This thesis aims to uncover music’s important role in shaping and defining the selfidentity
of ancient Israel. Functional music was integrated into Israel’s daily life,
accompanying activities as diverse as manual labor and royal processionals. At key
junctures and in core institutions, musical tones were used to formulate and deliver
messages, convey and heighten emotions, assert and strengthen communal bonds, and
establish and intensify human-divine contact. The intricate and multi-faceted nature of
this music will be demonstrated through a detailed look into four main episodes and
genres: the Song of the Sea (Exod. 15), King Saul and David’s harp (1 Sam. 16), the use
of music in prophecy, and the Book of Psalms. Specifically, it will be argued that
Israel’s birth as a free nation was marked by the Song of the Sea, its monarchic system
was defined by the archetypical musician-king David, it depended on God’s word
delivered through the often musical messages of prophecy, and its appointed institution
for mediating worship was designed and officiated by a class of priestly musicians.
Moreover, three of these four areas involve the main leadership categories of Old
Testament society—king, prophet and priest—giving added support to the view that
music held a prominent place and played a defining role within that civilization.
The conception of music as a central element of biblical society will be developed using
an interdisciplinary approach, wherein pertinent information from an array of
specializations and sources is put into conversation and Old Testament passages are
analyzed through a modern-scientific lens. Rather than relying on a single methodology,
this study is rooted in the premise that by applying a variety of contemporary theoretical
tools to selected Old Testament passages, essential functions of music in biblical life
can be illuminated. Such an endeavour requires tools from a number of fields, including
but not limited to theology, sociology, anthropology, musicology, cognitive science and
music therapy, as well as the classification of musical references into four primary
functions: cohesive, therapeutic, emotive/spiritual and didactic. The result is a thesis
that identifies reasons for—and not just the existence of—music in biblical life, and,
most centrally, shows significant ways music informed Israel’s understanding of itself. / Thesis (PhD (Old Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/8006 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Friedmann, Jonathan Lawrence |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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