A Ralph Johnson Psallo and Psalmos justifies Instrumental Music in Worship
A Ralph Johnson posts lots of data proving that the ANTI-instrumental Churches of Christ are bad.
A. “PSALMOS” AND “PSALLO” ETYMOLOGICALLY SUGGEST
MUSIC PRODUCED BY PLUCKING WITH THE FINGERS.
1.
Eph 5:19; Col. 3:16.
Christians were told to speak to each other in “psalms.”
It makes no sense that we are to speak to each other
the psalms that teach us to praise God with the harp if it is sinful to do so.
When psalms were used to teach and admonish in the Old
Testament they were commonly accompanied. Without some clear scriptural
teaching restricting such use, one would not reasonably be expected to consider
it sinful.
After the fall from grace doing musical idolatry at Mount Sinai the
Jacob-cursed and God-abandoned Levites volunteered to execute 3,000 of
the brethren involved in idolatry on the rest day. God turned the
tribe of Levi over to worship the starry host (Acts 7 etc.). There
was no command for instrumental noise in the now-changed Tabernacle but
the Levites were commanded to stand in ranks with swords drawn and
execute any godly person who came near or into any "holy" Place. Even a
Levite when not on rare duty who can near any holy thing was to be
executed.
After the elders fired God and demanded a King set over us, God warned
that the kings would take their property--more than a tithe--and
confiscate the young men to make musical instruments and run before the
chariots to try to spook the enemy.
After David was granted an old Jebusite High place already set up for
the worship of the starry host, he was allowed a tent on Mount Zion.
However, Solomon built God a house on Mount Moriah as Capital of the
Civil-Military-Clergy complex. Christ in the prophets calls them robbers
and parasites. Indeed all instrumental noise makers in sacrificial
systems were called PARASITES. A heretic was the priest who lifted
up the lambs to cut their throats while the Levites "made the lambs
dumb before the slaughter.
The congregation around the temple--never in--was king, priests, Levites
and city officials. 2 Chronicles 29 used as the PROOF TEXTS was
burning GOATS instead of the INFANTS in the chapters before and after
Hezekiah proposed a plague-stopping exorcism as had David long ago.
The godly people were quarantined to their isolated towns on the seventh
day which was when all of the Worship of the Starry host took place
from Egypt to Babylon. The Qahal, synagogue, ekklesia or Church of
Christ (the Rock) excluded vocal or instrumental rejoicing incuding
self-preaching or rhetoric: Jesus marked these as hypocrites.
There is no command, example or remote inference that anyone engaged in
congregational singing wiith organ (onl( accompaniment until long after
Calvin. The one exception was the musical idolatry at Mount Sinai which
was a sin without redemption. God sentenced the to beyond Babylon which
meant no return. The kings were granted in God's Anger to carry out the
captivity and death sentence.
From the time of the Septuagint until long after the
New Testament, “psalmos” was used of a song with instrumental
accompaniment, “hymnos,” a song of praise to God, and “odē,”
a song in general, with or without an accompaniment.
That's False: The translators of the Septuagint used the PSAO based
words because they were evil. The Psalms were warrior chants and
they were sung to intimidate the enemy to turn them into cowards.
The "praise word" means to "make self vile" and the THREAT was that the
enemy would be robbed, raped and then raptured. Sodomy was the way to
show superiority over the enemy. That was rooted in Egyptian theology.
A psalm can be read, recited, sung or sung with an instrument. Psalms
are not metrical so singing was called cantillation which is SPEAK
rather than sing in a tuneful sense which would hbae been impossible.
There is no example of Psalmos being "Sing accompanied with a musical instrument." That would take three words.
Isaiah 23:15 And it shall come to pass in that day,
that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king:
after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
Isaiah 23:16 Take an [1] harp, go about the city,
thou harlot that hast been forgotten;
make sweet [2] melody, [3] sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
Isaiah 23:17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre,
and she shall turn to her hire,
and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
Amos 5:23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy [1] songs; for I will not hear the [2] melody of thy [3] viols.
It is maintained that in Eph 5:19, “psalmos”
just means the composition rather than a musical performance with instruments.
Nothing in the sentence requires this. On the contrary, the force of the
infinitive in the verb form, “psalein” (“making melody”),
suggests performance.
Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
[But] [1] singing and making [2] melody IN your [3] heart to the Lord;
Paul would be ignorant if he gave anyone a hint that "in your heart" means "with a harp."
The fact that “psalms” may refer to the book of
Psalms does not remove the difficulty. Psalms were designed to be sung to
accompaniment, and doing so is perfectly consistent with the meaning of the
word. When sung with instrumental accompaniment, they are still “psalms.”
Without a clear prohibition, one could not know it is wrong
Psalms were POEMS: they were a poetic history of the nation.
However, they were never SUNG accompanied with a HARP. When you
sing TO a harp you pluck a string and try to imitate it. This
would involve a David plucking his harp and singing to sheep. David
never played and sang: He was warrior king and used the harps to help
shed all of that blood.
This is much like our use of the word, “song.” A
“song” may be either the piece of music or a musical performance. Unless it is
otherwise clearly indicated, nothing restricts one from doing either. It is
just as unreasonable to conclude that if we are told to speak to each other in Psalms,
the action of making melody by plucking strings is prohibited unless specified.
Hebrew singing or rhymic prose had no fixed meter: "Since
in all languages a sentence changes its meaning by mere intonations
without adding or removing nounds, verbs or particles, the Syrian
scholars who laid the fundament of correct language discovered a way by devising accents...
and since these accents are a form of musical modulation, there is no
possibliity of learning them except by hearing and through tradition
from the master's tongue or the pupils hear. It follows from Bar
Hebraeus' statement that the main concern was to secure an unadulterated and unadulterable version of the text
This required (a) correct vocalization and (b) correct intonation.
(p.87) " Nor is there a constant number of feet in a verse. Hebrew
poetry is poetic p;rose. "Hebrew prosedy differes fundamentlly from classical prosody. No poem is written according to a repeating meter scheme.
Classical verse is mechanical; Hebrew verse is dynamic (p 89. Music in Ancient Western Orient
Curt Sachs
Cantillation Jewish Encyclopedia
"These conventionalities of pitch
result in an elementary form of song,
and thus became early known as "singing to speech" (
accentus). But
when a larger audience is addressed the assistance of a sing-song
utterance in marking this accent or prosody, and
rendering the precise
interdependence of the successive words
unmistakable, has been
recognized by all who have ever had to speak in the open air or in a
large building, and has been from the earliest ages adopted for the
public recitation of sacred texts.
Some authorities feel this is not restricted to the
150 Psalms. The fact that it is included with other music not found in the
scriptures and use of the verbal forms, may well indicate this is speaking of
music that has the character of psalms. A distinguishing character of the
psalms was clearly instrumental.
