Reading (Singing) Distinctly Gave the "Sense" part 2

 

Reading (Singing) Distinctly Gave the "Sense"   part 2

 The word translated “read” in this verse is taken from the Hebrew word qara (7121) sometimes connotes reading the scrolls, and at other times it means to call out or to proclaim the Torah.  This proclaiming is commonly understood by Hebrew scholars to mean the intoning or singing of Scripture. 

            Note that the Bible does not say that the Levite musicians gave commentary (like the Halakhah and Haggadah from the Midrash) on the content of the scrolls, but merely about their type of “reading”, which I believe refers to the singing of the Law through the use of the te’amim.  We know with certainty that this rendering was performed so distinctly (parash 6567, i.e. to separate or to specify) that it gave so much specificity to the meaning of the text that the congregation “understood the reading" of the Torah.

So, you may legitimately ask, ”What should we learn from this text in the book of Nehemiah?” Christian musicians in the twenty first century need to be aware that proper musical rendering of the good news of the Bible can make it more understandable to the hearers.  The musician must perform sacred music in such a way that the modern-day worshiper will be aware of the “sense” of the message in order to understand distinctly.

Thought for the Day

 The intoning of the Scripture became a vehicle to aid memory in ancient Israel.  Likewise, singing is an aid to memory today.  Therefore, it behooves Christian musicians to sing songs that are worth remembering.