Speaking of Biblical texts and such , I recently set some of Psalm 84
to music, and encountered the word "Selah." As it happened, it
assumed a rather prominent place in the setting, so upon looking it
up in the dictionary, I came to understand its meaning as a command
(this may be too strong a word) to sing. Ergo, I used it in that
context. later, I read some other place that the meaning was
something else. Any of you Psalm experts may weigh in please.
Thanks,
Dean
On Aug 28, 2007, at 12:24 PM, Mark D Lew wrote:
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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Dean M. Estabrook
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Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
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