Psallo
and the Septuagint LXX
"If the meaning of certain verses may be in doubt,
what is clear is that an instrument did not
inhere in the word psallo
in the Septuagint." Everett Fergusons psallo, septuagint,
An article on the Septuagint
(LXX) Greek version in the Catholic Encyclopedia may be read by
clicking here.
Our quotations from Ferguson
are from:
Dr. Everett
Ferguson, A Capella Music in the public worship of the church,
published by Biblical Research Press, Abilene, Texas.
Ferguson notes that "In the
Psalms in the Septuagint, Psalm 33:2; 71:22; 98:5; 144:9; 147:7;
149:3, the word psallo
is followed by the preposition en
and the name of
the instrument.} Two examples make this clear.
Rejoice in the
Lord, ye righteous; praise becomes the upright. Praise (confess) the
Lord on the harp;
play to him on a
psaltery of ten strings. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise. Psalms 32:1LXX
None of these were for
congregational worship but for quite different purposes.
Click for the colored chart to see that these are not
associated with the majority of Psalms which speak only of singing.
In another passage from the Septuagint:
God is
gone up with a
shout, the Lord with a
sound of a trumpet. Psalm 47:5LXX
In Numbers 10, the silver
trumpets were signaling devices and were not musical devices. When
the congregation assembled the "alarm" or loud rejoicing ceased
(10:7). In the following verses a form of psallo is quite similar to
Paul's command for the Christian congregation (See Ferguson, p 5).
When the procession is over, the Septuagint describes what the people
do:
Sing
(psalate) praises to our God, sing praises: sing praises
to our
King, sing praises. Psalm 47:6LXX
For God is king of
all the earth: sing
praises with
understanding. Psalm 47:7LXX
This is equivalent to Paul's
command to make melody in the heart or with the understanding.
Furthermore, it is not a command to "listen" to musical instruments
and a worship team.
In Psalm 71 entitled By David,
a psalm sung by the sons
of Jonadab, and the
first who were
taken
captive. In verse 8
even captives can praise God even if they hang up their harps:
Let my
mouth be filled
with praise,
that I may hymn
thy glory, and thy majesty all the day Psalm 71:8
It is not likely that captives
could literally play the harp all day. However, God gave mankind an
instrument of singing Psalms:
My mouth shall declare thy righteousness openly, and thy salvation all the day; for I am not acquainted with the
affairs of men. Psalm 71:15
I will also give
thanks to thee, O God, because of thy truth,
on an
instrument of psalmody;
I will sing
psalms to thee
on the harp, O
Holy One of Israel. Psalm 71:22
My lips
shall rejoice when I sing (psalo)
to thee; and my soul, which thou has redeemed. Psalm 71:23
Moreover also my
tongue shall dwell all the day upon thy righteousness; when they shall be ashamed
and confound Psalm 71:24
In Hebrew, the tongue is
defined as the "instrument of speech." Here it is the instrument of psalmody. Strongs
3956 (lashown) "used literally as the instrument of licking, eating, of speech."
Augustine, who understood the classical Greek,
knew that poetry is
symbolic. On Psalm
LXXI
Augustine understood
that the instrument of
psalmody does not mean
a mechanical psaltery or harp. Psaltery is from the Hebrew:
Keliy
(h3627) kel-ee'; from 3615; something prepared, i. e. any apparatus
(as an implement, utensil, dress, vessel or weapon): - armour
([-bearee]), artillery, bag, carriage, / furnish, furniture,
instrument, jewel, that is made of, * one from another, that which
pertaineth, pot, /
and way down the
list--psaltery,
Knowing this, Augustine
defined the instrument of
psalmody:
28. "For I will
confess to Thee in the vessels
of a Psalm
Thy truth"
(ver. 22). The vessels
of a Psalm are a Psaltery.
But what is a
Psaltery? An instrument of wood and strings.
What doth it signify? There is some difference between it and a harp:
...there seemeth to be signified by the Psaltery the Spirit, by the harp
the flesh.