2.
Standard entomological
dictionaries, Bible dictionaries, Commentaries, translations and Lexicons.
The Greek word, “psalmos,” and its verb form, “psallō”
expressed the idea of plucking with the fingers. This was extended to simply
indicate music or a melody and finally a psalm fitted for that purpose or
singing with or without an instrument. While it may have been sometimes used of
music in general, at no time did the word mean “sing a-cappella.”
-The
American Heritage Dictionary, 1980, College edition.
“Psalm...from
Greek psalmos, song sung to the harp,
psalm (translation of Hebrew mizmor, song, psalm), from psallein,
to pluck, play the harp.”
A psalm is a song it can be sung to a harp: However, there is no
example of psallo translated as to play a harp: you nee two words or you
need a compound word naming each instrument. Psallein means SINGING
unless a harp is named. Since the psllo words mean PLUCK something with
your finers and NEVER with a plectrum you are specificially FORBIDDEN
to use a guitar pick, a flute, trumpet, drums, organ, piano.
Making psallo LIE for imposing other instruments is not scholarly or
ethical.
. Heredotus records Cyrus being told how to NEUTER captives.
Grant, then, forgiveness to the
Lydians, and to make
sure of their never rebelling against thee, or alarming thee more,
send and forbid them to keep any
weapons of war, command
them to
wear
tunics under their
cloaks, and to put buskins upon their legs,
..........and make them bring up their sons to cithern-playing (Kitharizein), singing
(psallein),
..........and shop-keeping (Hucksterism).
So
wilt thou soon see them become women instead of
men,
and there will be no more fear
of their revolting from thee."
-[4]
Ludoisi de
sungnômên echôn tade autoisi epitaxon, hôs
mête aposteôsi mête deinoi toi eôsi: apeipe
men sphi pempsas hopla arêia mê ektêsthai, keleue
de spheas kithônas -[khiton David's garment] te hupodunein toisi
heimasi kai
kothornous hupodeesthai, proeipe d' autoisi -kitharizein te kai psallein kai
kapêleuein [prostitutes, petty
trade, playing tricks,
corrupting] paideuein tous paidas. kai tacheôs spheas ô
basileu gunaikas ant' andrôn opseai gegonotas, hôste
ouden deinoi toi esontai mê aposteôsi."
The
word kitharizo means to
PLAY THE CITHARA and does not include singing.
- -Kitharizô 1 [kitharis] to play the
cithara, phormingi [Apollo] kitharize Il., Hes.; lurêi eraton kitharizôn Hhymn.
(so that there can have been no great difference between the kithara,
lura, and phorminx ); kitharizein ouk epistatai, of an uneducated
person,
-
-Kithar-isis , eôs, hê, playing on the
cithara, Pl.Prt.325e; k. psilê, i.e. without the
voice, Id.Lg.669e, cf. Pae.Delph.15;
aulêsis kai k. Phld.Mus.p.23 K.
-Arassô ,of any violent impact, with collat. notion of
rattling, clanging, as of horses, hoplais, pound in a mortar, strike with a shower of stones.
a). kitharēn strike the lyre, Orph.A.382; humnon, melos, etc., Nonn.D.1.15,440, etc.
2. c. dat.
modi, arassein tina oneidesi, kakois, assail with reproaches or threats,
II.
Pass., to be dashed against, dash one against the other
Pound in a mortar, “holmō a.” Nic. Th.508
Therefore,
it could
not be redundant. The word psallo means to PLUCK or to make a noise
by a harp string or bow string. It later came to mean JUST SING.
Without the word KITHARIZEIN Heredodus would have had to used PSALLO
and then define WHAT is to be plucked.
-Ovid Elegy 2.6: On the Death of His
Mistress's Parrot.
By Creech.
Alas!
poor Poll, my Indian
talker, dies!
Go, birds, and celebrate his obsequies;
Go, birds, and beat your breasts, your faces tear,
And pluck your gaudy plumes instead of hair;
Let doleful
tunes the frighted forest wound,
And your sad notes supply the trumpet's sound.
Why, Philomel, dost mourn the Thracian rage?
Orpheus
is the Thracian who
invented musical "worship" called threskia.
Psittacus, Eois imitatrix ales ab Indis,
Occidit -- exequias ite frequenter, aves!
Ite, piae volucres, et plangite pectora pinnis
Et rigido teneras ungue notate genas;
Horrida
pro maestis lanietur
pluma capillis,
Pro longa resonent carmina vestra tuba!
Quod scelus Ismarii quereris, Philomela, tyranni,
-In Plato's Ion 881 we see both the singing and
playing
O
you, who cause a voice to
sing from your seven-stringed lyre, a voice that lets lovely-sounding
hymns peal forth in the rustic lifeless horn,
-Greek
ô
tas heptaphthongou
melpôn
kitharas enopan, hat' agraulois
kerasin en apsuchois achei
mousan humnous euachêtous,
-Hepta-phthongos , on,
A.
seven-toned, kithara
E.Ion881 (lyr.); sumphônia Nicom.Exc.6 .
-Melpô, Verb, celebrate with
song and dance,
2. intr., sing, aulôi play on, to dance a war-dance in honour
of Ares, by a bold metaph. for to fight on foot
-Enopê A. crying, shouting, as
of birds, especially
war-cry, battle-shout,,
Agraulois: field .
crying, shouting, as of birds, “Trōes men klaggē t' enopē t' isan, ornithes hōs” Il.3.2; esp. war-cry, battle-shout, “makhē enopē te” 12.35, 16.246, et
3.
of things, sound, “aulōn suriggōn t' enopēn” Il.10.13; iakhēn t' enopēn te, of thunder, Hes.Th.708; “kitharas e.” E.Ion882 (anap.); “sarkōn e. ēd' osteōn” crushing, Pi.Fr.168.—Ep. and Lyr. word, used by E. in lyr.
-Keras I. the horn of an
animal, in Hom. mostly of oxen.
III. anything made of horn,
2. of musical instruments, horn for blowing, “sēmēnai tō kerati” X.An.2.2.4, cf. Arist.Aud.802a17; also, the Phrygian flute, because it was tipped with horn (cf. Poll.4.74), “aulein tō k.” Luc.DDeor.12.1; “kai kerati men aulein Turrēnoi nomizousi” Poll.4.76, cf. Ath.4.184a.
