Complex Hebrew Word-Fields.

I have been exploring word fields with ChatGPT. This is the latest with a pair of Hebrew stems that have many homonyms in my translation. There is some real reflection in the LLM comments on my prompts that stands against the tendencies to power as a management style. Words are like electrons and light. They seem to be particles, but they are really fields.

For those of you into PSA and other theories of divine violence, this conversation might be of interest to you in reframing strength. 

Music of the Bible -- the Book of Job -- press release

A presentation of the Hebrew Bible with all its music verse by verse. 

VICTORIA, BC – In a work that bridges antiquity with innovation, Biblical scholar, database programmer, and musician, Bob MacDonald, unveils Music of the Bible: The Book of Job, a first available volume of a complete edition of the Hebrew Bible that restores the music encoded in the Hebrew text. This is Scripture as it was meant to be performed and heard. Transforming the cantillation marks into modern music notation, MacDonald offers readers and singers alike the opportunity to hear the voice of Job, his comforters, and the other notorious actors in the play as preserved in the earliest available Masoretic text. Each verse presents the musical score supported by transliterated lyrics for singers, the diacritics isolated for Hebrew readers, and a transcription for reading Hebrew accurately in our commonly used Roman alphabet. The result is a Hebrew Bible that has never been seen or heard until now. “The tone of voice,” writes MacDonald “has been missing from the written word for centuries. This project aims to restore it. Now we can hear the grief, the joy, the proclamations, the aural interconnections in the text.”

With a translator's precision and a cantor’s sensitivity, the text is brought to life as song. A pioneering blend of language, liturgy, and technology, The Music of the Bible series is designed for learning. As the only book of scripture that uses both the prose and the poetry sets of accents, Job is the first available volume of the series. Anyone who is learning Hebrew will find its multi-part presentation a pleasure to read and sing. Cantors will delight in the music, different from modern tradition but a justified deciphering of the fundamental uses of the cantillation marks. The music reveals both poetic structure and distant musical allusions from one verse to others. The Book of Job begins in its opening prose verse by mimicking the opening of the book of Genesis. Theologians will find the music revealing. This presentation can stand as both study tool and devotional companion, revealing Job’s determined patience.

Job is the first available volume of the series. Torah, Prophets, and all the Writings have been analysed, developed, typeset, and considered as a whole. The deciphering of the music has been subjected to stress tests and consistency analysis. All of the music files are available under separate cover for composers and arrangers to use as raw material. This presentation will challenge your understanding, lead you to refreshing questions, and invite you into a restored relationship to the Holy Text.

Availability: Music of the Bible: The Book of Job is available now in EPUB and paperback format. Visit https://bit.ly/3YOZtVG to learn more, full media kit (incl. sample pages), or to request a review.  On Amazon here. 

Psalm 78

To discover the patterns of the music of Psalm 78, I have looked at the 72 verses in their sequences. This is a reanalysis from Oct 2024. I revised the images in that post to reflect later corrections I had made based on the accents in the Aleppo Codex. The issue is to hear and remember the sequence of musical shapes. If we do, does the text confirm what we are hearing and how will we describe it?

You may want to open both posts side by side. If you click on the first image you can ignore the text and move between images with the arrow keys (on a PC). It is a difficult process, but it has yielded some insights.

Openings: the opening interval.

• e d and e g do not exist as opening intervals in this poem.
• e f# occurs 11 times. 5 more include ornaments on the opening recitation pitch, e.
• e g occurs twice.
• e ^A occurs only once in the poetry in Psalm 102. This is a rare sequence occurring only 48 times in the canon. Very few verses move immediately to the rest cadence. 
• e B occurs 24 times. 4 more verses include ornaments on the opening recitation pitch, e. This seems to be used to announce.
• e C occurs 7 times. It is on verses that have heightened emotional consequences.
• 12 verses begin on g, almost always in the shape g B ^A with no ornamentation on the first part of the verse.
• 4 verses begin with B g.
• 3 verses begin on C proceeding next to B. Total 72.

