Study Notes Week 12

Read
Aloud together to hear the Word (Leviticus 23:1-3; Nehemiah 8:1-4; Luke 4:16-17)

12:1 [Elohim]^(LXX) [had]^(LXX) said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the land will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram went, as [Elohim]^(LXX) had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother's son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then [Elohim]^(LXX) appeared to Abram and said [to him],^(LXX) “I will give this land to your seed.” [Abram]^(LXX) built an altar there to [Elohim],^(LXX) who had appeared to him. 8 He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar [and called on the name]^(LXX) of [Elohim].^(LXX) 9 Abram traveled, still going on toward the South. 10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. 12 It will happen that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.' They will kill me, but they will save you alive. 13 Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.” 14 When Abram had come into Egypt, Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and boasted about her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16 He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, maids, female donkeys, and camels. 17 [Elohim]^(LXX) struck Pharaoh and his house with great [and grievous]^(LXX) plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, see your wife [is before you],^(LXX) take her, and go your way.” 20 Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they escorted him away with his wife and all his possessions [and Lot with him].^{(LXX)(SP)(mss)}

• 12:1 [Elohim]^(LXX) [had]^(LXX) said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. (cf. Acts 7:3)
  • Joshua 24:1-3 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before Elohim. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, says, ‘Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor. They served other elohim. 3 I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
• 12:2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the land will be blessed through you.” (cf. Galatians 3:8)
• 
• 12:4 So Abram went, as [Elohim]^(LXX) had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
  • Genesis 11:27-32 Now these are the birthings of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot. 28 Haran died [in]^(LXX) the face of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur Kasdim. 29 Abram and Nahor married wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah. 30 Sarai was barren. She had no child. 31 Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. [He]^(LXX) went from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there. 32 The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.
    • Josephus 1.6.5. Now Abram had two brethren, Nahor and Haran: of these Haran left a son, Lot; as also Sarai and Milcha his daughters; and died among the Kasdim, in a city of the Kasdim, called Ur; and his monument is shown to this day. These married their nieces. Nabor married Milcha, and Abram married Sarai. Now Terah hating Chaldea, on account of his mourning for Haran, they all removed to Haran of Mesopotamia, where Terah died, and was buried
    • Jubilees 11:1-23 And in the thirty-fifth jubilee, in the third week, in the first year thereof, Reu took to himself a wife, and her name was ‘Ôrâ, the daughter of ‘Ûr, the son of Kêsêd, and she bare him a son, and he called his name Sêrôḫ, in the seventh year of this week in this jubilee. 2. And the sons of Noaḥ began to war on each other, to take captive and to slay each other, and to shed the blood of men on the land, and to eat blood, and to build strong cities, and walls, and towers, and individuals began to exalt themselves above the nation, and to found the beginnings of reigns, and to go to war people against people, and nation against nation, and city against city, and all began to do evil, and to acquire arms, and to teach their sons war, and they began to capture cities, and to sell male and female slaves. 3. And ‘Ûr, the son of Kêsêd, built the city of ‘Arâ of the Chaldees, and called its name after his own name and the name of his father. 4. And they made for themselves molten images, and they worshipped each the idol, the molten image which they had made for themselves, and they began to make graven images and unclean simulacra, and malignant spirits assisted and seduced them into committing transgression and uncleanness. 5. And the prince Mastema exerted himself to do all this, and he sent forth other spirits, those which were put under his hand, to do all manner of wrong and sin, and all manner of transgression, to corrupt and destroy, and to shed blood upon the land. 6. For this reason he called the name of Sêrôḫ, Serug, for every one turned to do all manner of sin and transgression. 7. And he grew up, and dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, near to the father of his wife’s mother, and he worshipped idols, and he took to himself a wife in the thirty-sixth jubilee, in the fifth week, in the first year thereof, and her name was Mêlkâ, the daughter of Kâbêr, the daughter of his father’s brother. 8. And she bare him Nahor, in the first year of this week, and he grew and dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, and his father taught him the researches of the Chaldees to divine and augur, according to the signs of the heavens. 9. And in the thirty-seventh jubilee, in the sixth week, in the first year thereof, he took to himself a wife, and her name was ‘Îjâskâ, the daughter of Nêstâg of the Chaldees. 10. And she bare him Terah in the seventh year of this week. 11. And the prince Mastema sent ravens and birds to devour the seed which was sown in the land, in order to destroy the land, and rob the children of men of their labours. Before they could plough in the seed, the ravens picked it from the surface of the ground. 