Music In The Temple

Music in the temple was made for the worship of God. More than 10 percent of the people serving in temple ministries were musicians. Their music occupied a central place in the worship of God's people.

The idea of special creative skills in cultic worship occurs long before the advent of professional musicians. In the building of the tabernacle of Moses, artisans were chosen to "make artistic designs" and were given the Holy Spirit to do so (Exod. 35:30–36:2). The ability to devise these works is interestingly related to intelligence, knowledge, and finally craftsmanship. Although the mention of music is minimal in the matter of worship in the tabernacle, Exodus 28:34–35 describes a golden bell attached to the lower hem of Aaron's robe, which sounds as he goes into the Holy Place.

The trained musicians who eventually appear around the time of David and Solomon mark a distinctive change in the history of biblical music. Before this time much of the music was made by women. Miriam led a group of women in singing and dancing that followed the song of Moses and the children of Israel, celebrating the overthrow of the Egyptians (Exod. 15:1–21); women sang, danced, and played for the conquering David (1 Sam. 18:6–7); Jephthah's daughter met her father with timbrels and dance upon his return from battle (Judg. 11:34). With the professionalization of music in the royal courts, and more especially in temple worship, music making was restricted to men. This is not to say that in the nonprofessional realm women ceased making music; this continued as before. In the accounts in Chronicles that give the statistics of the temple ministries, 4,000 of the 38,000 Levites chosen by David for temple service were musicians (1 Chron. 15:16 nasb; 23:5). These were "the singers, with instruments of music, harps, lyres, loud-sounding cymbals, to raise sounds of joy." In 1 Chronicles 25:6–7, the number of musicians is listed as 288, divided into twenty-four orders of twelve each. The descriptions of the musical activities that occur thereafter give the impression of an awesome spectacle. This rich array parallels the existence of professional guilds of musicians in the neighboring kingdoms of Egypt and Assyria. The transition from an unsettled, nomadic life to one of a centralized monarchy provided an opportunity for training and the regulation of a musical system that would serve the needs of the royal court and the worship in the temple. No efforts, it seems, were spared in the full realization of this. The importation of musical instruments and musical systems was no doubt carried out. The normal cultural intercourse during Israel's sojourn was formalized in the monarchy. The Midrash alludes to a tradition in which King Solomon's Egyptian wife included 1,000 musical instruments in her dowry. More concrete archaeological evidence makes clear that the instruments of the ancient world were similar from culture to culture. This implies a similarity of musical systems, although it does not rule out the possibility of indigenous change. There have been many highly romanticized and exaggerated speculations about a never-to-be-repeated musical situation in the temple. These have distorted a true contextual sense of what might have happened, and since there is no precise knowledge of the full musical style, one must remain content with the central concept of a solemn yet exuberant mode of worship. Moreover, it is important to remember that though these musical activities were quantitatively and qualitatively professional, the matter of functionality mentioned earlier still prevailed. The central importance in temple ritual was sacrifice. All else served this centrality. The system of daily sacrifices, morning and evening, was carefully regulated. The liturgical activities were complex and cumulative. The Mishnah gives the number of instruments in the temple during the Common Era as follows: nevel, minimum two, maximum six; kinnor, minimum nine, maximum limitless; cymbal, one only; ?alil, minimum two, maximum twelve. The choir consisted of a minimum of twelve adult male singers, the maximum limitless. The singers served between the ages of thirty and fifty, with a five-year training period preceding this. The lack of mention of a large percussion group as well as the absence of a corps of dancers might indicate an attempt to evade a similarity to pagan forms of worship, although this is only conjecture. It must be balanced with those occasions in which dance is mentioned as a legitimate way of praise elsewhere in the Old Testament (2 Sam. 6:14; Pss. 149:3; 150:4). Although a good part of the musical performance must have been left to the trained singers and players, the congregation was also musically involved. There is record in the first century of three forms of public singing of the Scriptures, including the Psalms, each based on the response principle. (a) First form—the leader intoned the first half verse repeated by the congregation. The leader then sang each succeeding half line, but the congregation responded with the same first half line. This became a refrain throughout the entire song. (b) Second form—the leader sang a half line at a time, and the congregation immediately repeatedwhat had just been sung. (c) Third form—the leader sang the whole first line. The congregation answered with the second line of the verse. This was true responsorial singing.