The tenor of the psalm as a whole is A. Verses 1-8 have a tenor of f#. Verses 21-42 have a tenor of e. All other verse groups in the psalm as I divided it in the previous post retain the tenor of A. This is 1 of 37 psalms with such a tenor. These psalms sing more syllables on the subdominant, the atnah which signifies rest, than on any other reciting pitch.

Psalm 78 recitation counts by recitation pitch:  

• d 5 syllables, 0.37%
• e 284, 20.82%
• f 229, 16.93%
• g 212, 15.72%
• A 327, 24.16% (hence the tenor)
• B 239, 17.71%
• C 58, 4.29%

Closings: the announcement of the closing, the revia mugrash, and the final approach to the tonic.

• 30 verses approach the tonic from the f#
• 24 verses from the B
• 18 verses from the A
• 39 verses sing the revia mugrash on A
• 16 verses sing the revia mugrash on f#
• One verse sings the revia mugrash on the tonic, e - find it and see why.

The music is not like Anglican chant where the four-part chant covers two verses or the two part chant covers 1. For long psalms, there may be 2 or 3 different chants used. The music imposes itself onto the words after their composition.

There is of course great beauty in Anglican chant whether in unison or SATB, and great beauty in Gregorian plainsong, but the Gregorian chant has clearly defined single recitation pitches in various modes. Hebrew chanting always has variable recitation pitches and they are part of the music and irregular in structural placement.

Hebrew chanting of the psalms has fixed tonal forms and fixed usage of some ornaments. E.g. the revia-mugrash (which I will call the tuba  -- see below) always is in the last part of the verse. It can occur in the last section of a verse of any of the forms x-1, x-2-1, x-2-4-1, and x-4-1 where x is in (e=1, d, f#, g, B, C). I.e. it always announces the return to the tonic and I hear it as announcing the conclusion of several consecutive verses in which it is not used. Sometimes only the geresh is used. Why?

So: revia–mugrash (aka tuba) functions rhetorically as a proclamation of the completion of something. 

• It is not cadential, more notes can follow. 
• It always occurs in the last part of a verse after any cadences. 
• Its presence announces the tonic is coming to re-establish the tonal field before continued discourse, in a role analogous to the medieval chant concept of the tuba.
• Its appearance following unornamented verse sequences creates an aural boundary marker, allowing listeners to perceive the completion of a larger unit.
• Its pitch flexibility underscores its melodic as well as functional identity.

In Psalm 78, there is an atnah in every verse. Psalm 78 has 9 tricola, verses with atnah and ole veyored, making it of the form x-2-4-1 where x = C once (verse 20) . All the others start on the tonic (e=1, the first degree of the scale).

Here is my sequence analysis by verse -- I wonder if I can refine my terms without making them too rigid. 

Verse:

1. opens with a tricolon, the first shape (1-2) is e to f#. The move from f# to A (2-4) is B g ^A. There are 14 uses of this approach to the mid-verse rest. In this psalm, in the sequence B g before A, g is the main reciting note leading to the A. In the sequence g B before A, B has one more syllable than its neighbour g only 5 times. verses 12, 20, 21, 23 and 40.
2. is announcement (opens on e and moves to the dominant recitation on B).  28 verses begin with this contour, 4 of them also include anticipation with an illuy in the first recitative on e. But note that an illuy highlights one syllable -- often strikingly and with force as in verse 25 on צידה xidh. Tuba is on f#, the recitation pitch after the atnah.
3. announcement e to B but moves the opening recitation to g. This opening contour is in 12 verses.
4. is emotional, a definitive self-appeal beginning on the high C, tying its content to the previous verse. It drops to the supertonic, and has the first of several double accents under one syllable creating a unique move between the two reciting notes e-g.
5. is a tricolon that drops the recitation from the C to a bar on the tonic and then returns to the high C. After the note of appeal, it pauses on the supertonic, and moves to the subdominant via B g, similar to verse 1, but the continuation to the tonic is on the rest note, indicating confidence that the appeal will be heard.
6. is a shorter appeal than verses 4 and 5, relaxing into the approach to the subdominant, thinking about 'the children to be born'. The atnah is in the middle of the sentence between subject and predicate concerning getting the 'instructions' from one generation to the next generation. I think the caesura on the A should still be observed.
7. is a tricolon, approaching the supertonic directly from the tonic, and the subdominant uniquely in a low tessitura. There is no tuba in its return to the tonic. 
8. is a tricolon, the first part repeats the note of appeal, urging preparation of heart. Again there is no tuba.
   