12. And for this reason he called his name Terah, because the ravens and the birds reduced them to destitution and devoured their seed. 13. And the years began to be barren, owing to the birds, and they devoured all the fruit of the trees from the trees: it was only with great effort that they could save a little of all the fruit of the land in their days. 14. And in this thirty-ninth jubilee, in the second week in the first year, Terah took to himself a wife, and her name was ‘Êdnâ, the daughter of ‘Abrâm the daughter of his father’s sister. 15. And in the seventh year of this week she bare him a son, and he called his name Abram, by the name of the father of his mother; for he had died before his daughter had conceived a son. And the child (Abram) began to understand the errors of the land that all went astray after graven images and after uncleanness, and his father taught him writing, and he was two weeks of years old, [1890 A.M.] and he separated himself from his father that he might not worship idols with him. 16. And he began to pray to the Creator of all things that He might save him from the errors of the children of men, and that his portion should not fall into error after uncleanness and vileness. 17. And the seed time came for the sowing of seed upon the land, and they all went forth together to protect their seed against the ravens, and Abram went forth with those that went, and the child was a lad of fourteen years. 18. And a cloud of ravens came to devour the seed, and Abram ran to meet them before they settled on the ground, and cried to them before they settled on the ground to devour the seed, and said, “Descend not: return to the place whence ye came,” and they proceeded to turn back. 19. And he caused the clouds of ravens to turn back that day seventy times, and of all the ravens throughout all the land where Abram was there settled there not so much as one. 20. And all who were with him throughout all the land saw him cry out, and all the ravens turn back, and his name became great in all the land of the Chaldees. 21. And there came to him this year all those that wished to sow, and he went with them until the time of sowing ceased: and they sowed their land, and that year they brought enough grain home and eat and were satisfied. 22. And in the first year of the fifth week [1891 A.M.] Abram taught those who made implements for oxen, the artificers in wood, and they made a vessel above the ground, facing the frame of the plough, in order to put the seed thereon, and the seed fell down therefrom upon the share of the plough, and was hidden in the earth, and they no longer feared the ravens. 23. And after this manner they made (vessels) above the ground on all the frames of the ploughs, and they sowed and tilled all the land, according as Abram commanded them, and they no longer feared the birds.
• 12:5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan.
• 12:6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then [Elohim]^(LXX) appeared to Abram and said [to him],^(LXX) “I will give this land to your seed.” [Abram]^(LXX) built an altar there to [Elohim],^(LXX) who had appeared to him.
• 12:8 He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar [and called on the name]^(LXX) of [Elohim].^(LXX) 9 Abram traveled, still going on toward the South.
• Abram the liar?
  • Genesis 12:10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. 12 It will happen that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive. 13 Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”
    • The Genesis Apocryphon 1Q20 (1Q20), also called the Tales of the Patriarchs or the Apocalypse of Lamech and labeled 1QapGen, is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1946 by Bedouin shepherds in Cave 1 near Qumran, a city in the northwest corner of the Dead Sea.
    • Column 19 I, Abraham built and altar (at Bethel) and called to God, praising him. I then went to the Holy mountain and to Hebron where I lived for two years. Because there was famine in the land my family and I traveled to Egypt where grain was plentiful. I went across the branches of the Nile to enter Egypt, the land of the sons of Ham. I had a dream about a cedar tree and a date-palm tree. When people came to cut down the cedar tree, the date-palm tree objected, saying that they were grown from a single root. The cedar tree was spared. I became fearful of the dream and told it to my wife. I explained it as it pertained to us telling Sarah that the men will come for her and try to kill me. I warned Sarah that she must tell everyone that I am her brother so that my life can be spared. She became scared and did not want to go to Zoan for fear of being seen. Five years later, councilors of the Egyptians court and advisors of the Pharaoh of Zoan came, having heard the words of my wife. They brought gifts and requested knowledge from me. I read to them from the Book of the words of Enoch.
