Every night, I tell my two little girls, “And now Mary’s song, the Magnificat, from Luke 1:46-55.” Then they recite these verses, which Scot McKnight calls “the Magna Carta of early Christian songs” (The Real Mary, p.
Thanks! Another great piece—and filled with marvelous book recommendations (it seems like Scot McKnight has an entire book written about every topic imaginable).
One minor point here—is it plausible for a "poor, unwed mother from a minority within an empire" to have uttered the Magnificat as we know it? Or are we getting an embellished version to serve Luke's theological purposes? In the literature of that time and place, were other speeches as beautiful and powerful as the Magnificat attributed to a young woman like Mary? Just thinking out loud here. Thanks for this piece!
That's a great question. I'm writing about the authorship of the Magnificat in my Northern Seminary thesis. In short, I'd say that ancient authors often wrote eloquent speeches that captured the essence of what they believed their subjects said on historic occasions, aiming to accurately portray the character and intent of the subject but not a verbatim account (the “speech in character” technique known as prosopopoeia). Certainly, Luke could have done that, and it wouldn't have been considered dishonest. But Nijay Gupta points out that no patristic material ascribes this technique to the Magnificat, and writers like Origen, Cyril of Alexandria, Bede, and Ephrem the Syrian supposed speeches in the Gospels to have been passed down orally as the actual speeches of those characters.
We can't know for sure, but I think it is plausible for Mary to have made up this poem as she traveled to see Elizabeth. Today, we have the example of Taylor Swift who wrote her first hit song (Tim McGraw) at age 14, which Rolling Stone declared the 11th best debut song ever. Taylor exhibited all the major techniques of modern songwriting (slant rhyme, perfect rhyme, alliteration, etc., in a fairly complex rhyme scheme). And she's just the most prominent example of a recent woman who wrote her first hit song as a teen girl. Others include Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Adele, and Lorde.
Obviously, Taylor went to public school and is literate. Mary was likely illiterate but home-schooled in the words of scripture in a way that non-oral cultures struggle to fully comprehend. All of this is just some quick food for thought, but I don't think something like the Magnificat would have been completely outside the capability of a young woman.
Bobby! What a masterful reply! I honestly can't think of a better way to tackle these wandering thoughts of mine than what you've provided here: ancient traditions, patristic materials, Taylor Swift.
I especially loved this insight: "Mary was likely home-schooled in the words of scripture in a way that non-oral cultures struggle to fully comprehend." This highlights something we can easily miss in the Bible—someone can be quoting something they said three verses ago, but the wording has changed. Oral and non-oral cultures don't see eye to eye here. (Makes you think of what the serpent does with God's words in the Garden!)
As a side note, I'm thinking about pursuing an MA in Biblical Studies at Northern. The quality of your reply has made me even more eager to do so!
You've also inspired me to pray the Magnificat with my son. Let's see if we can memorize it together. Thank you for this enriching discussion!
I've enjoyed my time at Northern. I've made some great friends and I've learned a lot from the professors. I did the MANT which was led by Scot McKnight and Nijay Gupta. Scot left last year, which is a bummer for the students, but he still supervised my thesis. Nijay is amazing though, and I've learned a lot from books and podcasts by Matthew Bates, who they hired after Scot left. I haven't had a class with Bates yet but I'm taking one next spring.
Beautiful article. As a Protestant, I disagree with the elevation of Mary in Catholic doctrine. However, many Protestants over the years have used that error to scare people away from recognizing her contribution at all.
On a side note, I have been disappointed by the number of Christian women who want to be stunted by the erroneous complementarian view. Then I realized it's just another version of a problem that infects many relationships in this fallen world, not just between men and women. Some men want to be gods, and some women want to turn their agency over to men to avoid accountability. Ultimately, neither will get what they want, but for now, the two groups are LARPing together, helping each other have a facsimile of their dreams.
Thanks! Another great piece—and filled with marvelous book recommendations (it seems like Scot McKnight has an entire book written about every topic imaginable).
One minor point here—is it plausible for a "poor, unwed mother from a minority within an empire" to have uttered the Magnificat as we know it? Or are we getting an embellished version to serve Luke's theological purposes? In the literature of that time and place, were other speeches as beautiful and powerful as the Magnificat attributed to a young woman like Mary? Just thinking out loud here. Thanks for this piece!
That's a great question. I'm writing about the authorship of the Magnificat in my Northern Seminary thesis. In short, I'd say that ancient authors often wrote eloquent speeches that captured the essence of what they believed their subjects said on historic occasions, aiming to accurately portray the character and intent of the subject but not a verbatim account (the “speech in character” technique known as prosopopoeia). Certainly, Luke could have done that, and it wouldn't have been considered dishonest. But Nijay Gupta points out that no patristic material ascribes this technique to the Magnificat, and writers like Origen, Cyril of Alexandria, Bede, and Ephrem the Syrian supposed speeches in the Gospels to have been passed down orally as the actual speeches of those characters.
We can't know for sure, but I think it is plausible for Mary to have made up this poem as she traveled to see Elizabeth. Today, we have the example of Taylor Swift who wrote her first hit song (Tim McGraw) at age 14, which Rolling Stone declared the 11th best debut song ever. Taylor exhibited all the major techniques of modern songwriting (slant rhyme, perfect rhyme, alliteration, etc., in a fairly complex rhyme scheme). And she's just the most prominent example of a recent woman who wrote her first hit song as a teen girl. Others include Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Adele, and Lorde.
Obviously, Taylor went to public school and is literate. Mary was likely illiterate but home-schooled in the words of scripture in a way that non-oral cultures struggle to fully comprehend. All of this is just some quick food for thought, but I don't think something like the Magnificat would have been completely outside the capability of a young woman.
Bobby! What a masterful reply! I honestly can't think of a better way to tackle these wandering thoughts of mine than what you've provided here: ancient traditions, patristic materials, Taylor Swift.
I especially loved this insight: "Mary was likely home-schooled in the words of scripture in a way that non-oral cultures struggle to fully comprehend." This highlights something we can easily miss in the Bible—someone can be quoting something they said three verses ago, but the wording has changed. Oral and non-oral cultures don't see eye to eye here. (Makes you think of what the serpent does with God's words in the Garden!)
As a side note, I'm thinking about pursuing an MA in Biblical Studies at Northern. The quality of your reply has made me even more eager to do so!
You've also inspired me to pray the Magnificat with my son. Let's see if we can memorize it together. Thank you for this enriching discussion!
I've enjoyed my time at Northern. I've made some great friends and I've learned a lot from the professors. I did the MANT which was led by Scot McKnight and Nijay Gupta. Scot left last year, which is a bummer for the students, but he still supervised my thesis. Nijay is amazing though, and I've learned a lot from books and podcasts by Matthew Bates, who they hired after Scot left. I haven't had a class with Bates yet but I'm taking one next spring.
Marvelous pointers, Bobby. Thanks for your reply.
Beautiful article. As a Protestant, I disagree with the elevation of Mary in Catholic doctrine. However, many Protestants over the years have used that error to scare people away from recognizing her contribution at all.
On a side note, I have been disappointed by the number of Christian women who want to be stunted by the erroneous complementarian view. Then I realized it's just another version of a problem that infects many relationships in this fallen world, not just between men and women. Some men want to be gods, and some women want to turn their agency over to men to avoid accountability. Ultimately, neither will get what they want, but for now, the two groups are LARPing together, helping each other have a facsimile of their dreams.
Yes, "LARPing together," that's a great way to put it.