Apsuchois
achei lifeless
sound
Mousan Muses under Apollo, Abaddon
or Apollyo
Humnos in praise of gods or
heros
[885]
son of Leto, I will blame
you before this light. You came to me, your hair glittering with
gold, when I was plucking into the folds of my robe yellow flowers
[890] to bloom with golden light; grasping my white hand in yours,
you led me to the bed in the cave, hearing me call on my mother, god
and consort, [895] shamelessly paying homage to
Aphrodite. I, the
unhappy one, bore you a son, whom in fear of my mother I placed in
that bed of yours, [900] where you joined with me, the miserable, the
unfortunate one, in unhappy union. Alas! and
now my son and yours, oh cruel one, is gone, torn
apart, a feast for birds;
[905] but you are singing to the lyre, chanting hymns.
AsphasiaModern
scholars agree that the basic facts of Aspasia's life as recorded by
Diodoros the Athenian (FGrHist 372 F 40 ), Plutarch (Plut. Per. 24.3 )
and the lexicographers are correct. She was born in the city of Miletus
between 460-455 B.C., the daughter of Axiochus. Miletus, part of the
Athenian empire, was one of the leading cities in Ionia, an area of
Greek settlement located along the coast of Asia Minor.
It was
probably in Ionia, before she left for Athens, that Aspasia
was educated. Women in that part of the Greek world were generally
given more of an education than women in Athens.
As a hetaira
she would have been trained in the art of conversation and of musical
entertainment
including singing,
dancing and playing instruments.
Oh! son of Leto, I
invoke you, who send forth your holy voice from your golden seat,905su de kitharai klazeis
paianas melpôn.
Klazo
Melpon celebrate with song and dance
ôê,
ton Latous audô ,
host' omphan klêrois
pros chruseous thakous
-Strong’s
Concordance Lexicon,
5567,
psallō; probably strengthened from psaō (to rub or touch the surface; compare 5597; to twitch or twang, i.e. to play on a stringed instrument (celebrate
the divine worship with music and accompanying odes):--[translated] make
melody, sing (psalms).”
This is not a singular definition but ways in which psallo can be applied
G5567 psallō psal'-lo
Probably strengthened from ψάω psaō (to rub or touch the surface; compare G5597 );
to twitch or twang, that is,
to play on a stringed instrument (celebrate the divine worship with music and accompanying odes):—
make melody,
sing (psalms).
Psaō [a_, but always contracted], II. crumble away, vanish, disappear, S.Tr.678 (s. v. l.). (psaō, psaiō, psauō, psairō, psēkhō, psōkhō,
5568,
psalmos; from 5567; a set piece of music, i.e. a sacred ode
(accompanied with the voice, harp or other
instrument; a “psalm;” collection of the book of the Psalms:--
[Translated] psalm. Compare 5603.”
The tabulation of musical
passages "contains a
rather disproportionate number of metaphorical sentences,
where music
or its instruments are not to be understood literally
but are used as
similies or rhetorical figures. The most celebrated of these poetical
passages is Paul's glorification of love in I Cor. 13."
(Interpreter's Dict of the Bible, Music, p. 466).
Psalmos also appears in
the LXX as equivalent to the Hebrew
word neginah. This Hebrew term is used to describe
a wide variety of
songs. Neginah is translated by psalmos in Lam 3:14
(song), in Lam 5:14
(music) and in Ps 69:12 (song). It is striking to observe that in the
LXX translation of Lam 3:14 and Ps 69:12, psalmos, or its verbal
form,
is used for songs that are not only uninspired
but are in fact the product of the wicked, even
drunkards, who mocked God and His word. The
Hebrew term neginah is used elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures of: the
songs of the wicked, Job 30:9 (song); the inspired praise of God, Psalm
61 title (Neginah-a song performed on a stringed instrument); and the
uninspired praise of the Lord composed by King Hezekiah, Is 38:20 (my
songs).
G5568 psalmos psal-mos' From G5567 ; a set piece of music, that is, a
sacred ode (accompanied with the voice, harp or other instrument; a
“psalm”); collectively the book of the Psalms:—psalm. Compare G5603 .
-Young’s
Concordance:
“SING 14.
To sing praise with a musical instrument,
psallō.”
The translators recognize that “psallō”
cannot be restricted to singing. Almost all translate Eph. 5:19 indicating “melody.”
Even anti-instrumentalists concede as much, although they claim the instrument
here is the heart.
M.
C. Kurfees, the classic of
anti-instrumental writers, says:
“I have conceded and do now
concede that there is in Ephesians 5:19 an allusion to and a play upon the
original meaning of psallo...”
-Robertson's
Word Pictures in the New Testament
James 5:13 Is any among you
suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise.
[Let
him sing praise] [psalletō (Grk 5567)]. Present active imperative
of [psallō] (Grk 5567), originally
to twang a chord as on a harp, to sing praise to God whether with instrument or
without, in the New Testament only here, <1 Cor. 14:15; Rom. 15:9;
Eph. 5:19>. “Let him keep on making melody.”
-Vincent's
Word Studies of the New Testament
James 5:13
[Let him sing psalms] [psalletō
(Grk 5567)]. The word means, primarily, “to pluck or twitch.” Hence, of the
sharp “twang” on a bow-string or harp-string, and so “to play upon a stringed instrument.” Our word “psalm,” derived from
this, is, properly, a tune played upon a stringed instrument. The verb,
however, is used in the New Testament of singing
praise generally. See <1Cor. 14:15; Rom. 15:9>
The
fact that adō and psallō are placed together in
conjunction makes it nonsense to translate them as “singing and singing.” Thus,
they are translated, “singing and making melody.” This then shows that
the Old Testament concept of making melody with an instrument had not
disappeared. So, all of the New Testament passages could have been translated
with the idea of making melody as some translators suggest.
One reason for this may be that we have no exact
English equivalent for the Greek word.
Lexicons say the “proper” usage is, a psalm is a song sung
while plucking strings with fingers. We have no word to fully express all
of this. If we translate it, “play,” we fail to express the associated idea of
singing. If we translate it, “sing,” we fail to express the underlying idea of
making melody by plucking strings. If we employ too many words the translation
becomes cumbersome.
Accordingly, in Eph. 5:19 it is commonly translated, “making
melody,” while in other passages it is translated “sing” or “sing
psalms,” --recognizing that both ideas may be included.
McKinnon says of this, “...The traditional
translation `making melody', incidentally, is
retained here for want of a better alternative. The verb ya,llein [psallein]
originally meant `to pluck a string instrument', but by New Testament times
it came to mean simply 'to sing', with or without an instrument. To translate it here as `singing', however, would
create an obviously undesirable repetition.
Actually, there is no contextual or grammatical reason
why all the passages containing psallō could not be translated as “make
melody” or “make music.”
Eph. 5:19. singing and
making melody [psallō] in your heart to the Lord
1Cor. 14:15. I will make melody [psallō]
with the spirit, and I will make melody [psallō] with
the understanding also.
James 5:13. Is any merry? let him make melody [psallō].