    • Column 20 The men returned to the Pharaoh and described Sarah’s features: beautiful face, supple hair, lovely eyes, pleasant nose, radiant face. He continued on describing her shapely breasts, perfect hands, and everything down to her long and delicate fingers. the men compared her to and rated her far higher than virgins and birds, and all other women alike. Hearing this, and then seeing Sarah, the pharaoh wanted her and took her for his wife. Sarah saved me by telling the pharaoh that I was her brother and that night I and my nephew Lot cried together I prayed to Lord for justice. I wanted the Lord to raise up against the pharaoh and protect Sarah. Elohim listened and sent an evil spirit to the entire household that prevented the pharaoh from having sexual relations with Sarah for the two years that they were together. At the end of the two years, the plagues and afflictions were so great that magicians and healers were sent for. They were, of course, ineffective, and they all soon left. Hyrcanos went to me pleading for help against the plague because I had been seen in a dream. I agreed to help only when my wife Sarah is returned to me. The pharaoh heard this and confronted me, himself asking why I lied saying that Sarah was my sister. He agreed to give Sarah back and I exorcised the evil spirit from the house of the pharaoh. The pharaoh swore to me that he had not touched Sarah while they were together and gave her gifts of gold, silver, linen, and purple-dyed clothing. Sarah and I were then led out of Egypt. I, Sarah, Lot, and his wife took our flocks and the gold and silver I had received and traveled together.
• 12:14 When Abram had come into Egypt, Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and boasted about her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, maids, female donkeys, and camels.
  • Boasted about Sarai. The first “halal” in the Bible
    • When read it in Hebrew, Halleluyah is actually two words, הַלְלוּ hallelu + יה Yah. The word הָלַל halal (H1984) comes from a root word which means “to shine” and literally means “to boast” in the sense of causing a shining of one by bragging about them. In English, boasting is when you talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about your own achievements, possessions, or abilities. Let’s replace it with God and say you talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about God’s achievements, possessions, and abilities. Do you see the difference? Psalms 44:8 says, “In Elohim we have made our boast all day long. We will give thanks to your name forever.” In Psalms 44:8 the word “boast” is הָלַל halal and the word thanks is יָדָה yadah. So, when literally translated, הַלְלוּ hallelu means “you boast”  and יה Yah is the shortened name of YHWH. You may have heard the popular song lyric that says, “Halleluyah is the highest praise,” but Halleluyah is more than just a praise. Hallelu Yah is actually a command to boast about what YHWH has done. Consider how David writes, “Hallelu Yah, for YHWH is good. Sing praises to his name, for that is pleasant.” (Psalms 135:3) David is literally saying, “You boast of YHWH because he is good, you shine light on YHWH because he is good. You gloat about YHWH because he is good. You brag about YHWH because he is good.” There’s no other book in the Bible that boasts about YHWH like Psalms. Read Psalms chapter 136 for yourself. 
• 12:17 [Elohim]^(LXX) struck Pharaoh and his house with great [and grievous]^(LXX) plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, see your wife [is before you],^(LXX) take her, and go your way.” 20 Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they escorted him away with his wife and all his possessions [and Lot with him].^{(LXX)(SP)(mss)}
  • Genesis Apocryphon 1Q20 (1Q20) Column 21 I went to all my old campsites until I reached Bethel, the place where I once built an altar, and then I built another one and offered up burnt offerings and a grain offerings to the Elohim of Most High, and invoked the name of the Lord of the Universe there. I praised Elohim’s name and blessed Elohim and gave thanks to Him there for all the flocks and goods and wealth which he has given me, for the good he has done for me, and because He had returned me to this land safely. After this day, Lot left me on the account of our shepherd’s behavior. He went to live in the Valley of Jordan taking all his flocks with him. And I also added greatly to what he had. he pastured his flock and kept moving until he reached Sodom and bought a house there, while I still lived in the mountain of Bethel. It bothered me that Lot and I had separated. Elohim came to me in a dream and said to me: Go up to Ramat Hazor which is north of Bethel, the place you are living now, and look to the east, west, south and to the north. Look at the land which I am giving you and your descendants forever. The next morning I went up to Ramat Hazor and looked at the land from that height, from the river of Egypt up to Lebanon and Senir, and from the Great Sea up to Hauran, and all the land of Gebel to Qadesh, and all the Great Desert, as far as the Euphrates and he said to me: I will give all this land to your descendants; and they will inherit it forever. I will multiply your descendants like the dust of the land that none can count. Your descendants will be numberless. Arise, walk about, go see how long and how wide it is, for I will give it to you and to your descendants after you, forever. Then I, Abraham, went out traveling in a circuit to survey the land. I began the circuit at the Gihon River, I went along the Mediterranean Sea until I reached the Mountain of the Bull (Taurus). I circled from the coast of this great river saltwater sea, skirting the Mount of the Bull, and continued eastward through the breadth of the and until I came to the Euphrates river. I traveled along the side of the Euphrates until I reached the Red Sea toward the east. I continued going along the side of the Red Sea until I reached the inlet (lit. ‘tongue’) of the Sea of Reeds which emerges from the Red Sea. From there I completed the circuit, moving southward to arrive at Gihon River. Then I returned home safely and found all is well with my men. Then I went and settled next to the oaks of Mamre, which is northeast of Hebron. There I built an altar and offered up burnt offering and a grain offering to the Elohim Most High. I ate and drank there, I and all the men of my household, and invited Mamre, Arnem, and Eshkol, three Amorite brothers and my friends. They ate and drank together with me.