And because he had
spoken of two bringings back of ours from the bottomless places of the
earth, one after the
Spirit in hope, the other after the
body in substance;
hear thou of these two:
"For I will
confess to Thee in the vessels of a Psalm Thy truth." This after the Spirit: concerning the body what? "I
will psalm to Thee on a harp (flesh), Holy One of Israel."
29. Again hear this because of
that same "again" and "again." "My lips
shall exult when I shall
psalm to Thee" (ver. 23). Because lips
are wont to be spoken of both belonging to the inner and to the outward
man, it is uncertain in what sense lips have been used: there
followeth therefore, "And my soul which Thou hast redeemed."
Therefore regarding the inward
lips having been saved in hope, brought back
from the bottomless places of the earth in faith and love, still
however waiting for the redemption of our body, we say what? Already
he hath said, "And my soul which Thou hast redeemed." But lest thou
shouldest think the soul alone redeemed, wherein now thou hast heard
one "again," "but still," he saith; why still?
"but
still my tongue
also:" therefore now the tongue of the body:
"all day long
shall
meditate of Thy righteousness" (ver. 24): that is, in eternity without end.
Paul said to sing with grace in
the heart in place of melody when speaking to the Colossians. And we
know that nothing is learned by listening to a lecture: learning
takes place when we meditate in the heart.
Ferguson, p. 6, notes
that: psallo, septuagint,
"In nearly every
case the Septuagint translators have paired psallo with a word for vocal praise.
Note the following
instances:
"I will
confess you among the nations, O Lord; and I
will sing (psalo) to
your name." Psalms
18:49 (quoted in Rom. 15:19),
'Sing (psalate) to the Lord, O you his saints, in recollection of
his holiness.' Psalm 30:4,
"I will confess you, Lord, with my whole heart, because you have
heard the
words of my
mouth; and I will sing (psalo) to you before the angels.' Psalms 138:1,
"praise
the Lord, because he is good; sing (psalete) to his name, because he is good.' Psalms
135:3,
'I will praise the Lord in my life; I will sing (psalo) to my God as long as I live." Psalms 146:2,
We simply do not have God
wishing to be praised by mechanical devices even though the "trees"
praise God and "clap their hands" when the "fellers" have been taken
into captivity and the trees can honor God by obeying His commands as
a tree.
Ferguson notes that "Only in
Psalms 33:3; 98:4ff.; 144:9; and 149:3 do we have psallo with an
instrument in parallelism with "singing."
Sing to him a
new song; play skillfully with a loud noise. Psalm 33:3LXX
Augustine translates this as
poetry or symbolic language. (Psalms are poetry, you
know.)
2. "Praise the Lord
with harp:" praise the Lord,
presenting unto Him your bodies
a living
sacrifice.
"Sing
unto Him with the psaltery for ten strings" (ver. 2):
let your
members be servants to the love of God, and of
your neighbour, in which are kept both the three and the seven
commandments.
3. "Sing unto Him a new song:"
sing unto Him a song of
the grace
of faith. "Sing skillfully unto Him with jubilation" (ver. 3):
sing
skillfully unto Him
with rejoicing.
Now, look at Paul's equating
melody to grace. External melody means "grinding you into a fine
power" like SOP. Therefore, external melody repudiates grace. There
is not a hint of "music" in Paul's direct command to get away from
demon worship with wine, women and song:
|
Be filled with
the Spirit (My words are Spirit and
Life)
|
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom
|
|
Speaking to
yourselves
|
teaching and admonishing one another
|
|
In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
|
in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs,
|
|
singing and
making melody
|
singing with
grace
|
|
in your
heart to the
Lord;
|
in your
hearts to the
Lord. Col 3:16
|
4. "For the Word of
the Lord is right:" for the Word of the Lord is right, to make you
that which of yourselves ye cannot be. "And all His works are done in
faith" (ver. 4): lest any think that by the merit of works he hath
arrived at faith, when in faith are done all the works which God
Himself loveth.