   
9. contextually belongs with the first 8 verses. Ephraim, standing for the children of Israel, is an example of failure. Ephraim is one of the frames of the psalm, occurring in verses 9 and 67 -- just before the shift to Judah, Zion, and David.
10. connected by the opening note to vers 9, is also contextually an inclusio with verse 1 using the recurring 'instruction of our God', (verses, 1, 5, 10). Yet I  began a new section with verse 9 in the earlier post, but I paid attention to word recurrence in my book on the psalms.
    What is my justification? The closing of the introduction with two consecutive tricola? The second section likewise closes with two tricola. After verse 20, the location of tricola no longer defines the strophes. They become part of the strophe perhaps as a centre. To confirm the last 5 strophes, I need a more convincing argument than the text or the music alone. And I don't want to reduce the process to counting syllables. I am inclined to stay with the first section as comprising the first 10 verses. 
    
    
11. continues the theme of wonders, prodigality and failure. But contextually we have moved from the opening 10 verses into new historical ground. Its shape is e f# A. The tuba is on A. The verse ends with the reciting note B dropping directly to the final e. This ending only occurs in the three poetry books.
12. is joined to verse 11 by the opening note. There are no ornaments.The approach to the atnah after starting on B is in verses 10, 12, and 25.
13. is joined to verse 12 and again there are no ornaments. The verse shape is unique across all the poetry. This may be because of the return to the tonic immediately after the atnah.
14. is without ornament to the atnah. One of 13 in the poem with its approach to the atnah. The second half announces the return to the tonic with tuba on A.
15. (the splitting of the rock) 1-4-1 approaches the subdominant with e B g A. then with a tuba on A returning to the tonic via f#. Same shape as verse 70.
16. is without ornament. The same shape as 23 and 41.
17. is without ornament to the atnah, and closes with tuba on the f#, the first time since verses 1 and 2. Verses 14-17 all open with tonic to dominant interval.
18. opens with tonic to supertonic reflecting the opening of verse 11.
19. is a tricolon. Unique shape across all the poetry.
20. is a tricolon paired with the prior verse through its appeal on the opening note C.
    It looks to me as if the presence of a tuba closes a set of verses -- though within a strope if they exist in this psalm.
    
    
21. begins God's response to the predicament noted in the first two sections with a leap to the high C. But the anger is short-lived. The music of the high C is not representative of anger in particular, but of any heightened emotion.
    
22. is joined to verse 21 by the high C. English underlay matching the Hebrew emphasis would be, C For B not g did they believe in ^A God.
    This is the only instance in this psalm that we hear consecutive syllables so emphasized.
23. Announcement -- no ornaments.
24. Announcement and illuy emphasis, closes with tuba on A preceding dominant B to tonic e. 24 verses close this way. (Reminder that this cadence occurs only in the poetry of the 3 books.)
25. continues 24. One ornament illuy in the second part of the verse.
26. Announcement e B then g A. No ornaments.
27. Illuy again on the opening recitative on the tonic. Then B ^A. Tuba on f#.
28. continues 27, tuba on A -- he satisfied them with meat.
29. Announcement opening, tuba on A.
30. Opening e f#, recitation on the supertonic, then A. Tuba on A. 16 verses have the contour beginning on e f. 
31. e C opening and it is anger, then a pair of accents under the text on a single syllable continuing the move to the subdominant (A). No tuba.
    