Praise and Worship: A Deeper Look

Do we have the Psalms? What are these hymns? What about spiritual songs? What about today’s contemporary Christian music? Should we just sing the hymns from the last 500 to 600 years of reform history? Martin Luther himself wrote 38 hymns, many of which are still in use today. His most famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God,” is a wonderful hymn taken out of Psalms 46. 

In this study, we will take a short, but in-depth, look at what it means to praise and worship. This is intended to “shine light” on the subject. This is a pun that is well intended, and you will learn why during this study. 

Let’s start with a literal reading of Psalms 150; “You Praise Yah! Praise El in his sanctuary! You praise him in his heavens for his acts of power! You praise him for his mighty acts! You praise him according to his excellent greatness! You praise him with the sounding of the trumpet! You praise him with harp and lyre! You praise him with tambourine and dancing! You praise him with stringed instruments and flute! You praise him with loud cymbals! You praise him with resounding cymbals! Everything that has breath will praise Yah! You praise Yah!” (Psalms 150:1-6)

In the Bible, the first time we see instruments is actually with Jubal, a sixth-generation descendant of Cain who killed Abel and started a family line after he was cursed and left YHWH’s presence. Jubal was the “father of all who handled the harp and pipe.” in Genesis 4:21. Even a cursory reading of Genesis 4 will show that the descendants of Cain were likely not men of virtue and righteousness. Thus, we can assume that the first people to make instruments were probably not using them to sing praises to YHWH.

