1 Samuel 2: 1-10 The Cantide of Hannah.

There are many similarities between the Cantide of Hannah and the Magnificat. Hannah was the mother of Samuel. She was one of the two wives of Elkanah. She was barren, and was derided by the other wife. Hannah prayed to God for a child, promising that she would dedicate him to the Lord's service. God granted her prayer, and Hannah fulfiued her promise and took Samuel to serve the Lord in the sanctuary at Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant was.

Hannah expressed her thanks to God. Her song is a psalm of thanksgiving. She exults in the Lord and rejoices in his saving help. God is called "Rock," a name indicating strength and refuge (vs. 2). The Lord is the central figure of her song. He is holy and is protector. The Lord is "all knowing" (vs. 3), and the verses that follow show that he is caring and loving, and governs human destiny; he especially champions the poor and the needy, intervenes to right wrong. The proud and arrogant are kept in check.

Some commentators see Hannah's song as a messianic prophecy, expressing the hopes of the poor; it foreshadows the situation referred to in the Magnificat when God will intervene through his anointed one to save the poor and the neglected. The final verse speaks of the messiah, who "thunders in heaven," "judges the earth." These phrases indicate the Lord's intervention in human affairs.

There are some interpreters and commentators who call this a Royal Psalm because the last verse makes mention of the king, the anointed. In which case the commentators see this cantide as a song of thanksgiving for a royal victory. Private individuals could recite it on different occasions as a personal prayer of thanksgiving.