Paul restricted Christian
"singing" to the Word of Christ (Colossians 3) or His Spirit
(Ephesians 5) which is in His Word (John 6:63). Augustin and all of
the church Fathers agree. In another Psalm:
"O God, I will
sing a new song to thee: I will play to thee on a psaltery of ten
strings. Psalm 144:9LXX
Augustine understands the symbols of poetry to
mean: "What doest thou
among them with thy pastoral scrip with five stones in it? Say it to
me in another form: that same law which thou hast signified by five
stones, signify in some other way also. "I will sing a new song unto
Thee, O God" (ver. 9). "A new song" is of grace; "a new song" is of
the new man; "a new song" is of the New Testament. But lest thou shouldest think that grace departeth
from the law, whereas rather by grace the law is fulfilled,
"upon a psaltery of ten strings
will I sing unto Thee."
Upon the law of
ten
commandments: therein
may I sing to
Thee; therein may I rejoice to Thee; therein may "I sing to Thee a
new song;" for, "Love is the fulfilling of the
law."
But they who have not love may carry the psaltery,
sing they
cannot.
Contradiction cannot
make my psaltery to be silent.
The saints shall rejoice in
glory; and shall exult
on their beds. Psalm
149:5LXX
The high praises of
God shall be in their throat, and the two-edged swords in their
hands; Psalm 149:6LXX
to execute vengeance on the
nations, and punishment among the peoples; Psalm 149:7LXX
to bind their kings with fetters , and their nobles with
manacles of iron; to execute on them the judgment written: this honor
have all his saints Psalm 149:8LXX
See how God connects musical
praise to bring judgment against people in Isaiah 30:32 LXX
below.
In Psalm 149 Augustine utterly condemns out ward praise by performers and puts spiritual praise "in the
hearts" and even upon thy bed:
6. "The saints
shall exult in glory" (ver. 5). I would say somewhat important about
the glory of the saints. For there is no one who loveth not glory.
But the glory of
fools, popular glory as
it is called, hath
snares to deceive, so
that a man, influenced by the praises of vain men, shall be willing to live in such fashion as to be
spoken of by
men, whosoever they be,
in whatsoever way.
Hence it is that
men, rendered mad,
and puffed up with pride, empty
within, without
swollen, are willing ever to ruin their fortunes
by bestowing them
on stage-players, actors, men who fight with wild beasts, charioteers. What
sums they give, what sums they spend! They lavish the powers not only
of their patrimony, but of their minds
too.
They scorn the poor, because
the people shouteth not that the poor should be given to, but the
people to shout that the fighter with wild beasts be given to. When
then no shout is raised to them, they refuse to spend; when madmen
shout to them, they are mad too:
nay, all are mad,
both performer, and
spectator, and the
giver.
This mad glory is blamed by the Lord, is offensive in the eyes of the Almighty. ...Thou choosest to
clothe the fighter with wild beasts, who may be beaten, and make thee
blush: Christ is never conquered; He hath conquered the devil, He
hath conquered for thee, and to thee, and in thee; such a conqueror
as this thou choosest not to clothe. Wherefore? Because there is less
shouting, less madness about it.
They then who
delight in such glory, have an empty conscience. Just as they drain their chests, to send
garments as presents, so do they empty their conscience, so as to
have nothing precious therein.
7. But the saints who "exult in
glory," no need is there for us to say how
they exult: just hear the verse of the Psalm which followeth: "The
saints shall exult in glory,
they shall
rejoice in their beds:"
not in
theatres, or
amphitheatres, or circuses, or follies, or market places, but "in
their chambers."
What is, "in their chambers"? In their hearts. Hear the Apostle Paul exulting in his closet: "For
this is our glory, the testimony of our conscience."
For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not
with fleshly wisdom,
but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to youward. 2 Cor.
1:12
Suneidesis (g4893) soon-i'-day-sis; from a prol. form of 4894;
co-
perception, i.e.
moral
consciousness; -
conscience.
Suneido (g4894) soon-i'-do; from 4862 and 1492;
to see completely; used (like its prim.) only in two past tenses,
respectively mean. to
understand or become aware, and to be conscious or (clandestinely) informed of: - consider, know, be privy,
be ware
of.