Romans 15:9 Therefore will I give praise
unto thee among the Gentiles, And make
melody [psallō] unto thy name.
A
second factor that probably influenced the translators is its use in Byzantine
and later Greek (after AD 300).
Because of traditional non-use of psallō
in the Greek chapels, the primitive idea was almost entirely lost in later
usage.
Anti-instrumentalists often press the point that
surely the Greeks should know their own language. They do know their language, as
it is now spoken, but, as anti-instrumentalists themselves argue, language
usage changes—sometimes a great deal over thousands of years. The ancient
Greeks knew what their language meant at that time. They used psallō
to indicate instrumental music for hundreds of years before and after the New
Testament. Even today in the Greek language, psallō does not mean
“sing a-cappella.” Instruments are normally not used in the churches but
elsewhere the word is used in reference to making music in general, whether
accompanied or unaccompanied.
A
third influence is Calvinistic tradition.
Just as the strong tradition of pouring for baptism
restrained most translators from rendering “baptizō” in its
original sense of “immerse,” so Calvinistic tradition influenced
translators to render psallō as “sing.” When a translator
or lexicographer suggests the original meaning, those whose traditions are
disturbed turn on a lot of pressure.
A prime example is the clamor made for removal of the
qualifying phrase “(to the accompaniment of a harp)” added by Arndt
and Gingrich for clarification in their revision of Bauer.
Anti-instrumentalists attacked with a vengeance, making it sound like this was
a distortion of Bauer, whereas the editors were doing what Lexicographers
commonly do -- insert additional clarifying information. There is a lot of
money wrapped up in publication and such pressures are keenly felt. The result
was that after Professor Arndt died, Gingrich and Danker made a second revision
which attempts to straddle the issue, although still conceding that the
original meaning of psallō was ‘pluck’ which continued at least to
the time of Lucian (AD 160).
For those who may choose to rely heavily on this, the
third edition of Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich and Danker also changed the definition
of baptizō to mean “to use
water…” -- thus including
pouring and sprinkling.
COMMITTEE TRANSLATIONS
In spite of economic pressure, a number of translators
have broken with tradition and specifically indicated instrumental
accompaniment. To this, anti-instrumentalists respond by declaiming them as “committee
translations.” However, while the larger committees do tend to follow
tradition (How many “committee translations” use “immerse” for baptizō?),
that does not mean that they have accepted the anti-instrumental case. A number
of them have written in books or letters that in their judgment psalmos
and psallō indicates accompaniment, and some deny they ever
intended their translation to indicate it meant a-cappella.
Joseph
Henry Thayer, D. D., Chairman of the
American Standard New Testament Revision Committee, in editing Grimm’s Lexicon,
under “psalmos,” cited Bishop Lightfoot on Col. 3:16. At the end of the
article he inserts another note for us, “Synonym, see Humnos, at the end.”
On p. 637 of his lexicon he states that psalms took their character from the
Old Testament Psalms and then cites Lightfoot on Col. 3:16.
[SYN. humnos, psalmos, ode:
ode is the generic term; psalm
and humn are specific, the former
designating a song which took its general
character from the O.T. ‘Psalms’ (although not restricted to them, see
1Cor. 14:15, 26), the latter a song of praise. “While
the leading idea of psalm, is a musical accompaniment, and that
of humn, praise to God, ode is the general word for a song,
whether accompanied or unaccompanied, whether of praise or on any other
subject. Thus it was quite possible for the same song to be at once psalmos, humnos
and ode” (Bishop Lightfoot on
Col. 3:16). The words occur together in Col. 3:16 and Eph. 5:19. See Trench,
Syn. §78.]
FIRST:
-Psalmos , A.
twitching or twanging with the fingers, “psalmoi toxōn” E.Ion173 (lyr.); “toxērei psalmō toxeusas” Id.HF1064 (lyr.)
II.
mostly of musical strings, “pēktidōn psalmois krekon humnon” Telest.5, cf. Diog.Trag.1.9, Aret.CA1.1.
2.
the sound of the cithara or harp, Pi.Fr.125, cf. Phryn.Trag.11; “psalmos d' alalazei” A.Fr.57.7 (anap.); there were contests in to psallein,
3.
later, song sung to the harp, psalm, LXX 2 Ki.23.1,
al., Ep.Eph.5.19; “biblos psalmōn” Ev.Luc.20.42.
Sing TO A harp is never Psallo: Psal-tos , ē, on, A.
sung to the harp,
Sing TO A harp is never Psallo: Psal-tos , ē, on, A.
sung to the harp,
Ala^l-azō : (formed from the cry alalai): —raise the war-cry, tō Enualiō ēlalaxan
2.
[select]
generally, cry, shout aloud, Pi.l.c., E.El.855; esp. in orgiastic rites, A.Fr.57; of Bacchus and Bacchae, E.Ba.593 (in Med.), 1133, etc.; “ōloluxan hai gunaikes, ēlalaxan de hoi andres”
II.
rarely also of other sounds than the voice, sound loudly, “psalmos d' alalazei” A.Fr.57; “kumbalon alalazon” 1 Ep.Cor.13.1.—Poet. word, used by X. and in late Prose.
Psaō [a_, but always contracted], II. crumble away, vanish, disappear, S.Tr.678 (s. v. l.). (psaō, psaiō, psauō, psairō, psēkhō, psōkhō,
Psaiō , A.
= psaō (q. v.), rub away, grind down
Psal-ma , atos, to, A.
tune played on a stringed instrument,
Psal-mizō , A.
sing psalms, and psal-mistēs , ou, ho, psalmist
Paul said to SPEAK psalms
Psalmokha^rēs , es, A.
delighting in harp-playing, of Apollo,
Psalmōd-ia , A.
singing to the harp,
Psalmōd-os , ho, A.
psalmist, LXX Si.47.9 cod.Sin., 50.18.
Psal-tērion , to, A.
stringed instrument, psaltery, harp, “trigōna ps.” Arist.Pr.919b12, cf. Hippias(?) in PHib.1.13.31, Apollod. ap. Ath.14.636f, Thphr.HP5.7.6, LXX Ge.4.21, al.
Psal-tēs , ou, ho,A.
harper, Men.495, Hippias (?) in PHib.1.13.7, 25, Macho ap.Ath.8.348f, LXX 1 Es.5.42, Plu.2.67f, 223f, cf. “kitharistēs ē ps.” SIG578.15 (Teos, ii B. C.); epith. of Apollo, AP9.525.24. [Oxyt. in Att., parox. in Hellenistic Gr., Choerob. in Theod.1.187H.]
Psal-tikos , ē, on, A.
of or for harp playing, ps. organon a stringed instrument, Ath.14.634f (of the magadis）; andra psaltikēn agathon a good harpist, Ael. ap. Ar.Byz.Epit.84.8.
