Lyrist from the tomb-painting of Khnumhotep II, Beni-Hasan, Egypt. Twelfth Dynasty, ca. 1900 BCE
Lyrist from the tomb-painting of Khnumhotep II, Beni-Hasan, Egypt. Twelfth Dynasty, ca. 1900 BCE
An Old Testament KnoWhy relating to the reading assignment for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 22: “The Lord Looketh on the Heart” (1 Samuel 9-11; 13; 15-17) (JBOTL22A)
Question: What was the religious role of music in the life and times of David?
Summary: From the earliest times, music has played a central role in religion. The book of Samuel is a good example. Before Saul became king, music enabled the Spirit of the Lord to come upon him in the company of prophets; afterward, in Saul’s misery, David’s harp — or, more accurately, lyre (Hebrew kinnôr) — invited the Spirit into his palace once more. Later, in likeness of other nations in the ancient Near East, music and dance became an inseparable part of the institution of kingship in Israel. The Psalms, in a tradition that stretches back to David, contain some of the most significant prophecies of scripture and became the backbone of temple liturgy. In this article, we will explore all these themes and will finish with examples of how the combination of inspired singing and playing continue as important mainstays of the religious life of the Saints today.
Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (PhD, Cognitive Science, University of Washington) is a Senior Research Scientist at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Pensacola, Florida. His professional writings have explored a wide range of topics in human and machine intelligence (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_M._Bradshaw; www.ihmc.us/groups/jbradshaw).
Jeff serves as a vice president for The Interpreter Foundation and is on the Advisory Board for the Academy for Temple Studies. He has lectured at BYU Campus Education Week and the Sidney B. Sperry Symposium and has presented at FairMormon meetings in the United States, Germany, and France. His articles on temple studies and the ancient Near East have appeared in Studies in the Bible and Antiquity, Element: A Journal of Mormon Philosophy and Theology, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, Meridian Magazine, and BYU Studies. Jeff has written detailed commentaries on the book of Moses and Genesis 1-11 and on temple themes in the scriptures. For LDS-related publications, see www.TempleThemes.net.
Jeff was a missionary in France and Belgium from 1975–1977, and his family has returned twice to live in France: once from 1993–1994 as a Fulbright Scholar and a second time from 2005–2006 as an unexpected “sabbatical” in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. Jeff has served twice as a bishop and twice as a counselor in the stake presidency of the Pensacola Florida Stake. He and his wife, Kathleen, are the parents of four children and eleven grandchildren. In July 2016, they began two years of service in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinshasa Mission.
