Post by sebrown1977 on Feb 14, 2014 1:15:55 GMT
I have always skipped over the titles of the Psalms because I did not know why David would write songs for people
other than the LORD; yet it made me think when I saw this particular title:
To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph.
Obviously, David is writing to two people and the song (or music) is Asaph's. So I was curious who are these
people?
The Chief Musician of course, is Asaph. There are twelve Psalms written to Asaph, the Chief Musician (These twelve, Psalm 50 and Psalms 73 to 83 inclusive, are entitled "Psalms of Asaph," )
The three directors of the Levite musical ensembles were:
Heman - lead singer
Asaph - choir director
, chief musician
Jeduthun [aka Ethan] - musical director
Although billeted as one of the three primary singers and musical directors along with Heman and Asaph,
Jeduthun was apparently also one of the heavy-weight string players, serving as the musical director over
the Levite string section and the patriarch of a family of string players and no doubt one of their teachers
(1 Chronicles 25:1-8).
Jeduthun is also one of the few individuals who had two of the Psalm manuscripts written specifically to
be performed, as the Scriptures say over Jeduthun (Psalm 62, 77) with a third Psalm (Psalm 39:1) written for
or by Jeduthun.
In the same way that the superscription found in Psalm 61:1, for conducting over music of
David, meant that the text was performed over a composition of David, the phrase over Jeduthun may indicate
that the manuscripts was performed over the accompaniment of a specific individual,which in this case was Jeduthun.
This is common practice even today where a composition or song is written with a particular singer,
instrumentalist, or accompanist in mind.
Other facts about Jeduthun:
-Jeduthun was the patriarch of a family of string players and most likely their teacher
-Jeduthun is only individual with Psalms written specifically for him as an accompanist
-Jeduthun and Ethan are most likely the same person : As was a common practice in key Biblical personalities, the lineage is often included for clarification. Interestingly, the lineage of Ethan is included (1 Chronicles 6:29 [6:44 KJV] and 1 Chronicles 15:17), but the linage of Jeduthun is not. The fact that Jeduthun does not have his father's linage listed in any of the accounts may indicate that the name Jeduthun was a nickname or title of some sort for the formal name of Ethan.
Sources:
www.musicofthebible.com/jeduthun.htm
www.heraldmag.org/1999/99ja_9.htm
other than the LORD; yet it made me think when I saw this particular title:
To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of Asaph.
Obviously, David is writing to two people and the song (or music) is Asaph's. So I was curious who are these
people?
The Chief Musician of course, is Asaph. There are twelve Psalms written to Asaph, the Chief Musician (These twelve, Psalm 50 and Psalms 73 to 83 inclusive, are entitled "Psalms of Asaph," )
The three directors of the Levite musical ensembles were:
Heman - lead singer
Asaph - choir director
, chief musician
Jeduthun [aka Ethan] - musical director
Although billeted as one of the three primary singers and musical directors along with Heman and Asaph,
Jeduthun was apparently also one of the heavy-weight string players, serving as the musical director over
the Levite string section and the patriarch of a family of string players and no doubt one of their teachers
(1 Chronicles 25:1-8).
Jeduthun is also one of the few individuals who had two of the Psalm manuscripts written specifically to
be performed, as the Scriptures say over Jeduthun (Psalm 62, 77) with a third Psalm (Psalm 39:1) written for
or by Jeduthun.
In the same way that the superscription found in Psalm 61:1, for conducting over music of
David, meant that the text was performed over a composition of David, the phrase over Jeduthun may indicate
that the manuscripts was performed over the accompaniment of a specific individual,which in this case was Jeduthun.
This is common practice even today where a composition or song is written with a particular singer,
instrumentalist, or accompanist in mind.
Other facts about Jeduthun:
-Jeduthun was the patriarch of a family of string players and most likely their teacher
-Jeduthun is only individual with Psalms written specifically for him as an accompanist
-Jeduthun and Ethan are most likely the same person : As was a common practice in key Biblical personalities, the lineage is often included for clarification. Interestingly, the lineage of Ethan is included (1 Chronicles 6:29 [6:44 KJV] and 1 Chronicles 15:17), but the linage of Jeduthun is not. The fact that Jeduthun does not have his father's linage listed in any of the accounts may indicate that the name Jeduthun was a nickname or title of some sort for the formal name of Ethan.
Sources:
www.musicofthebible.com/jeduthun.htm
www.heraldmag.org/1999/99ja_9.htm