What does "son of thy handmaid" means in Psalm 86:16 and Wisdom 9:5?

Question

King Solomon and King David identified themselves both as servant although King and more so, both of them said they are the "son of thy handmaid".

Are the mothers of King Solomon and King David a handmaid?

Both of the passages does not imply King David and King Solomon referred to their biological mother when they uttered to God saying "son of thy handmaid".

Or this passage is related to Jesus also a King but came in the form of a servant and became the "son of thy handmaid". This time St. Luke gospel reveals what the "son of thy handmaid" means. The Blessed Virgin Mary gave a title to herself and it doesn't came from angel revelations but from Her own words, staing Her role as the Mother of all the elect not just Jesus Christ.

Mary said, Behold, "I am the handmaid of the Lord. .." (Luke 1:38)

Is King David and King Solomon prophesying the future role of Mary's name as a powerful intercessor and mediatrix of graces before the Throne of God?

Answer 1

At one time confirmations sometimes included the phrase "Confirm O Lord thy servant Andrew", or "Confirm O Lord thy handmaid Anne", assuming a boy called Andrew and a girl called Anne. There was a certain equivalence in English between the two. Martin Rosenau says the same happened in Germany. In Hebrew the words are ebed for male and amah for female. They are essentially relationship words denoting the relationship of a servant, slave or official to his master, employer, commander or king.

In referring to himself as God's servant and the son of His handmaid, David is staking his claim to God's protection and favour. In Genesis 14, verse 14, when Abraham sets off to rescue Lot, he took with him trained servants born in his house. Those were the people he could trust because, as born in his household, they had belonged to him from birth. He knew he could rely on their loyalty.

A slave born to a slave mother automatically became the property of the mother's master. So David is emphasising that he belongs to God, and has always belonged to Him. In today's world someone might say: "Look, I'm a permanent member of staff, not some casual labourer or contractor! Show me some consideration.".

In Wisdom 9 Solomon asks God not to reject him from His children, stating that he is His servant and the son of His handmaid. Solomon is saying he belongs to God.

Although perhaps Mary's response in Luke, to Gabriel's announcement, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord" could be interpreted as saying she had to do what God said, whether she liked it or not, the next bit "To me be as it pleases God" shows that Mary willingly accepted God's will for her.

Mary was saying Yes.

Answer 2

" I am the handmaid of the Lord." ( Luke1:38 )

Luke 1:38 could be translated the following way:

Because the Lord is my boss, he can demand whatever he wants and I have to do what he asks me.

I know that in Germany decades ago there were a lot of prayers in the Catholic church where the faithful were naming themselves as handmaids and servants of God.

This has the same meaning: The Lord is the boss of all people, so we have to do what the Lord wants us to do.

King Solomon and King David identified themselves both as servant although King and more so, both of them said they are the "son of thy handmaid"

Same meaning here: Both Kings say that the Lord is their boss ("I am your servant") and that he already was the boss of their parents ("son of your handmaid").

EDIT

Your answer is purely personal opinion.

There is one aspect I forgot to mention, and this time it is definitely verifiable facts:

Luke wrote his gospel in Greek language while the Psalms are written in Hebrew language.

This means that it is hard to say if both texts use the same word ("handmaid") at all because when translating a text into another language the translator always has the choice between different words.

So it depends on the translators of the Bible if Luke 1 and Psalm 86 use the same word or if these texts use different words!

Comparing the Book of Wisdom to the Gospel is easier: Both books are written in Greek language.

Unfortunately I don't speak Greek. However, as far as I understand the words translated by Google Translator correctly, Mary uses the same word in Luke 1:38 that Solomon uses for himself (and not for his mother!) in Wisdom 9:5:

The same word is translated as "handmaid" in Luke 1:38 and as "servant" in Wisdom 9:5. Google Translate translates the word as "slave".

So arguing "it is the same word" will not work with translations but only with the original texts.

Edit 2

Does the word "boss" ever appear or been use in the scriptures to address God?

It seems to me that you think the Bible has originally been written in English language. However, this is not the case.

The Bible has been written in Hebrew and Greek languages and has been translated to English language.

In the original texts you will neither find the word "boss" nor the word "Lord" because these are English words.

It was the personal choice of the translators of your Bible translation to use the word "Lord" and not the word "boss" to address God.

Other translations use other words: Although English is not my native language, I know about one existing English translation of the Bible that does not use the word "Lord" at all!

And as far as I understand the Greek translations correctly, in the original text Solomon and Mary use the same word to describe themselves, but Solomon uses a different word describing his mother.

This means that your initial observation (Mary uses the same word for herself as Solomon uses for his mother) is only true for the English (and the German!) translation of the Bible, but it is not true for the original text written by Luke.