But what is praise? The first time the word “praise” is used in the Bible is in Genesis 29:35 when Leah conceived and gave birth to her fourth son, יְהוּדָה Yehudah. She said, “This time I will praise YHWH.” Therefore she named him יְהוּדָה Yehudah. The Hebrew phrase that gave Judah his name is אוֹדֶה אֶת־יהוה odeh et-YHWH which is a combination of יה Yah, the shortened name of יהוה YHWH (cf. Psalms 68:4), with אוֹדֶה odeh. Therefore, Yah + odeh = Yahodeh, which obviously sounds like Yehudah. The Hebrew language is concrete and action-oriented so when we look at the root of the word אוֹדֶה odeh, we see יָדָה yadah (H3034) as the three letter root and יָד yad as the base two letter root. יָדָה yadah means “to throw” and יָד yad means “hand” so together this literally means “to throw the hand.” How does this relate to the word praise? Well, it’s because יָדָה yadah means to throw or raise the hands in thanks (cf. Psalms 106:1) or confession (cf. Leviticus 5:5). The Septuagint translates יָדָה yadah to ἐξομολογέω exomologeō (G1843) which means to profess thanks or acknowledge openly. So if Leah said, “This time I will give thanks YHWH” or “This time I will acknowledge YHWH” would both be accurate translations. 

So, where do we get the idea that music and instruments are how we “praise” YHWH when the Hebrew word seems to only require our hands? Well, we can look at the book of Psalms which is replete with the words “praise” and “sing” and has a plethora of instruments such as the trumpet, harp, lyre, tambourine, dancing, stringed instruments, flute, loud cymbals, and resounding cymbals in Psalm 150 alone. Psalm 106:1 says, “Praise YHWH! Give thanks to YHWH, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.” Remember the Hebrew word יָדָה yadah? Well “give thanks” in Psalm 106:1 is the same word, יָדָה yadah (H3034). 

Speaking of instruments, what role do they play (pun intended)? Let’s take at a look at a great example of the use of instruments in the service of giving thanks and praising YHWH in the House of Elohim from 1 Chronicles 25:1-8:

25:1 Moreover, David and the captains of the army set apart for the service certain of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with harps, with stringed instruments, and with cymbals…The sons of Asaph were under the hand of Asaph, who prophesied at the order of the king…who prophesied in giving thanks and praising YHWH with the harp…5 All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of Elohim, to lift up the horn. Elohim gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. 6 All these were under the hands of their father for song in YHWH’s house, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the service of the house of Elohim: Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman being under the order of the king. 7 The number of them, with their brothers who were instructed in singing to YHWH, even all who were skillful, was two hundred eighty-eight. 8 They cast lots for their offices, all alike, the small as well as the great, the teacher as well as the student.

In 1828, Noaḥ Webster defined praise as, “to extol in words or song; to magnify; to glorify on account of perfections or excellent works” and references Psalms 148:1; Praise him, all his angels, praise ye him, all his hosts. The word “praise” is found in the book of Psalms over 130 times. On the contrary, the word worship is used just 15 times in the book of Psalms. This is not to diminish worship at all, but it might reveal the purpose of the Psalms and how the professing of thanks and acknowledgement to God through praise, especially from the Psalms of David, causes “true” worship which will be defined soon.

Before we look at worship, let’s look at the popular word Halleluyah for a moment. “Halleluyah,” along with “amen,” might be the most used Hebrew words by non-Hebrew speakers, especially for us Believers. But what does the word mean? Let’s try to understand this by now reading Psalms 150 with some Hebrew transliteration: 

“Halleu Yah! Hallelu El in his sanctuary! Hallelu him in his heavens for his acts of power! 2 Hallelu him for his mighty acts! Hallelu him according to his excellent greatness! 3 Hallelu him with the sounding of the trumpet! Hallelu him with harp and lyre! 4 Hallelu him with tambourine and dancing! Hallelu him with stringed instruments and flute! 5 Hallelu him with loud cymbals! Hallelu him with resounding cymbals! 6 Everything that has breath will hallel Yah! Hallelu Yah!” (Psalms 150:1-6)