For we write none other things
unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end; 2
Cor. 1:13
"On the other hand, there is
reason to fear lest any be pleasing to himself, and so seem to be
proud, and boast of his conscience. For every one ought to exult with
fear, for that wherein he exulteth is God's gift, not his own desert.
For there be
many that please themselves, and think themselves righteous; and there is another passage which goeth against
them, which saith, "Who shall boast that he hath a clean heart, and that he is pure from sin?" There is then, so to
speak, a limit to glorying in our conscience, namely, to know that
thy faith is sincere, thy hope sure, thy love without dissimulation.
"The exultations of God are in
their mouths"
(ver. 6). In such wise shall they "rejoice in their closets," as not to attribute to themselves that they are good, but praise Him from whom they have
what they are, by whom they are called to attain to what they are
not, and from whom they hope for perfection, to whom they give
thanks, because He hath begun.
8. "And swords sharpened on both sides in their
hands." This sort of
weapon contains a great mystical meaning, in that it is sharp on both sides.
By "swords
sharpened on both sides," we understand the Word of the Lord: it is one sword, but therefore are they
called many, because there are many mouths and many tongues of the
saints.
How is it two edged? It speaks
of things temporal, it speaks also of things eternal. In both cases
it proveth what it saith, and him whom it strikes, it severeth from
the world. Is not this the sword whereof the Lord said, "I am not
come to send peace upon earth, but a sword"?
Observe
how He came to divide,
how He came to sever. He divideth the saints,
He divideth the ungodly, He severeth from thee that which hindereth
thee.
The son willeth to serve God,
the father willeth
not: the sword cometh,
the Word of God cometh, and severeth the son from the father.
...Wherefore then is it in their hands, not in their tongues?
"And swords," it saith,
"sharpened on both sides in their hands." By "in their hands," he
meaneth in power.
They received then the word of God in power, to speak where they
would, to whom they would, neither to fear power, nor to despise
poverty. For they had in their hands a sword; where they would they
brandished it, handled it, smote with it:
and all this was in
the power of the preachers.
For if the Word be not
in their hands, why is it written,
"The Word of the Lord was put in the hand of the Prophet Haggai"? Surely, brethren, God set
not His Word in His fingers. What is meant by, "was put in his hand"?
It was put into his
power to
preach the Word of the
Lord. Lastly, we can understand these "hands" in another way also.
For they who spake had the word of God in their tongues, they who
wrote, in their hands.
Augustin's comments on Psalm
150 can be found by Clicking Here. Most of the historical scholars understood the
Psalms as poetic language and did not fall into the trap of having
trees clapping their hands.
"The trumpets were
assigned a number of complicated signals, which implied their ability
of blowing legato, staccato, and trills, and tonguing, all
in
unison, not
'simultaneously,' but 'as with one mouth.' Moreover, these apocalyptical trumpets bear
different names: trumpets of assembly, of battle, of the slain,
of ambush, etc.
In generally, they
were used to terrorize
the enemy into panic
(Judges 7:19-20). This function was, for all practical purposes,
identical with that of the trumpets of Revelation.
In the temple the signals of the trumpet introduced every ceremony and every
sacrifice."
(International Dictionary of the Bible, p. 472-3, Abingdon).
"The instruments were used as
worship to God and to give glory and elat to the earthly kingdom. They were tolerated by God as were many other things during this period,
that he did not approve.
The establishment
of the kingdom itself was an act of rebellion against God" (David Lipscomb, Queries and Answers, pp. 226, 227,
and Gospel Advocate, 1899, pp. 376, 377).
"The timbrel "was a
typical women's
instrument. It is
mentioned seven times in the OT; thus it must have been very popular.
Although it occurs in the Psalter and in religious hymns (Exod 15;
Jer. 31:4), it was not permitted in the temple. Its function in the
Bible was restricted to secular or religious frolicking, cultic
dances, or processions (e. g., II Sam. 6:5; 1I Chr. 13:4; Ps. 68:25).
