|
The Song of the Levite |
The Story |
With the exception of the implication that the origin and
background of the musical system of the Levites traced back to
Egypt through and Moses and the period in which the Israelites
resided there, we have no historical or scriptural references to
rely upon. On the surface, the same is also true with the musical
background and training of David.
What we do know from the
scriptures is that David was well known as a musician as a young
man, even being summoned before King Saul to play away his
numerous mood swings (1 Samuel 16:14-23). From the plethora of
works found within the Psalm manuscripts (1 Chronicles 16:8-33
[Psalm 105:1-15 - Psalm 96:1-13] and 2 Samuel 22:1-51 [Psalm 18])
we can also conclude that David was intimately familiar with and
well trained in the inner workings of music from a compositional,
lyrical, instrumental and performance standpoint. He was not only
a skilled string player, but could also write music, knew music
theory and harmony, instrument construction, song structure and
development, etc. Along all his many other traits, David
was a very talented individual in music. The question is, how did
a young shepherd boy become one of the most famous musicians and
composers of all time? The answer may lie in his association with
one of the prominent Levites named Jeduthun.
Jeduthun was one of the three
primary singers and musical directors that was appointed by David
to serve at the Tabernacle and later Temple systems in a musical
capacity before Yahveh. Looking at the accounts relating to the
selection of these three key individuals we find the following
references:
If you look in your Bible at
these accounts, the first thing you find is that the accounts
above do not occur in a chronological sequence, 1 Chronicles 15
occurs before 1 Chronicles 6. The second thing you will find is
the chapter and verse numbering systems of 1 Chronicles 6 in the
King James and the Jewish Publications Society (JPS) do not agree
(same information is being referenced, just different numbering
systems). The third thing you will notice is that when you
compare who the three primary singers and musicals directors
were, you will find two individuals mentioned along with Heman
(the lead singer) and Asaph (the choir director): Ethan (1
Chronicles 15:19 and 6:29 [6:44]) and Jeduthun (1
Chronicles 16:41-42 and 1 Chronicles 25:1, 25:3, 25:6).
From the contexts of each these
accounts, it is apparent that Ethan and Jeduthun
are referencing the same individual, with the earlier accounts
listing him as Ethan and the later accounts as
Jeduthun. 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 JPS], 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.
Assuming that Jeduthun and Ethan are referring to the same individual, we find that Jeduthun (Ethan) was a descendant from the family of Merari (1 Chronicles 6:29-32 [6:44-47 JPS], 1 Chronicles 15:17). With this piece of the puzzle in place, we can see our first link between David and Jeduthun. From the scriptural texts we find that the Levite families of Merari were allocated cities from the family of Zebulon as part of their inheritance for their positions as support personnel in relation to the Tabernacle, one of these cities was Bethlehem (Joshua 19:10-16, 21:7). David and Jeduthun may have lived in the same town.
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 62:1 written by David and Psalm 77:1 for or by Aspah) with a third Psalm (Psalm 39:1) written for or by Jeduthun. In the same way that the superscription found in Psalm 61:1 over a string meant that the song was to be sung over a single string instrument like a lyre or a harp, the phrase over Jeduthun meant that the song was to be 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 or instrumentalist in mind.
From the sons of Jeduthun we
find two of the original six lyre players, Mattithiah (1
Chronicles 25:3) and Obed-Edom (1 Chronicles 16:38) in the
initial Levite marching ensemble when the Ark was relocated to
Jerusalem. It is also from the sons of Jeduthun that six of the
string players were selected by David and the Levite leaders, all
under the direction of their father (Jeduthun) (1 Chronicles
25:1-31). For the last piece of this puzzle, let us go back to
when the transport of the Ark to Jerusalem was initially
attempted by David and his troupes.
When the initial attempt to move
the Ark to Jerusalem by his troupes failed, David relocates the
Ark temporarily to the house of Obed-Edom in Gath
for three months (2 Samuel 6:10-12, 1 Chronicles 13:-14).
Gath-hepher may have also been one of the cities of Zebulon
that had been assigned to the Levite families of Merari (Joshua
19:10-16 , 21:7). So why did David trust that the Ark would be
properly secured at the house of Obed-Edom? Could it have
been that the Obed-Edom in whose house the Ark had been
relocated was the same Obed-Edom, the lyre player and the
son of Jeduthun?
Even though not specifically detailed out in the Biblical texts, from the information we have within the scriptures, we have a possible scenario as to how David learned his art as a musician and his connection to the Levite musical system. Jeduthun was his teacher and David, no doubt one of his prize students. This interconnected relationship between the Levite singers/musicians and David is further emphasized when we see that the Levite Heman (the lead singer) was also the grandson of Samuel the prophet (David's mentor). David was, on many levels, intimately familiar with the key players and personalities within the Levite musical system that was in place when he became king of Israel.
|
The Song of the Levite |
The Story |