My Documents: Article of the Week Archive

 

The Singing of Psalms: Part 9
Copyright 1996 Sherman Isbell

[Editorial Note: I have become increasingly more frustrated with the current status of the Church, especially as it pertains to the utilization of differing genres in the corporate worship service. My personal understanding of the matter leaves little room in my mind that we ought to be singing the word of God and not some man made "love tune" that is better suited for a camp-fire sing-a-long. Certainly these are my personal opinions and should not be construed as an attack or response to any particular church. The matter can be debated and I welcome it. Feel free to do so by utilizing the link at the bottom of this article. This series contains 14 articles that will be taken in order until completion. If interested in reading ahead you may do so at: http://members.aol.com/RSISBELL/psalms1.html -- W. Hill]

Worship Song and Prophecy (Continued)

Though the Psalm titles designate David himself as the author of seventy-three of the Psalms, we have seen that the Levitical families assigned to musical service in the temple are associated with many of the other songs. The sons of Korah (I Chron. 6:31-38, II Chron. 20:19) are responsible for Psalms 42, 44-49, 84, 87 and 88. Over forty references are made to the temple musicians in the Books of Chronicles. Impressed with this institutional status of the temple singers in the Books of Chronicles, Old Testament scholars from a number of theological traditions have come to speak of "prophetic guilds" attached to the temple and responsible for the production of inspired psalmody.(115) Roland de Vaux concludes, with respect to the Levitical singers, that "the Chronicler considered them as 'inspired' and he may have done so merely because the writing and singing of psalms required a kind of inspiration,"(116) and William Schniedewind, in a recent study of prophecy in Chronicles, concurs: "This opinion is substantiated by I Chron. 25:1-6. The production of psalms was apparently considered an inspired act."(117) Schniedewind observes that "The prophetic title hozeh given to Asaph in II Chron. 29:30 relates to his position making music in the temple. All the contexts which employ the title hozeh for the levitical singers are intimately tied with the making of music."(118) Sara Japhet writes: "The singers are called 'seers' first of all because they are regarded as composers of the Temple psalmody, probably already seen as the product of divine inspiration. Thus in II Chron. 29:30: 'to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer'."(119) And Beckwith notes that "The inspiration of David, Asaph and Heman the Psalmists is taught in II Sam. 23:1f. (cp. ch. 22); I Chron. 25:1f., 5; II Chron. 29:30. The Psalms were, of course, used in a somewhat different way from the other Scriptures, but it is certainly as Scripture that they were used."(120)

The tent of meeting and the ark of the covenant had long been the special venue for divine revelation. Moses was told to resort to the tabernacle to receive instruction from God (Exod. 25:21-22, 33:6-11, Num. 7:89, 12:4-10), and it was there that God gave him a song to write, which would be a witness in the mouths of the children of Israel (Deut. 31:14-15, 19-26). When the high priest went into the holy place, he wore the Urim and the Thumim (Exod. 28:29-30), and by these obtained an answer from God, in the generations after Moses (Num. 27:21; I Sam. 14:18, 36-42; 28:6). It was at the tabernacle in Shiloh that the Lord revealed himself to Samuel, speaking to him (I Sam. 3:1-14, 21; cf. I Chron. 13:3).(121) The musical prophesying by Levitical families in the Solomonic temple is the perpetuation of such communication from God at the ark of the covenant. The Levites had been charged with the care of the ark. We are told that when the deposit of the ark in Jerusalem freed the Levites from the burden of carrying it, they were reassigned to the task of prophesying in song in the presence of the ark (Deut. 10:8; I Chron. 6:31; 15:2, 16-28; 22:19 with 23:25-32; II Chron. 35:3-4, 14-15); one form of ministry related to the ark and the sanctuary is exchanged for another.(122) (See Appendix A: The Levitical Ministry at the Ark.) Thus David's procession, with the Levites conveying the ark to its final resting place in Jerusalem, is the commencement of the Levites' musical service at the ark (I Chron. 15:16-22, 27-28; 16:4-7, 37-42).(123)