Its absence in the temple ritual was possible due to the strong
female symbolism, which always accompanied the tambourine, and which
made its use so popular at all fertility rites." (Interpreter's
Dictionary of the Bible, p. 474, Abingdon).
"Only in Ps 150:3 is it
(shophar) mentioned with most of the other really musical
instruments. Hence, we must conclude that the function of the shophar
was to make noise--be it of earthly or of eschatological
character--but not to
make music.
"After the destruction of the
temple and the general banishment of all instrumental music,
the shophar alone
survived, just because
it was not a musical instrument." (International Dictionary of the Bible, p. 473,
Abingdon).
Instrumental noises were part
of the like the
nations Monarchy or
Kingdom period. Aside from private use, this "music" was only
connected to animal sacrifices and at or around the temple.
After Jesus, all sacrifices are
completed and it may be legalistic to try to, like David, search for
the "lost God."
Comments on Amos and the
Septuagint (LXX)
Amos issued a similar warning
against Israel because they did use carnal weapons or instruments.
And their warfare was
against their own people whose money they stole in daily
"offerings." As a
result, the Assyrians became the stronghold and defeated them as they
hungered and thirsted for the Word. Therefore, God said--
Take thou away from me the noise
(rumbling of the multitude) of thy songs; for I will not hear the
melody of thy viols. Am.5:23 (Cf O.T. Melody from "pruning the vine")
Or in the Septuagint:
psallo, septuagint, psallo,
septuagint,
- Remove from me the
sound of thy
songs, and
- I will not hear the
music of thine
instruments."
Amos 5:23 LXX
- But let judgment roll down as water,
- and righteousness as an
impassable torrent." Amos 5:24 LXX
The Septuagint version has a
different reading in most musical passages. In Amos six God warns the
clergy who took unlawful
wages from the poor
people and then had an easy chair in an office where no "evangelist" had better be caught when the
last trumpet sounds--
Ye who are
approaching the evil day, who are drawing near and adopting false sabbaths; Amos 6:3LXX
who sleep upon beds
of ivory, and live delicately on their couches, and eat kids out of
the flocks, and sucking calves out of the midst of the stalls; 6:4
(stolen by the tyrants)
who excel in the sound of musical instruments;
they have regarded them as abiding,
not as fleeting
pleasures; 6:5
LXX
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I
will not hear the melody of thy viols. Am.5:23
Or: who excel (marginal "applaud") in the sound of musical instruments;
they have regarded them
as abiding,
not as fleeting pleasure." Amos 6:5 LXX (Jesus did read this version).
Pepys, ravished (raped)
by the sound of wind
music in the
theatre, was reminded of the time when
he was in love with his
wife.
"For some people
this is the height of enjoyment, provided the music presents no
problems. But it is neither a substantial nor a lasting
pleasure, and it is
limited by the endowments of individual performers."
At the heart of this warning is
a band of women or wives who "ruled over" the clergy and treated the
'contributors' as slaves. God called them "cows of Bashan" which
speaks to the musical bull or cow worship.
Every one knows that music is
fleeting pleasure. It has no abiding value. We listen to it, enjoy
the piece but when the music ceases the pleasure is gone. The only
remaining value are the words. We can carry words around in our head
(heart) as speak to ourselves. We cannot play the instruments in our
heads. For that reason, all humanity has put its lasting information
into words.
Music on the Holy
Days psallo, septuagint, psallo, septuagint,
Israel whom Amos condemned were
playing music on their holy day which had been expanded into many
days.
It is claimed
that:"...it is admitted that instrumental music was not employed in
the synagogue on the Sabbath. The reason assigned is, that it would
have infringed the law
of the Sabbath
requiring a cessation of all unnecessary work. Now, the question
arises, how, in view of that law, it was employed in the temple on
the Sabbath? The answer given is, that God, in that case, by his
authority relaxed
the rigor of the fourth commandment, and warranted work which
otherwise would have been unjustifiable...
Girardeau responds: "I rejoin: A relaxation of the Sabbatic law, in
favor of the temple-services, is not granted. Whatever was necessary
or proper, according to God's appointment, in order to the observance
of his worship, was provided for in that law. It was not requisite
for God to dispense with his own authority to secure compliance with
it." (John L. Girardeau, p. 72).
