Music in the Bible: Introduction

 Please follow this blog and join with me as I begin to explore the references to music throughout Scripture in a series of posts that begin today and continue until we reach the song of the redeemed saints referred to in the Book of Revelation (Rev 15:13) For those of you who are prayer warriors and have some room on your list, I would covet your blessings and requests to the King of Kings so that He may guide through His Holy Spirit for however long this exposition takes. Turn up the volume!!!

According to one source, there are over 1150 references to music in the Bible and they are categorized in different ways by purpose and usage. Let's begin this concert event in one of my favorite books, Genesis:

His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. (Genesis 4:21)

Note: Jubal or 'yubal' in Hebrew is the root word for 'jubilee'.

It is important to know that at this point in Scripture, we are dealing with the federal nature of humanity as God sees it. Just as Adam was the first man and Eve was the first woman and we are all descendants of this couple, there are other prototype personalities that represent the founding 'fathers' of specific tribes in history and which many secular mythologies often attest to such as the Viking gods or the Greek gods who spawned humans in one way or another. You get the picture.

So Jubal was the maestro of musical humanity and that's all the Bible tells us about him so it must be enough for us to know in the overall scheme of things. One interesting aside note is that Jubal was a descendant of Cain who viciously slew his brother Abel out of envy because God favored Abel's offering more than Cain's. (Genesis 4:8) Make what you will of that specific blood relationship but one study I will often refer to in this ongoing exposition is T.D. Alexander's excellent scholarly book, From Paradise to the Promised Land, in which he introduces to readers the main compositional themes found in the first five books of the Bible (called the Pentateuch) and explains how the Lord sets the keynote for the presentation of His redemptive plans for the entirety of Scripture in true classical musical fashion. Think of the stunning and memorable opening to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and you will appreciate and anticipate what is to come. Check back to this blog tomorrow when the curtain raises again for part two. Until then, go in peace.