When read it in Hebrew, Halleluyah is actually two words, הַלְלוּ hallelu + יה Yah. The word הָלַל halal (H1984) comes from a root word which means “to shine” and literally means “to boast” in the sense of causing a shining of one by bragging about them. In English, boasting is when you talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about your own achievements, possessions, or abilities. Let’s replace it with God and say you talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about God’s achievements, possessions, and abilities. Do you see the difference? Psalms 44:8 says, “In Elohim we have made our boast all day long. We will give thanks to your name forever.” In Psalms 44:8 the word “boast” is הָלַל halal and the word thanks is יָדָה yadah. So, when literally translated, הַלְלוּ hallelu means “you boast”  and יה Yah is the shortened name of YHWH. You may have heard the popular song lyric that says, “Halleluyah is the highest praise,” but Halleluyah is more than just a praise. Hallelu Yah is actually a command to boast about what YHWH has done. Consider how David writes, “Hallelu Yah, for YHWH is good. Sing praises to his name, for that is pleasant.” (Psalms 135:3) David is literally saying, “You boast of YHWH because he is good, you shine light on YHWH because he is good. You gloat about YHWH because he is good. You brag about YHWH because he is good.” There’s no other book in the Bible that boasts about YHWH like Psalms. Read Psalms 136 for yourself. 

Let’s now explore the word “worship.” An interesting note is in Noaḥ Webster’s 1828 definition of “worship” he mentions words like prayer, religious service, and paying divine honors to the Supreme Being and references Exodus 34:14; Thou shalt worship no other God and John 4:20; Our fathers worshiped in this mountain. Noaḥ Webster doesn’t mention song or music because the modern application of worship to a genre of music hadn’t taken shape to the modern, contemporary definition. But, is this what the word “worship” in the Bible actually means? The first time the word worship is used in the Bible is in Genesis 22:5, when Abraham was going to offer his promised son Isaac to God. Abraham told his servants, “we will worship and come back to you.” The word worship is שָׁחָה shachah (H7812) which comes from a root word that means to sink low. When applied to “worship” it means to pay homage to another by bowing (sinking) low or getting on the knees with the face to the ground. The Septuagint translates שָׁחָה shachah to the Greek word προσκυνέω proskyneō (G4352) which is often translated to obeisance and means to to kneel (or sink low) in prostration with the forehead to the ground as an expression of profound reverence to another. Can you think of the last time you actually bowed in obeisance with your forehead to the ground in worship to YHWH? It’s not common in modern Western worship so it’s not surprising if the majority of us have never done so. However, at the very least we see the bowing of the head as an act of obeisance.

Years ago someone told me how they responded when someone told them they didn’t like the music played during the praise and worship time and the person’s response was, “the music wasn’t for you.” It’s a reminder we need to hear at times. When we come together to praise and worship YHWH, it’s not about me. It’s not about you. It’s not about how we feel. It’s not to prepare your mind. It’s about Him. It’s for Him.

In the Bible, there are many examples of how songs of praise cause those joining in chorus with the voices to physically prostrate themselves in obeisance to God. Listen to this beautiful account in 2 Chronicles 29:28-30; “All the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. When they had finished offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praises to YHWH with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. They sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and did obeisance.” Did you notice the physical bowing and obeisance in worship? Did you notice the Levite singers singing praises with gladness? Did you notice the singers sang praises with the words of David and Asaph? You may have heard it said that, “when the praises go up, the blessings come down” but that’s not in the Bible. More accurately we can say, “when the praises go up, the people bow down.”

In Ephesians 5:18-20, we’re told to “…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always concerning all things in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah to Elohim, even the Father.” Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Messiah dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (cf. 1 Chronicles 25:1-8), singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.”

Could it be that the Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with which we sing, teach, and admonish one another can also cause us to bow down in worship? As we sing praises with gladness and with grace in our hearts to the Lord, can we not think about ourselves and focus on Him who deserves our thanks and acknowledgment? As we sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord, can we shine the spotlight on YHWH and boast about his goodness?

I know when we worship him we technically don’t need music. We probably don’t need instruments. We really just need ourselves. But it’s clear from Scripture that YHWH gave us the Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with which to praise him and cause us to physically bow down and worship in spirit and truth, “for the Father seeks such to be his worshippers.” (Luke 4:23)