See more notes in connection
with the Shofar which was retained after the destruction of the
temple specificially because it was NOT a musical instrument.
The entire Monarchy period was
a violation of God's Law. The people "fired" God and demanded a king
like the nations so that they could worship like the nations. God turned them over to human kings but first sent
the sign of the musical
prophesiers (male but
effeminate) from the Philistine high places to turn Saul into another
man which means to "pervert
him." The quiet farmer turned into a self-glorifying warrior and took
the credit by errecting a monument to himself and taking on religious
authority which no king
had
Of music on the Sabbath day or
for religious purposes:
"It is still banned
by rigid adherents to old ways; but in ordinary conservative
congregations it is unhesitatingly employed at weddings and other
services on week
days" (Isadore Singer,
Jewish Encyclopedia, p. 134).
While special sabbaths were
called, Jewish authorities deny that musical instruments were lawful
on this weekly holy day. Even so:
"There is nothing
to show that the blowing of the trumpets, on festival days and at the
beginning of months, over the offerings
was accompanied
by singing on the part of priests and Levites.
There is no mention of that
fact, and Jewish tradition opposes the supposition. Moreover, it is
almost certain that the blowing of trumpets on such occasions was a
representative
act performed by the
priests, and that consequently
it
was not accompanied
by the singing of the congregation"
(Girardeau, p. 28-29).
In the KJV Amos repeats the
common theme: music as the cause or result of ignoring the Word and
the people-
That
chant (scatter words much like
tongues) to the sound (breath) of the viol
(5034), and invent (plot in
a malicious sense) to themselves instruments (h3627 or weapons) of
musick (singing) , like David; Am.6:5
That drink wine in
bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are
not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Am 6:6
Chanting or "excelling" is--
psallo, septuagint,
psallo, septuagint,
Parat
(h6527) paw-rat'; a prim. root; to scatter words, i. e. prate or hum:
- chant.
Therefore is the
name of it called Confusion (LXX); because the Lord did there
confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord
scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Genesis
11:9
"The central meaning of the
Arabic root is "anticipating another," then hurry, negligence,
excess, inadvertence in act, and, in speech, exaggeration in praise,
and 'got the first word,' 'spoke precipitately, the tongue outrunning
the sense.' Walid... says that the corresponding Arabic participle is
used to those 'who
extemporize poetry, i.
e. sing extempore without thought. (Barnes, Albert, Amos, p. 308).
Barnes identifies this with "soulless versifying which Bruner in
The Holy
Spirit identifies as
"low-level glossolalia."
Paul blamed the Corinthians
because their "songs" came out of their own "spirit" while he
commanded everyone to sing inspired material.
While the Jews were rejoicing,
God warned that the Assyrians were being defeated with the same
music. The implication was that Israel had no reason to rejoice--they
would be next. The LXX, as usual, puts a negative twist on music
because Israel could not hear the "trumpet" and the hoof-beat of the
enemy. Isaiah asked--
Must ye always
rejoice, and go into my
holy places continually, as they that keep a feast? and
must ye go with a pipe, as those that
rejoice into the mountain of the Lord, to the God of Israel? Isaiah
30:29 LXX
And the Lord shall
make his glorious voice
to be heard, and the wrath of his arm, to make a display with wrath
and anger and devouring flame: he shall lighten terribly, and his
wrath shall be as water and violent hail. Isaiah 30:30 LXX
For by the voice of the Lord the Assyrians shall be overcome, even by the stroke wherewith he
shall smite them. Isaiah 30:31 LXX
And it shall happen to him from
every side, that they from whom their hope or assistance was, in
which he trusted, themselves shall war against him in turn with drums and with harp. Isaiah 30:32 LXX
For thou shalt be
required before thy time; has it been prepared for thee also to
reign? nay, God has prepared for thee a deep trench, wood piled,
fire and much wood; the wrath of the Lord
shall be as a trench kindled with sulphur. Isaiah 30:33 LXX
See the whole story of how God will destroy with
music.
