What does 1 Samuel 2:2 mean?

Hannah's song of praise to the Lord begins with a focus on personal rejoicing. This followed the birth and dedication of her son, Samuel. She quickly shifts the focus of the song to praise to God for who He is.

Three negative statements in this verse describe how great God truly is. First, there is none holy as He is. Moses put a similar idea in the form of questions in his song to the Lord in Exodus 15, asking the Lord who among the gods is as majestic in holiness as the Lord (Exodus 15:11).

Holiness describes God's quality of being unlike anything or anyone else, completely free of impurity or any kind of wrongdoing. He is set apart, unique in His being. He is also set apart from all that is unclean or unworthy, but not in the sense of being sterile, distant, or inactive. He is majestic and powerful and active in His perfect holiness. No other being in the universe is holy as He is.

Hannah adds that there is simply none besides the Lord, meaning that no other gods even exist. It's not that the Lord is "the best" of a wide variety of actual beings. There is no pantheon of lesser gods. He alone is God—the only deity which exists—in all the universe. This foundational truth about God was taught to Israel from the very beginning (Deuteronomy 4:35), but many generations of Israelites simply refused to believe that the gods of all the other nations were, in fact, non-existent. Hannah understood it.

Finally, Hannah adds that there is no rock like our God. The idea of God being a rock means that He is a place of safety and security, especially in times of trouble. He is the place to run and hide when the storm comes. David will write, "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge" (2 Samuel 22:2–3).

No place is safer than being with the Lord.