John Howell wrote:
>Hmm. One must be rather careful in assuming how words were actually
>used, and what they actually meant in different situations, because
>they can tie us up in knots. Do you happen to know when the Old
>Testament Book of Psalms was first concatenated, and whether the
>(presumably Hebrew) word for "Psalms" was attached as its title from
>the beginning?
I haven't been keeping up with the List lately, so I've missed most of this
discussion. My apologies if this has already been covered.
Neither of the Hebrew words used for the psalms ("mizmor" and "tehillim")
suggest stringed instruments. Both were varieties of songs. It appears that the
use of "psalm" in Greek translation was meant in the secondary sense of just a
song, without regard to accompaniment. But as always with such things, exact
meanings are subject to debate by historians. Brief discussion here:
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=574&letter=P. Better googling
will probably turn up more.
As for King David's instruments, the one translated "harp" is a "kinnor" in the
original, and the one translated "psaltery" is a "nevel". Both kinnor and
nevel are reasonably well-known. Google turns up a page for a modern
manufacturer, presumably an attempt at historical reconstruction.
I would venture to guess that the Greek translators noticed the stringed
instruments mentioned elsewhere so felt it natural to attach their word "psalm"
to the songs, even though the Hebrew label made no such implication.
mdl
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