Some Bible expositors believe that Chenaniah was merely one of the people who carried the Ark of the Covenant, but It
seems that a much more tenable hypothesis would be that Chenaniah was a
skillful singing instructor who had a great burden for song borne in upon him
of God. The word massa used here is
found many times in the Old Testament. This word used of Chenaniah is the same
word which is burden in Isaiah 13:1 which states, "The burden massa (4853)
of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amos did see." The Book of Nahum also uses the word massa
(Nahum 1:1) when it mentions, "The burden (massa 4853) of Nineveh. The
book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite." Also, Habakkuk 1:1 states, "The burden
(4853) which Habakkuk the prophet did see." So we can see that the word massa used of
Chenaniah the chief singer was also used of the prophets Isaiah, Nahum and
Habakkuk.
What
does the word massa mean? W.E. Vine has stated that, "The word
'burden' (Hebrew massa, a thing
lifted up) is used, for example, in Nahum 1:1, signifying the burden of
prophesy which was borne in upon the prophet when he received it from the
Lord." Vine's Old Testament
Words, p. 105. In other words Chenaniah's message
for song was borne in upon him from the Lord just like the message of God was
given to the prophets. It wasn't perfect
pitch, a beautiful sounding voice or his knowledge of vocal pedagogy that made
Chenaniah great, but instead, it was his spiritual communication with Jehovah
that brought him to prominence. From the
Biblical record it seems that the outstanding factor of this chief musician's
life was his serious and powerful music ministry in Israel.
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