Psal-tos , ē, on, A.
sung to the harp, sung of, LXX Ps.118(119).54.
Psal-tria , hē, A.
female harper, Pl.Prt. 347d, Ion Trag.22, Arist.Ath.50.2, Men.319.4, Plu.Caes.10, al.
Psaltōd-eō , A.
sing to the harp, LXX 2 Ch.5.13.
Anti-instrumentalists go to considerable lengths to
get around the force of this. Sometimes they try to represent the above as not
representing Thayer. However, on p.18 of his introduction he says, "Square
brackets have been used to mark additions by the American Editor." Thayer
was the American Editor and he added this to clarify the distinction between
these synonyms. Note that he uses the present tense, “...the leading idea of psalm,
IS a musical accompaniment...”
They point out that Thayer let Grimm’s statement, “in
the N.T. to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song,” stand
without correction. However, on p.VII, he says, “On points of etymology the
statements of Professor Grimm have been allowed to stand, although, in form at least, they often fail to accord
with modern philological methods.” Furthermore, under the noun form,
Thayer specifically cited Lightfoot on Colossians and referred the reader to
Synonyms at the end of humnos for further information. The claim that he
said nothing is incorrect.
g5567.Thayer.gif
Dico
They further attempt a defense by citing Thayer’s
Preface, p.VIII, where, concerning his additions (in brackets “[ ],” see p.VI)
he cautions,
“Accordingly, a caveat must be
entered against the hasty inference that the mention of a different
interpretation from that given by Professor Grimm always and of necessity
implies dissent from him. It may be intended merely to inform the student that
the meaning of the passage is still in debate...”
This statement hardly puts Thayer into the
anti-instrumental camp. It merely indicates that his citation of a different
interpretation should not provoke “hasty” conclusions that
“always and of necessity” he was differing with Professor
Grimm. If anything, this suggests that at times he did differ. As we have shown
above, Thayer saw Grimm’s definitions at times were lacking “in form at
least” and gave his own reason why he may or may not have changed it.
On p.VIII he says that his supplementary references
and remarks have been governed at different times by different considerations.
On p.VI he indicates two of his “leading objects,” (which appear in this
case), were “to introduce brief discussions of New Testament synonyms” and
to give “the best English and American
Commentaries (Lightfoot...)”
Thayer clearly added his judgment that a psalm, “took
its general character from the O.T. ‘Psalms’, (although not restricted to them.
See 1Co. 14:26)...” To illustrate what he meant, at this point he cited
Lightfoot, who indicated the character is instrumental. The nature of the
statement indicates this serves to express his view. This is no, “hasty
conclusion.”
The fact that three words are employed, “psalmos,”
“hymnos” and “odē,” clearly suggests they are speaking of
three types of music. It makes little sense to claim this means, “speaking to
one another in songs, songs and spiritual songs.”
We are indeed lucky that Paul commanded us to SPEAK Psalms. Hymns and
Spiritual Songs. SPEAK connected to the LOGOS is the opposite of
rhetoric, singing, poetry or music. We are also lucky that NONE of the
Bible is metrical and you CANNOT singe it tunefully if your life
depended on it. That is why there was no tuneful singing until John
Calvin permitted some Psalms (only) to be radically rewritten and set to
a simple meter to be sung in unison (only)
Eph. 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Pale (g3823) pal'-ay; from pallo, (to vibrate; another form for 906);
wrestling:
- / wrestle
Pallo like PSALLO and
several other words from which people make SPEAKING into MAKING MUSIC
are all primarily words of MAKING WAR or polluting people in one way or
another. THAT'S why Paul put the word IN THE HEART or spirit and NOT
literally SHOOTING one another in the musical contests.
Pallô, poise, sway
a missile before it is
thrown, sway, brandish, she drove
it furiously, tripped on the shield-rim, quiver, leap, esp. in fear, II. Pass., swing, dash oneself, Pi.N.5.21; vibrate,
of strings, Pl.Phd.94c (psalloito ap.
Stob.); leap, bound,
quiver, quake, phrena
deimati pallôn S.OT153 (lyr.); dash along, of horses, E.El.477
(lyr.).
Pindar, Nemean 5[19] But if it is
resolved to praise wealth, or the strength of hands, or iron
war, [20] let
someone mark off a long jump for me from this point. I have a light
spring in my knees, and eagles swoop over the sea. The most beautiful
chorus
of Muses sang gladly for the Aeacids on Mt. Pelion, and among them
Apollo, [Abaddon, Apollyon] sweeping the seven-tongued
lyre with a golden plectrum, [25] led all types of strains. And the Muses
[sorcerers Rev 18] began
with a prelude to Zeus, then sang first of divine Thetis and of
Peleus; how Hippolyte, the opulent daughter of Cretheus, wanted to trap
him with deceit.
With elaborate planning she persuaded her husband, the watcher of the
Magnesians, to be a partner in her plot, and she forged a false story; [30] that Peleus had made an attempt on
her [31] in
Acastus'
own bed. But the opposite was true; for she often begged him and coaxed
him with all her heart, but her reckless words provoked his temper.
Plat. Phaedo [94c]
in countless other ways?”
“Certainly.”
“Did
we not agree in our previous discussion that it could never, if it be a
harmony, give forth a sound at variance with the tensions and
relaxations and vibrations and other conditions of the elements which
compose it, but that it would follow them and never lead them?”
“Yes,” he replied, “we did, of course.”
“Well
then, do we not now find that the soul acts in exactly the opposite
way, leading those elements of which it is said to consist and opposing
them
Euripides,
Bacchae: Already
like fire does this insolence of the Bacchae blaze up, a great reproach
for
the Hellenes. [780]
But we must not hesitate. Go to the Electran gates, bid all the
shield-bearers and riders of swift-footed horses to assemble, as well
as all who brandish the light shield and pluck bowstrings with
their hands, so that we can make an assault
against [785]
the Bacchae. For it is indeed too much if we
suffer what we are suffering at the hands of women.
Pi.N.5.21
Pindar,
Nemean 5.
[15] how
indeed they left the glorious island, and what divine power drove the
brave men from Oenone.
I will stop: it is not always beneficial for the precise truth to show
her face,
-
and silence is often the wisest thing for a man to heed. [19]
-
But if it is resolved to praise wealth, or the
strength of hands,
or iron war,
[20] let
someone mark off a long jump for me from this point. I have a light
spring in my knees, and eagles swoop over the sea. The most beautiful chorus
of Muses sang gladly for the Aeacids on Mt. Pelion, and among
them Apollo, sweeping the seven-tongued
lyre with a golden plectrum, [25] led
all types of strains. And the Muses began with a
prelude to Zeus
There
joyful bands welcome the god with the cry of reed-pipes,
and
contend with the bold strength of their limbs.[40] The
fortune
that is born along with a man decides in every deed.