I doubt that you believe that a translation of the Bible written by some translator contains information that the original text written by Luke does not contain.

EDIT 3

... failed to answer, why King David and King Solomon called their mother a handmaid, ...
They both identified themselves as "son of thy handmaid"

You didn't get the point:

Up to the 4th century, the Gospels and the book of Wisdom were only available in Greek language. But the original texts are looking like this (I hope I did not make a mistake because I don't speak Greek):

Book of Wisdom, chapter 9:
For I thy doulos (= male slave) and son of thine paidiske (= female servant) am a feeble person, ...

Gospel of Luke, chapter 1:
And Mary said, Behold the doule (= female slave) of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.

So the answer to your question is simple:

The two verses in the book of Wisdom and in the gospel of Luke DO NOT use the same word!

And of course the Psalm and the Gospel cannot use the same word because they are not written in different languages.

As far as I'm informed correctly, the first translation of the Bible that uses the same word in the different verses has been written about 300 years after Mary's death!

And ...

... or speaking in prophecy?

... a text that is written 300 years after some event is not a prophecy!

Answer 3

What does “son of thy handmaid” means in Psalm 86:16 and Wisdom 9:5?

Answer

This can be further understood if we take the other verse from Psalm;

**Psalm116:16 (New American Standard Bible) **

O LORD, surely I am Your servant, I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid, You have loosed my bonds.

King David repeated again that word "son of your handmaid" but this time he gave us a hint by stating "you have loosed my bonds".

With this hint; we can look at what the Church Fathers teaches;

St. Justin Martyr, 2nd century [Jesus] became man by the Virgin, in order that the disobedience which proceeded from the serpent might receive its destruction in the same manner in which it derived its origin. For Eve, who was a virgin and undefiled, having conceived the word of the serpent, brought forth disobedience and death.

But the Virgin Mary received faith and joy, when the angel Gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the Spirit of the Lord would come upon her, and the power of the Highest would overshadow her: wherefore also the Holy Thing begotten of her is the Son of God; and she replied, ‘Be it unto me according to your word.’ (Dialogue with Trypho, 100, A.D. 160)

St. Irenaeus of Lyon, 2nd century What is joined together could not otherwise be put asunder than by inversion of the process by which these bonds of union had arisen; so that the former ties be cancelled by the latter… […] It was that the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith. (Against Heresies, III.22.4, A.D. 180)

For just as [Eve] was led astray by the word of an angel, so that she fled from God when she had transgressed His word; so did [Mary], by an angelic communication, receive the glad tidings that she should sustain God, being obedient to His word. And if the former did disobey God, yet the latter was persuaded to be obedient to God, in order that the Virgin Mary might become the patroness of the virgin Eve.

And thus, as the human race fell into bondage to death by means of a virgin, so is it rescued by a virgin; virginal disobedience having been balanced in the opposite scale by virginal obedience. (Against Heresies, V.19.1, A.D. 180)

The "son of thy handmaid" that King David and King Solomon mentioned when they pleaded God for his mercies, blessings and graces was a prophecy for the Blessed Virgin Mary who are also destined to become the Mother of all the elect.

"all the elect are in the womb of Mary" (St.Louis De Montfort)

TREATISE ON TRUE DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN St. Louis de Montfort https://www.ewtn.com/library/Montfort/TRUEDEVO.HTM

Blessed Virgin Mary grew and serve in the Temple of God for ten years and are familiar with the prayer in Psalm and since the Solomon Prayer is well known among the Jews the word "son of thy handmaid" like the word "messiah" is a mystery to them but Mary and the Jews continued to plead God in prayer to send the Messiah.

Archangel Gabriel did not told Mary that She was the handmaid of the Lord. On the contrary Mary claimed that title. Mary upon hearing what Angel Gabriel had revealed, identifies Herself with the prayer in Psalm and King Solomon Prayer. Mary were to become not just the Mother of the Messiah but also will become the Mother of all the elect.

King David and King Solomon prophesied the intercessory power or the Maternal Mediation of Mary in the Throne of God.

God had loosed the bonds, and God uses Mary to loosed our bondage, the "son of thy handmaid" revealed herself in the Mystery of the Annunciation,

Mary said. "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord".(Lukw1:38)

Mary the Mother of the Messiah commanded an Archangel to "Behold or gaze upon Her", and Angel Gabriel was in awe, because a cherub who knows the secrets of God doesn't know that Mary was not only destined to become the Mother of the Logos but also at that moment embraces the role of Mother of all the elect, claiming the title "Handmaid of the Lord."

Mary is truly the Sovereign Queen of all the angels, imagine the lowly handmaid had commanded an Archangel to "behold" Her.

We must reflect Mary's command to "behold" with Jesus command in John19:27 to understand fully King David and KIng Solomon prophecy on "son of thy handmaid".