They Musiced Distinctly---part 1

They Musiced Distinctly---part 1

Nehemiah 8:8, “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.  Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.  So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.”

            Have you ever thought about how the Levites actually “caused them to understand the reading”?  We have a tendency to read this Scripture passage “through Western eyes” with “Western understanding”.  Protestant Bible scholars have generally not understood, or have at least glossed over the fact, that during ancient times all Scripture was sung i.e. intoned by the Levite musicians.