And you, Euthymenes from Aegina, have twice fallen into the arms
of Victory and attained embroidered hymns.
Pallas
, ados,
h(, Pallas, epith. of Athena,
2.
coin bearing the head of Pallas,
Eub.6 (pl.).
III.
Pythag. name for five,
Theol.Ar. 32. (Commonly deriv. from pallō,
either as Brandisher of the spear, or para to anapepalthai ek tēs kephalēs tou Dios,
etc., Pl.Cra.407a, EM 649.52, cf. Eust.84.43,
but prob. orig. virgin, maiden, cf. sq. and v. pallakē
fin., pallax.)
Strab. 17.1.46 Next to the city of Apollo
is Thebes, now called Diospolis,
“‘with her hundred gates, through each of which issue two hundred men,
with horses and chariots,’1”
according
to Homer, who mentions also its wealth;
“‘not all the wealth the palaces of Egyptian Thebes contain.’2”
The priests there are said to be, for the most part, astronomers
and philosophers. The former compute the days, not by
the moon, but by the sun, introducing into the twelve months
of thirty days each five days every year. But in order to
complete the whole year, because there is (annually) an excess
of a part of a day, they form a period from out of whole days
and whole years, the supernumerary portions of which in that
period, when collected together, amount to a day.4
They
ascribe to Mercury all knowledge of this kind. To Jupiter,
whom they worship above all other deities, a virgin of the
greatest beauty and of the most illustrious family (such persons the
Greeks call pallades) is dedicated. She prostitutes
herself with whom she pleases, until the time occurs for the
natural purification of the body; she is afterwards married;
but before her marriage, and after the period of prostitution,
they mourn for her as for one dead.
Thebes The Temple of Ptah—identified with
the Greek Hephaistos, and Hathor, identified
with Aphrodite—has gateways which were added during
the Ptolemaic period. The fine granite gateway which lies
in front of the temple of the war god Mont was built by
Ptolemy Philadelphos. The small chapel to the W of the
temple is also a work of the Ptolemies. The gateway of
the Temple of Mut was erected by Ptolemy I Soter. Here
the king is represented shaking the sistrum, the queen
plays the harp, and a princess beats a tamborine before
Mut and Sekhmet.
Eph. 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against
principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the
darkness of
this world,
against spiritual wickedness in
high places.
Kosmo-kratōr
2. of the Emperors,
IG14.926,
Sammelb.4275, cf.
Ptol.Tetr.175,
Heph.Astr.1.1.
3. Astrol., ruler
of the kosmos, i.e. planet, Id.in Cat.Cod.Astr.6.68, Vett.Val.171.6;
“hoi hepta k.” Dam.Pr.131;
hoi k. tou skotous toutou the cosmic rulers of this
sinful world, Ep.Eph.6.12; “hoi k. hoi ta hupo selēnēn stoikheia dioikountes” Iamb.Myst.2.3
Mitra , ēs, h(, the Persian Aphrodite, Hdt.1.131 (by confusion
with Mithras).
Kosmos
II. ornament, decoration, esp. of women,
metaph., of ornaments of speech, such as epithets, Id.9.9 (pl.), Arist.Rh.1408a14,
Po.1457b2, 1458a33; hadumelē k. keladein to sing sweet songs of praise,
Pi.O.11 (10).13 (s.v.l.).
kelad-eō, 2. of persons, shout
aloud, atar keladēsan Akhaioi, in applause, Il.23.869; “eme dei k.” Pratin.
Lyr. 1.3, cf. B.l.c.; “keladeonti amphi Kinuran phamai” Pi.P.2.15: c.
acc. cogn., “k. humnous” Terp.5,
cf. Pi.N.4.16 codd.; “nomon” Id.Pae.2.101;
“hadumelē kosmon k.” Id.O.11(10).14; [boas, paianas, E.Ion93, HF
l.c
3. of various
cries,
e.g. of a new-born babe,
A.Ch.609; of the
swallow,
Ar. Pax801,
Ra.684; of the
grasshopper, Theopomp. Com.l.c.; of the cock,
ex eunas k. crows from his perch,
Theoc.18.57; of bells,
ring,
tinkle,
E.Rh.384; of the
flute, “
k. phthoggon kalliston”
Id.El.716; of the
sea,
Ar.Th.44.
II. trans., sing of, celebrate loudly, tina Pi.O.1.9, 2.2,6.88, E.IT1093, Ar.Ra.1527; “temenos” B. 13.21, cf. E. Tr.121; “tina amph' areta” Pi.P.2.63
Pind.
O. 11 For the present rest assured, Hagesidamus son of
Archestratus: for the
sake of your boxing victory, I shall loudly sing a sweet song, an
adornment for your garland of golden olive, [15] while I honor the race
of the Western Locrians. There, Muses, join in the victory-song; I
shall pledge my word to you that we will find there a race that does
not repel the stranger, or is inexperienced in fine deeds, but one that
is wise and warlike too. For [20] neither the fiery fox nor
loud-roaring lions change their nature.
5. houtos ho k. this present world, i.e. earth,
opp. heaven, Ev.Jo.13.1;
regarded as the kingdom of evil, ho arkhōn tou k. toutou ib.12.31.
Matt. 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall
lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Matt. 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for
his soul?
Bishop
Lightfoot, quoted above on Col. 3:16,
who Thayer says is one of the “best” commentaries (see Introduction,
p.6)
The Ency. Americana (1940)
Vol. 3, p. 637, says that Lightfoot's " 'commentaries' and 'apostolic
Fathers' formed the apex of British Biblical scholarship."
The New Standard Encyclopedia says,
"Bishop Lightfoot was a Biblical and classical scholar of the first rank;
was especially accomplished in Greek but he was also well versed in English
literature, history and philosophy. He was an
important member of the body of scholars who revised the authorized version of
the N.E.”
Bishop Lightfoot said: “The three
words psalmos, humnos, ode, are distinguished, so far as they are
distinguishable, in Trench N.T. Syn. par. 78, page 279. They are correctly
defined by Gregory Nyssen in Psalm 100:3 (I. p. 295)”
Gregory Of Nyssa On the
Making of Man
Now the music of the human
instrument is a sort of compound of
flute and
lyre born c. 335, , Caesarea, in Cappadocia, Asia
Minor [now Kayseri, Turkey] died c. 394 , ; feast day March 9
IX. That the Form of Man
Was Framed to Serve as an Instrument for the Use of
Reason 34 .
