The Christ of His Christ
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, ‘Anna Presenting Her Son Samuel to the
Priest Eli’
In due order within The City of God’s longer discussion of Hannah’s prayer at Samuel’s dedication, 1 Augustine arrives at the clause, “[a]nd [he] shall exalt the horn of His Christ” ( 1 Sam 2:10). Here, Augustine ponders:
How shall Christ exalt the horn of His Christ? For He of whom it was said above, “The Lord hath ascended into the heavens,” [1 Sam 2:10 LXX; 4QSama col. 2, line 33] meaning the Lord Christ, Himself, as it is said here, “shall exalt the horn of His Christ.” Who, therefore, is the Christ of His Christ? Does it mean that He shall exalt the horn of each one of His believing people, as [Hannah] says in the beginning of this hymn, “Mine horn is exalted in my God?” [1 Sam 2:1 LXX, Vg.] For we can rightly call all those christs who are anointed with His chrism, forasmuch as the whole body with its head is one Christ. 2
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