Appendix A: The Levitical Ministry at the Ark

When the ark came to rest in Jerusalem, there was a shift in the task assigned to the Levites. Instead of bearing the ark from place to place, they were to sing the Lord's praise in the sanctuary. M. Gertner argues that with the alteration of Levitical duties, a term that had designated the Levites' responsibility in transporting a physical load took on additional significance.(215) In translating the account in I Chronicles 15 of David's procession with the ark, the principal English versions describe the role of Chenaniah as "master of song" for the Levites (vv. 22, 27). Nowhere else in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word massa , rendered "song." John Kleinig presents a cogent interpretation: "The primary sense of massa here is 'transportation', as in II Chron. 35:3 and Num. 4:15, 19, 24 and elsewhere. In Numbers it is a technical term for the duty of the Levites to carry the ark and its furnishings. Since the Septuagint interprets the term musically, some scholars hold that it refers both to the transportation of the ark and to the music of the singers. The ambiguity, however, probably arises, because Chenaniah was in charge of the ceremonial procession for the occasion. He was therefore responsible for both the physical and musical 'transportation' of the ark. The RSV, which represents the consensus of many scholars, implies that he was the choirmaster. Chenaniah, however, turns up later in I Chron. 26:29, where he is not in charge of musicians but of Levitical officials with duties outside the temple. The problem here is the sense of massa. In context, it could mean either transportation or performance of music. Now, if Chenaniah was the head of the procession, it would suggest that he arranged the whole procession with the transportation of the ark and the performance of music. His brief would then have been to devise and execute the ceremonies for the occasion, so that they would be ritually appropriate and properly coordinated."(216)

The musical dimension of Chenaniah's oversight is apparent from a word in I Chron. 15:22 which is used in I Chron. 25:7-8 and II Chron. 34:12 to describe the skill of the Levites in music.(217) Thus Gordon Carr observes: "The titles of several of the psalms suggest that certain tunes and instrumentation were to be used on specific occasions, and the comment in I Chron. 15:22 that Chenaniah should direct the music 'for he understood it' bears out the view that complex musical forms and/or arrangements were part of the cultic pattern."(218) Petersen surveys several interpretations of I Chron. 15:22 and 27, and opts for the translation "leader of the music of the singers" in verse 27, as do most scholars.(219) Beckwith argues that when fifty-five Psalms were given titles with musical directions "For the chief musician/choirmaster," the reference was to the original performer, and that Chenaniah is to be identified as this choirmaster.(220)

Kleinig connects the two stages of Levitical ministry: "The temporary responsibility of the Levites for the transportation of the ark was part of a larger and more permanent duty to minister to the Lord who sat enthroned above it and met with his people there. This ministry, which was performed 'in' or 'with the Lord's name' (Deut. 18:5, 7), was carried out by the Levites as they proclaimed that name to the people in songs of praise. I Chronicles 15 suggests that the performance of sacred song was in some way ritually similar, if not equivalent, to the transportation of the ark. The Levites then were chosen as musicians, because their performance of music was to be a 'ministry' akin to their care of the ark."(221) On the ministry of the Levites before the ark, cf. Num. 1:50-51; 3:6-9; 8:13-26; 16:8-9; Deut. 10:8; I Sam. 3:1-4; I Chron. 6:31-32; 15:2; 16:4-5, 37, 41-42; II Chron. 8:14; 23:4-7; 31:2.

The Old Testament often uses the word massa to refer to the vision in which the word of the Lord came to his prophets. With this import, the word is rendered "burden" (RSV: "oracle") in Isa. 13:1, 14:28, 15:1, 17:1, 19:1, Jer. 23:33-38, Lam. 2:14, Nah. 1:1, Hab. 1:1, Zech. 9:1, 12:1, and Mal. 1:1. This is the sense which Sigmund Mowinckel urges for I Chron. 15:22 and 27, offering the translation "oracle."(222) At I Chron. 15:27, the Vulgate says that Chenaniah was "leader of prophecy among the singers" (princeps prophetiae inter cantores). Likewise Joseph Blenkinsopp: "The use of a term massa , which generally means 'oracle,' may well point to the prophetic or inspired character of liturgical music."(223) Apparently the English versions followed the Septuagint in placing a construction on the word which corresponds to the musical context in I Chronicles 15, and this would be correct, so far as it goes. But if massa indicates here an oracle, the word implies that the song was a form of prophecy, and this would be an anticipation of I Chron. 25:1-7. The ASV and Edward J. Young give the translation "oracle" when the word is used at Prov. 30:1 (cf. 31:1).(224)