And as some skilled musician, who may
have been deprived by some affection of his own
voice, and yet wish to make his skill known,
might make melody with
voices of others,
and publish his art by the
aid of flutes or of the
lyre,
so also the
human mind
being a discoverer of all sorts of conceptions, seeing that it is
unable, by the mere soul, to reveal to those who hear by bodily
senses the motions of its understanding, touches, like some skilful
composer,
these animated instruments, and
makes known its hidden thoughts by means of the sound produced upon
them.
3. Now the music
of the human instrument is a sort of
compound
of flute
and lyre, sounding together in combination as
in a concerted piece of music.
For the breath, as it is forced up
from the air-receiving vessels through the windpipe, when the
speaker's impulse to utterance attunes
the harmony to sound, and as it strikes
against the internal protuberances which divide this flute-like passage in a
circular arrangement, imitates in a way the sound uttered through a
flute,
being driven round and round by the membranous projections.
But the palate receives the sound from below in its
own concavity, and dividing the sound by the two passages that extend
to the nostrils, and by the cartilages about the perforated bone, as
it were by some scaly protuberance, makes its resonance louder; while
the cheek, the tongue, the mechanism of the pharynx by which the chin
is relaxed when drawn in,
and tightened when extended to a
point-all these in many different ways answer to the motion of the plectrum upon the strings, varying very quickly, as occasion requires, the
arrangement of the tones; and the opening and closing of the lips has the same
effect as players produce when they check the breath of the
flute with
their fingers according to the measure of the tune.
9. Again, as a musician, when he
touches
with the plectrum the slackened strings of a lyre, brings out no
orderly melody (for that which is not stretched will not sound), but
his hand frequently moves skilfully, bringing the plectrum to the position
of the notes so far as place is concerned, yet there is no sound,
except that he produces by the vibration of the strings a sort of
uncertain
and indistinct hum;
so in sleep the mechanism of the
senses being relaxed, the artist is either quite inactive, if the
instrument is completely
relaxed by satiety or heaviness; or will act
slackly and faintly, if the instrument of the senses does not fully
admit of the exercise of its art.
X. That the Mind Works by Means of the Senses.
1. As the mind
then produces the music of reason by
means of our instrumental
construction, we are born rational,
while, as I think,we should not
have had the gift of
reason if we had had to employ our lips
to supply the need of the body-the heavy and toilsome part of the
task of providing food.
As things are, however, our hands appropriate
this ministration to themselves, and leave the mouth available for
the service of reason.
2 35 . The operation of the instrument 36 , however, is twofold; one for the production of sound, the
other for the reception of
concepts from without;
and the one faculty does not blend
with the other, but abides in the operation for which it was
appointed by nature, not interfering with its neighbour either by the
sense of hearing undertaking to
speak, or by the speech undertaking to hear;
for the latter is always uttering something,
while the ear, as Solomon somewhere says, is not filled with
continual hearing 37 .
"The
noun psalmos 'psalm' (Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16, 1 Cor 14:16)
<b>which is etymologically kin to this verb psallo, </b>
is used in the New Testament of a religious song in general, having
the character of an Old Testament Psalm. Some think that the verb has its original sense in the
Septuagint, and both Basil and Gregory of Nyssa define Alexandria,
while
forbidding the use of the FLUTE in the <b>Agapae, </b>
permitted the HARP [in the
Agapae]</b> (Vincent, vol. 3, p. 269)
As late as the
fourth century, Gregory, bishop of Nyssa, gave this definition of
psalm: "There is a distinction between psalm, ode, praise, hymn, and
prayer.
A psalm is the MELODY of a musical
instrument;
You will notice if you READ
CAREFULLY that a
PSALM was METRICAL and could fit the NOTES of a harp or lyre or human
RECITING. In a Psalm or SONG the "first instrument of choice is the human
voice."
He DID NOT say that a PSALM is a PSALM
sung to an INSTRUMENT.
By definition, poems are poetic and are METRICAL as is much of the
Old Testament. That means that you can READ the psalms as in
CANTILLATION in order to teach. This MELODY was the "normal range of
human speech."
Trench
Both
Thayer and Lightfoot cite Trench’s Synonyms. Going to his comments on “psalmos,
humnos and ode,” we read:
“Psalmos,
from psaō, properly a touching, and then a touching of the harp or
other stringed instruments with the finger or with the plectrum (psalmoi
toxōn, Euripides, Ion, 174; cf Bacch. 740,... was next
the instrument itself, and last of all the song
sung with this musical accompaniment. It is in this latest stage of its
meaning that we find the word adopted in the Septuagint; and to this agree the
ecclesiastical definitions of it...”
Psallo has the
same root meaning as the SOP which Jesus fed Judas to cause Satan to
enter into him. Psalm 41 denies that Judas will be able to triumph over
Jesus. However, the Levitess would musically mock Jesus all of the way
to the cross. Psalm 22 calls them DOGS or Catamites.
Euripides Ion:
But see, the early birds
have left their
nests,
And this way from Parnassus wing their flight.
Come not, I charge you, near the battlements,
Nor near the golden dome. Herald
of
Jove,
Strong though thy beak beyond the feather'd kind,
My bow shall
reach thee.
Towards the altar, see,
A swan comes sailing: elsewhere wilt thou move
Thy
scarlet-tinctured foot? or from my bow
[160] The lyre
of Phoebus to thy notes
attuned
[sunoidos]
Will
not protect thee; farther stretch thy
wings;
Go, wanton, skim along the Delian lake,
Or wilt thou
steep thy melody in
blood.
Look, what strange bird
comes onwards; wouldst
thou fix
Beneath the battlements thy straw-built nest?
My singing bow shall drive thee
hence; begone,
Or to the banks of Alpheus, gulfy stream,
Or to the Isthmian grove; there hatch thy young;
P. Vergilius Maro, Aeneid
She
said, and from her
quiver chose with speed
The winged shaft, predestin'd for the deed;
Then to the stubborn yew her strength applied,
Till the far distant
horns
approach'd on
either side.
The bowstring
touch'd
her breast, so strong
she drew;
Whizzing
in air the
fatal arrow flew.
At
once the
twanging
bow
and sounding dart
The traitor heard, and
felt
the point within
his heart.
Him, beating
with his
heels
in pangs of
death,
His flying
friends to
foreign fields bequeath.
The
conqu'ring
damsel, with expanded wings,
The welcome message to her mistress brings.
Euripides Bacchae
[677]
I was just driving the herds of
kine to a ridge of the hill as I fed them, as the sun shot forth his
rays and made the earth grow warm; when lo!
I
see three
revel-bands of women;
Autonoe was chief of one,
thy mother Agave of the second,
while Ino's
was the third.
There
they lay asleep, all
tired out; some were
resting on branches of the pine, others had laid their heads in
careless ease on oak-leaves piled upon the ground,
observing all
modesty; not,
as thou
sayest,
seeking to gratify
their lusts
alone amid the woods,
by wine and
soft flute-music
maddened.
