבִים מִלֵּא טוֹבָה | He has filled the hungry with good. |
| 1.53b | καὶ πλουτοῦντας ἐξαπέστειλεν κενούς | וַעֲשִׁירִים שִׁלַּח רֵיקָם | And the rich he has sent away empty. |
| 1.54 | ἀντελάβετο ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ μνησθῆναι ἐλέους | תָּמַךְ בְּיִשְרָאֵל עַבְדּוֹ לִזְכֹּר חֶסֶד | He has supported Israel, his servant, by remembering mercy. |
| 1.55a | καθὼς ἐλάλησεν πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν | כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ | As he spoke to our fathers, |
| 1.55b | τῷ ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα | לְאַבְרָהָם וּלְזַרְעוֹ לְעוֹלָם | to Abraham and his seed, forever. |
I am not necessarily saying that this song was originally written in Hebrew, but there are some scholars who think so. Flusser (1988) has argued that both the Magnificat (Mary’s Song) (Luke 1.46–55) and the Benedictus (Zechariah’s Song) (Luke 1.68–79) exhibit affinities to the prayer said on the day of victory in the War Scroll from Qumran (14.4–15). He suggested that similar Hebrew hymns to the Magnificat and the Benedictus originally were composed in Hebrew in John the Baptist circles.
When I had the idea to translate/retrovert this song into Hebrew, I thought surely someone must have done this already, but I was surprised at a skim through of Flusser’s article to find no such reconstruction. Indeed, because he believed the song to be adapted somewhat (and even further in Greek), he concluded that “it would be nearly impossible to reconstruct the original pre-Lucan form of these two songs even in a hypothetical experiment” (1988, 129). His statement here makes sense for the context of the article.
But this is what blogs are for. Whether or not there was an original underlying Hebrew to Mary’s Song in Luke, retroverting this song into Hebrew can still prove an interesting experiment from which we can learn something. So, here it is. Feel free to leave any comments and/or suggestions for better language choices. Note that the intended register would be something like the Qumran non-biblical scrolls imitating biblical register.
Bibliography:
Flusser, David. “The Magnificat, the Benedictus, and the War Scroll.” In Judaism and the Origins of Christianity, edited by David Flusser, 126–49. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1988.
Thank you. This is beautiful. I really love Biblical Hebrew.
That’s a great observation!
Although I believe that the Gospel of Matthew was originally written in Greek, but Mary undoubtedly sang it in Hebrew, or she may have even wrote it down as well and Matthew used it as a source for his Gospel and translated it into Greek.
I made a mistake, the Magnificat is actually from Luke, the apostle probably got it from Mary in Hebrew and Translated it in Greek in his Gospel
I really love this sort of effort. I hope to be able to do some of it myself one day. Thanks for sharing!
Very nice!! Randall Buth reconstructed this in Hebrew, too, back in 1984. (“Hebrew Poetic Tenses and the Magnificat,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 21: 67–83.) Your reconstruction is very similar to his, as well, with a few differences in word choice and form.
Neat! Just for kicks I pulled out Delitzsch and compared with your translation. They’re remarkably similar. For ὁ δυνατός, you have הַגִּבּוֹר and Delitzsch has שַׁדָּי; I believe you have the LXX on your side. For ἐλέους, you have חֶסֶד (which strikes me as more biblical) and Delitzsch has רַחֲמָיו (which strikes me as more rabbinical).
I do stuff like this a lot (though not usually as successfully!) It’s a lot of fun and very good practice
This looks terrific! I pulled out Delitzsch to see how your translation compared. They’re remarkably parallel: only a couple of major differences stuck out. For ὁ δυνατός, you have הַגִּבּוֹר and Delitzsch has שָׁדַי; here, I think you have the LXX on your side. And for ἐλέους, you have חֶסֶד (which strikes me as more Biblical) while Delitzsch has רחמיו (which strikes me as more Rabbinical).
I often do this kind of thing (often when bored during sermons haha). It’s a great way to practice and a lot of fun!