32. Finishes the verse-pair with a tuba on the tonic e. (I warned you above of this verse).
    
    
33. Finished in futility, tuba on A.
34. Identical shape to 33. 
35. begins with a double accent under the text, the same as in verse 31. Ponder the aural connection between death and memory. Half tuba (geresh only) on f#.
36. Identical shape to 33.
37. connected by g to 36, tuba on f#.
38. tricolon with opening matching 31. Half-tuba on e.
39. connected by g to 38, same as 37, tuba on f# with final cadence B e.
40. connected by g to 39. Tuba on A.
41. Announcement opening, no tuba, B e close.
42. They did not remember e F# A. Tuba on A, close with e f# e. 20 verses in this psalm close with f e.
    
    
43. What they forgot, Announce, e B then immediate recit on g, tuba on A.
44. identical shape to verse 43.
45. Identical to prior verse except has illuy on opening recitative on e.
46. e B A shape, tuba on A.
47. Same shape as the prior verse.
48. Same shape as the prior verse.
49. Announcement with illuy on opening recitative on e. Tuba on A, f# e ending.
50. Tricolon, ole on f#, f# - A, then same second half as prior verse
51. Same shape to the subdominant as 48, tuba on f#.
52. Same shape to the subdominant as 48, brief recit on e then tuba on f#.
53. Announcement opening shape e B g B ^A, then tuba on A and return to the tonic via f#.
    
    
54. connects to the prior section (if indeed these section breaks are right) via initial g, tuba the same as 53.
55. opening e to high C recalls 31. The e-g doubled accent repeats also (verses 31 and 35 - definitely aural reminders)
56. Same shape as 53, the only two verses in this psalm that use it. Tuba on A return to tonic B e -- as noted unique to poetry, 
57. Announcement opening e-B, next phrase is the fourth occurrence of the e-g doubled accent under one syllable. Closing shape the same as 56.
58. e f# A approach, no ornaments, tuba on A direct to tonic.
59. A matter of fact repetition of words fury, but completely different music compared to verse 21. Announcement, no emotional appeal, move via g to tonic then subdominant. A similar internal approach as verse 32.
60. Identical music to verse 54. This may justify the section break aurally.
61. No ornaments. Unique shape in this poem.
62. Identical shape to verses 46-48. Tuba on A. B-e final.
63. Identical to verse 11 -- aural inclusio perhaps.
64. Similar shape to verses 54 and 60. Ends with B e instead of f# e.
    
    
65. Unique shape in approach to the subdominant, e g f# A, tuba on A return to tonic via f#.
66. Unique shape in this psalm, approach used 10 times, return to tonic like 4 and 39.
67. connected to prior verse via g, touch of tonic e after A, tuba on f#, B e close.
68. same shape as verse 67.
69. Announcement opening, then approach to A via g, tuba on A f# e.
70. Same shape as verse 15.
71. Tricolon - unique shape. Same as verse 50 but returning to the tonic via f#.
72. connected to prior verse by g, no ornaments to complete the psalm.

We have 72 verses in sequence with varying shapes and a narration to present. How does the poet chose when to remind or when to awaken the listener, to show continuation or completion of a unit, or to use matter of fact or heightened intensity of speech? How can we describe this and name the pieces and surmise their function? I have only today surmised that the revia-mugrash, which I have called tuba -- is  announcing more than the end of a verse. I have proposed a thesis that it governs the end of a series of verses also. That needs to be confirmed by further analysis.This does not mean that it defines strophes. I'm still looking for confirmation that this is feasible.

Psalm 23 - hunting strophes

I thought I would try a shorter psalm. Then maybe I will try the longest one. 

The tenor of the psalm is f#. (42 other psalms have a tenor of f#). Much of the Psalter lives in a pending state.

1. Every verse except verse 2 returns to the tonic via revia mugrash on the f#. 
2. Every verse except verse 5 ends with the notes B e. So these two points define the endings as f# ger-rev B e.  (except as noted above).
3. Verse 5 sounds the interval e B e for only one note on the opening segment of the verse with the ornament illuy. 
4. Verses 3 and 4 are a pair, as are verses 5 and 6. They are paired by the non-tonic first note of the even numbered verse.
5. Verses 1 and 2 include the inscription. Every Hebrew word in every psalm is sung, even the inscriptions and selah.