Anon
in their midst thy
mother
uprose and cried aloud to wake them from their sleep, when she heard
the lowing
of my horned
kine.
And up they started to their feet, brushing
from their
eyes sleep's quickening dew, a wondrous sight of grace and modesty,
young and old and maidens yet unwed.
First
o'er their
shoulders they
let stream
their hair;
then all did gird their fawn-skins
up, who hitherto
had left the
fastenings loose, girdling the dappled
hides with snakes
that licked
their cheeks.
Others
fondled in their
arms gazelles or savage
whelps of wolves, and suckled them-young mothers
these with babes at home, whose breasts were still full of milk; crowns
they wore of ivy or of oak or blossoming convolvulus. And one took
her thyrsus and struck it into the earth,
and forth there
gushed a limpid
spring; and
another plunged her wand into the lap of earth
and there the god sent up a fount
of wine; and all
who
wished for draughts
of
milk had but to
scratch the soil with
their finger-tips and there they had it in abundance, while from
every ivy-wreathed staff sweet rills of honey
trickled.
Hadst
thou been there and
seen this, thou
wouldst have turned
to pray to the
god, whom now
thou dost disparage. Anon we
herdsmen and shepherds met to discuss their strange and wondrous
doings;
then
one, who wandereth
oft to town and hath a trick
of speech, made
harangue in the midst,
"O
ye who dwell upon the
hallowed
mountain-terraces! shall we chase Agave, mother of Pentheus, from her
Bacchic rites, and thereby do our prince a service?"
We
liked his speech, and
placed ourselves in
hidden ambush
among the leafy thickets; they at the
appointed time began
to wave the
thyrsus for
their Bacchic
rites, calling
on Iacchus (Iacchus
or Bacchus, honored by all, deviser of
our festal song
and dance
- the Bromian
god, the son
of Zeus, in united
chorus, and the
whole mount and the
wild creatures re-echoed their cry; all nature stirred as they rushed
on.
[728]
Now Agave chanced to come
springing near me, so up I leapt from out my ambush where I lay
concealed, meaning to seize her.
But
she cried out, "What
ho! my nimble
hounds (homosexual
priests),
here are men upon our track; but follow me, ay, follow, with the thyrsus in
your hand for weapon."
Jesus
IDENTIFIED
them as the Crooked Generation and as NIMBLE HOUNDS
And when the messengers of John
were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John,
What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with
the wind? Lu.7:24
But
what went ye
out for to see? A man clothed in soft (clothes of a Catamite=male
prostitute)
raiment?
Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately
(effeminate), are in kings courts.
Luke 7:25
Malakos , d. = pathêtikos e. of music, soft, effeminate, m. harmoniai
Pl.R.398e , 411a, cf.
Arist.Pol.1290a28; tuned to a low pitch, opp. suntonos, chrôma m.
Cleonid.Harm.7 , etc.
And the
Lord said, Whereunto
then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they
like? Luke 7:31
They are like unto children
sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying,
We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to
you, and ye have not wept. Luke 7:32
Latin: [17] dicunt cecinimus vobis et non saltastis lamentavimus et non
planxistis
CANO , to produce melodious
sounds, whether
of men or animals, of the crowing of a cock, (the
crowing of a hen being considered as an
auspicium malum),
[IN
ROMANS 14] In the lang.
of the Pythagoreans, of the heavenly bodies
(considered as
living
beings), the music of the spheres,C. Since the responses of oracles
were given in verse, to prophesy, foretell, predict. In poetry: Sibylla,
Canto
III.
In the lang. of
religion, as v. n.
or a., to use
enchantments, charms, incantations, to enchant, to charm,
Arnobius
speaking
of the Parasites: Was
it
for this He sent souls, that in men they should become IMPURE,
in women
harlots, players on the triangle and psaltery; that they should prostitute their bodies for hire,
should abandon
themselves to
the lust of all ready in the brothels, to be met
with in the stews,
ready to submit to
anything, prepared
to do violence to their mouth even?
Psaltes , ae, m., =
psaltês, a player
on the cithara, a musician, minstrel,
Quint. 1, 10, 18;
Mart. Cap. 9, § 924; Sid. Ep. 8, 9; Inscr. Grut. 331, 2; Vulg. 2
Reg. 23, 1.
Thrêneô sing a dirge, wail, Mousai
Thriambeuo (g2358)
three-am-byoo'-o; from a prol.
comp. of the base of 2360 and a der. of 680 (mean. a noisy iambus,
sung in honor of Bacchus); to make an
acclamatory procession,
i.e. (fig.) to
conquer or (by Hebr.) to give victory: - (cause) to triumph (over).
For John
the Baptist came
neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.
Luke 7:33
The Son of man is come eating
and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber,
a friend of publicans and sinners Luke 7:34
But
wisdom is
justified of all her children. Luke 7:35
Thereat we fled,
to escape being torn in
pieces by the Bacchantes;
but they,
with hands that bore no weapon of steel, attacked our cattle as they
browsed. Then wouldst thou have seen Agave mastering
some sleek lowing calf, while others rent
the heifers limb from
limb. Before thy eyes there would have been hurling of ribs and hoofs
this way and that; and strips of flesh, all blood-bedabbled, dripped
as they hung from the pine-branches.
Wild bulls,
that glared but now with rage along their horns,
found themselves tripped up, dragged down
to earth by countless maidens' hands.
The
flesh upon their
limbs was
stripped therefrom quicker than thou couldst have closed thy royal
eye-lids.
Many
bulls have compassed me:
strong bulls of Bashan have beset
me round. Psalm 22:12
They gaped
upon me with their
mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
Psalm 22:13
I am poured out
like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax;
it is melted in the midst of my bowels. Psalm 22:14
See
Gilgamesh and The Bull of Heaven
Then
off they sped, like
birds that skim the
air, to the plains beneath the hills, which bear a fruitful harvest
for Thebes beside the waters of Asopus; to Hysiae and
Erythrae, hamlets 'neath Cithaeron's peak, with
fell intent, swooping on everything and scattering all pellmell; and
they would snatch children from their homes; but all that they placed
upon their shoulders, abode there firmly without being tied, and fell
not to the dusky earth, not even brass or iron; and on their hair
they carried fire and it burnt them not; but the
country-folk rushed
to arms, furious at being pillaged by Bacchanals;
Of course, when they cannot in some way make it appear
that the authority favors their cause they then seek to destroy their
credibility. This may be done by citing his theological background or
statements made on some other subject, such as baptism. Of course, when these
people seem to favor their position on instruments their other errors are of no
import. However, they seem to forget that the sword cuts both ways!
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