Hey Aaron, thanks for the words of wisdom. When I wrote the piece, I
should, perhaps, have accessed the knowledge on this forum, rather
than my Random House Unabridged, which offered the following definition:
"An expression occurring frequently in the Psalms, thought to be a
liturgical or musical direction, probably a direction by the leader
to raise the voice [this meaning would be perfectly relevant in my
particular setting] or perhaps an indication of a pause [this would
be less relevant, but justifiable]."
Since the piece is already composed, paid for and performed, I think
I shall not change it, and just rely on the "ultimately unknown"
clause to justify it's use (Other than the fact that it does indeed
appear in my Bible's version of Psalm 84 (How lovely is Thy .....).
Thanks again,
Dean
On Aug 28, 2007, at 1:41 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Actually the meaning of "Selah" is quite controversial and ultimately
unkonwn. Some interpret it as meaning "the end of the road" (i.e.,
the end
of a section), and some say that it refers to a changing of choirs in
polychoral antiphony. Commands to sing in Hebrew include "shiru" (can
refer to poetry without music) and "zamru." "Nagnu" can refer to
playing
an instrument with no words in attendance. I'm sure there are
others, but
I've never heard "selah" in this context. (One of the psalms states
"v'nomar l'fanav shira chadasha"--"And let us say before Him new song"
[sic].) Note that "klezmer" is a yiddish smooshing of "k'lay
zemer," the
Hebrew term referring to musical instruments as "vessels of song."
Aaron J. Rabushka
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://users.waymark.net/arabushk
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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Dean M. Estabrook
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Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?
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