Why would God be pleased by the
very instruments which are symbolic of His wrath?
He then warned that Assyria
would be consumed just as some Jews burned their infants in the red
hot arms of the idol Molech while they were blowing flutes and
beating on drums -- the tabrets which gave their name to Topheth --
hell itself:
2. Thy
pomp is brought down to the grave, and the
noise of thy
viols:(great mirth LXX)
the worm (maggot) is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
Is.14:11
Ezekiel psallo, septuagint,
Ezekiel also prophesied that
the music and musicians of Tyre would be cast into sheol. It is not
coincidental that forcing people to honor the theatrical performers
rather than hearing God through His Word is often related to
breaking down the
walls to allow the
enemy to come in and, perhaps, pick up some of the financial load.
Ezekiel said however, speaking for God, that:
They will
plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw
your stones, timber and rubble into the sea. Ezek 26:12
I will
put an
end to your
noisy
songs, and the
music of your harps will be heard no more. Ezek 26:13
then I will bring
you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you
dwell in the earth
below, as in ancient
ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or
take your place in the land of the living. Ezek 26:20
Also, thou son of man, the
children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls
and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one
to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word
that cometh forth from the Lord. Ezek 33:30
- And they come unto thee as
the people cometh,
- and they sit before thee
as my people,
- and they hear thy words,
- but they will not do
them:
- for with their mouth they
shew much
love,
- but their heart goeth
after their covetousness. Ezek 33: 31
And, lo, thou art unto them
as a very lovely song
- of one that hath a pleasant
voice,
- and can play well on an
instrument:
- for they hear thy words,
- but they do them not.
Ezek 33: 32
And when this cometh to pass,
(lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been
among them. Ezek 33: 33
Again, the LXX is more forceful
in showing that both the music and the musicians would be
silenced--
"And he shall
destroy the multitude of thy musicians, and the sound
of thy psalteries shall be heard no more." Ezek. 26:13 LXX
And the voice (sound) of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers,
and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee;
and no craftsman
(artisan), of whatsoever craft he be, shall be
found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; Rev 18:22
Tyre, like the Babylon harlot
religion would learn nothing from captivity:
At that time Tyre
will be forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king's life. But
at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the
song of the
prostitute: Isaiah
23:15
"Take up a harp,
walk through the city, O prostitute forgotten; play the harp well, sing many a song, so
that you will be remembered." Isaiah 23:16
The king of Tyre, like the king
of Babylon, was a type of Lucifer who is bi-sexual and attracts
customers like a prostitute. However, the king of Tyre wanted to be remembered as a male. His, indeed, was a masculine journey.
The LXX says that Tyre will be
returned to her "primitive" state and the gain will go to the Lord before "The
earth shall be completely laid waste."
Now, what about the claim that
psallo in the Septuagint is authority for instrumental music even
when Paul defined the "singing" as inward and directed to the Lord as
we praise Him by telling others about His Word?
"If the meaning of
certain verses may be in doubt, what is clear is that an
instrument
did not
inhere in the
word psallo in the Septuagint. Psallo could translate a word meaning 'play'
(nagan), a word meaning only 'sing' (shir), or the general word
(zamar). The meaning would cover all occurrences is 'make melody.'
This could include making melody on an instrument, as in the
classical use of the word,
but in the
preponderance of occurrences it clearly refers to vocal music.
Ferguson, p.7.
This is absolutely clear if you
just look at the passages where Zamar or Nagan are used. Their
definition IS NOT singing and playing an instrument at the same time.
The word is at times ASSOCIATED with singing but SINGING is always
defined by its own word. Makes sense: singing is singing and playing
is playing and you cannot define BOTH with one word. You sing a song
AND if an instrument accompanies you then the INSTRUMENT is always
named.
See our chart under Arndt by
Clicking
Here. This chart associates instruments with
legal festivals or with other non-worship rituals. The majority of
the Psalms are sung with no instruments.
Kenneth Sublett Comments welcome
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