I thought that revia mugrash on the f# would be rare. But nearly 1000 verses in the three books announce the return to the tonic with ger-rev on f#. About twice as many have this 'tuba' on the A and 1/10th on the e. Two on the g and two on the C -- must look at these! (Tuba in plainsong.)

The whole is short enough to be a single strophe. But it does divide quite simply. My division in my first book on the psalms was done without the music. Mental effort is not as well informed without the music. I won't be fixing the earlier book but who knows if I may write another one altogether.

e f# ^A f# ger-rev,B e -- occurs 20 times silluq merkha ^atnah merkha munah silluq
23.1 A psalm of David. Yahweh is my shepherd. I will not lack. (1-4-1)
א מזמ֥ור לדו֑ד יהו֥ה ר֝ע֗י ל֣א אחסֽר	5 7	a mzmor ldvid ihvh royi la aksr

e B g ^A g B e -- occurs 67 times silluq munah tifha ^atnah tifha munah silluq
23.2 In verdant loveliness he makes me recline. By waters at rest he refreshes me. (1-4-1)
ב בנא֣ות ד֭שא ירביצ֑ני על־מ֖י מנח֣ות ינהלֽני	8 10	b bnaot dwa irbixni yl-mi mnukot inhlni

e f# ^A e f# ger-rev,B e -- occurs 4 times silluq merkha ^atnah silluq merkha munah silluq
23.3 My being he repairs. He guides me in tracks of righteousness for the sake of his name. (1-4-1)
ג נפש֥י ישוב֑ב יֽנח֥ני במעגלי־צ֝֗דק למ֣ען שמֽו	5 13	g npwi iwobb inkni bmygli-xdq lmyn wmo

C e qad,d paz,zar,C rev,f# ^A f# ger-rev,B e unique to this verse mahpakh silluq galgal mahpakh merkha ^atnah merkha munah silluq
23.4 ♪C Furthermore because I walk in the gorge shadowing death, I will not fear evil, because you are with me. Your sceptre and your staff, they re-create me. (C-4-1)
ד ג֤ם כֽי־אל֨ך בג֪יא צלמ֡ות לא־א֘יר֤א ר֗ע כי־את֥ה עמד֑י שבטך֥ ו֝משענת֗ך ה֣מה ינֽחמֽני	16 15	d gm ci-alç bgia xlmvvt la-aira ry ci-ath yimdi wbTç umwyntç hmh inkmuni

e ill,qad,rev,f# ^A g f# ger-rev,f# e unique to this verse silluq merkha ^atnah tifha merkha silluq
23.5 You arrange facing me a table in front of my adversaries. You fatten with oil my head. My cup is saturated. (1-4-1)
ה תער֬ך לפנ֨י ׀ שלח֗ן נ֥גד צרר֑י דש֖נת בש֥מן ר֝אש֗י כוס֥י רויֽה	12 13	h tyroç lpnii wulkn ngd xorrii diwnt bwmn rawi cosi rvvih

C C B g B ^A f# ger-rev,B e unique to this verse mahpakh munah tifha munah ^atnah merkha munah silluq
23.6 ♪C Surely goodness and kindness pursue me all the days of my life, and I will sit in the house of Yahweh for length of days. (C-4-1)
ו א֤ך ׀ ט֤וב וח֣סד י֭רדפוני כל־ימ֣י חי֑י ושבת֥י בבית־י֝הו֗ה לא֣רך ימֽים	14 12	v aç Tob vksd irdpuni cl-imi kii vwbti bbit-ihvh laorç imim

A sample page of my volumes

 For experts and novices.

The first page of Job 1

The singing of the entire Bible in Hebrew is now possible. It would be a long performance. The music is a continuous song with multiple connection points and macro and micro structure defined by the music and intended for aural memorization.

Job 1:1 clearly mimics Genesis 1:1. 

Genesis 1: Note the opening major triad. This sequence recurs in surprising places throughout the Bible.

Final copy for all 6000 pages will be available this year I hope. All 18 volumes are print ready. Also available in ePub and PDF formats soon.