With respect to the use of double meanings in the Old Testament, Raymond Tournay comments, "It is necessary to recall that the wise men of Israel readily sought out expressions which were ambiguous or capable of carrying multiple meanings, in order to stimulate the curiosity of the reader. The historical writers do not shy away from ambiguous terms and expressions. In I Chron. 15:22 and 27, the word massa can have several senses. Are we to understand that Chenaniah, the leader of the Levites, directs the transportation of the ark, or is it that he lifts up his voice in giving the pitch (as the Septuagint understands it)? Or does the word indicate the proclamation of a prophetic utterance? It is known that the activity of the Levitical cantors is often defined as an activity inspired by the Spirit of the Lord and quasi-prophetic. In the prophetic books, the word massa serves as a title to many oracles. Jer. 23:33-40 thoroughly exploits this ambiguity: 'burden' (literal sense), 'oracle' (figurative sense). Many Hebrew roots are semantically complex; many look alike and allow for multiple plays on words."(225) William McKane argues that what we have are two words, rather than several meanings of the same word. He points out that the Jewish scholars Ibn Janah (11th century), Rashi (d. 1105) and Kimchi (d. 1235) traced the word play in Jer. 23:33 to the use of homonyms, one meaning "utterance," and the other "burden," and claims for this view the lexicons of J. D. Michaelis and W. Gesenius, and more recently that of L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, and that of F. Brown, S. R. Driver and C. A. Briggs.(226)

Notes
(115) Aubrey R. Johnson, The Cultic Prophet in Ancient Israel, 2nd ed. (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1962), pp. 69-72; Sigmund Mowinckel, The Psalms in Israel's Worship (New York: Abingdon Press, 1962), 2:80-82, 97; Tournay, "Les 'Dernières Paroles de David,' " pp. 487-88; Joseph Blenkinsopp, A History of Prophecy in Israel (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983), p. 254.
(116) Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1961), p. 385.
(117) William M. Schniedewind, The Word of God in Transition: From Prophet to Exegete in the Second Temple Period (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), p. 173.
(118) Ibid., p. 172.
(119) Sara Japhet, I and II Chronicles (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993), p. 440.
(120) Beckwith, Old Testament Canon, pp. 139, 145.
(121) Menahem Haran, "From Early to Classical Prophecy: Continuity and Change," Vetus Testamentum 27 (1977): 386-88.
(122) Japhet, I and II Chronicles, p. 156.
(123) Cf. ASV for I Chron. 16:42: "instruments for the songs of God", and John W. Kleinig, The Lord's Song: The Basis, Function and Significance of Choral Music in Chronicles (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993), p. 52.
(215) M. Gertner, "The Masorah and the Levites," Vetus Testamentum 10 (1960): 252-53.
(216) Kleinig, The Lord's Song, pp. 47, 50.
(217) Japhet, I and II Chronicles, p. 304. Cf. the musical ability spoken of in II Chron. 30:21-22 (ASV and RSV).
(218) Gordon L. Carr, "The Claims of the Chronicler for the Origin of the Israelite Priesthood" (Ph.D. dissertation, Boston University, 1973), p. 154. Cf. Beckwith, "Early History of the Psalter," p. 3.
(219) Petersen, Late Israelite Prophecy, pp. 62-64 and 89 (nn. 31-39). Cf. Joseph Blenkinsopp, Sage, Priest, Prophet: Religous and Intellectual Leadership in Ancient Israel (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995), pp. 97-98.
(220) Beckwith, "Early History of the Psalter," p. 12.
(221) Kleinig, The Lord's Song, pp. 34, 91.
(222) Sigmund Mowinckel, "Cult and Prophecy," in Prophecy in Israel, ed. David L. Petersen (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987), pp. 86-87. Cf. on II Chron. 24:27, Raymond B. Dillard, 2 Chronicles (Waco: Word Books, 1987), pp. 186-87, 194.
(223) Joseph Blenkinsopp, Prophecy and Canon, p. 186. Cf. Raymond J. Tournay, Seeing and Hearing God with the Psalms: The Prophetic Liturgy of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1991), pp. 36-37.
(224) Edward J. Young, An Introduction to the Old Testament, rev. ed. reset (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964), p. 317, and The Book of Isaiah (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972), 2:408, n. 1.
(225) Raymond J. Tournay, Quand Dieu Parle aux Hommes le Langage de l'Amour: Études sur le Cantique des Cantiques, Cahiers de la Revue Biblique, vol. 21 (Paris: J. Gabalda et Cie, 1982), pp. 116-19. Cf. Gerhard von Rad, Das Geschichtsbild des Chronistischen Werkes (Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1930), p. 110. For further literature about word play in the Old Testament, see Tournay, Quand Dieu Parle aux Hommes, p. 122, n. 34.
(226) William McKane, " Massa in Jeremiah 23:33-40," in Prophecy: Essays presented to Georg Fohrer, ed. J. A. Emerton (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1980), pp. 38-39.