Jeremiah 23

Following up on last week's first verse of the week for Bob's Bible, I draw attention to the difficulty of capturing Hebrew repeated sounds in a passage. Three times PQD occurs as a Hebrew stem here. It should not always be rendered as visit. (KJV renders it frequently as punish, a word I never use.) Here it can also have the sense of absent. If you use Bob's Bible with your favorite translation, you will be closer to the decisions that are made for you in translation and you will understand word play better.

PQD recurs in this chapter 5 times, three times in the lectionary portion for this coming Sunday.

Jeremiah 23		Fn		Min	Max	Syll
ה֣וֹי רֹעִ֗ים מְאַבְּדִ֧ים וּמְפִצִ֛ים אֶת־צֹ֥אן מַרְעִיתִ֖י נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה	1	B	Alas pastors who eliminate or disperse the sheep of my pasture, an oracle of Yahweh.	3c	4B	19
לָ֠כֵן כֹּֽה־אָמַ֨ר יְהוָ֜ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל עַֽל־הָרֹעִים֮ הָרֹעִ֣ים אֶת־עַמִּי֒ אַתֶּ֞ם הֲפִצֹתֶ֤ם אֶת־צֹאנִי֙ וַתַּדִּח֔וּם וְלֹ֥א פְקַדְתֶּ֖ם אֹתָ֑ם הִנְנִ֨י פֹקֵ֧ד עֲלֵיכֶ֛ם אֶת־רֹ֥עַ מַעַלְלֵיכֶ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה	2	~	Therefore thus says Yahweh the God of Israel concerning the pastors who pasture my people, You have dispersed my flock and banished them, and have not visited them. Note me well, I will visit upon you the evil of your practices, an oracle of Yahweh.	3c	4C	43 18
וַאֲנִ֗י אֲקַבֵּץ֙ אֶת־שְׁאֵרִ֣ית צֹאנִ֔י מִכֹּל֙ הָאֲרָצ֔וֹת אֲשֶׁר־הִדַּ֥חְתִּי אֹתָ֖ם שָׁ֑ם וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֥י אֶתְהֶ֛ן עַל־נְוֵהֶ֖ן וּפָר֥וּ וְרָבֽוּ	3		And I myself will collect the residue of my flock from all the lands where I banished them, and I will return them to their homes, and they will be fruitful and multiply.	3d	4B	26 17
וַהֲקִמֹתִ֧י עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם רֹעִ֖ים וְרָע֑וּם וְלֹא־יִֽירְא֨וּ ע֧וֹד וְלֹא־יֵחַ֛תּוּ וְלֹ֥א יִפָּקֵ֖דוּ נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה	4		And I will raise up pastors over them, and they will pasture them, and they will not fear any more nor be dismayed, and they will not be visited, an oracle of Yahweh.	3c	4A	13 19
הִנֵּ֨ה יָמִ֤ים בָּאִים֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה וַהֲקִמֹתִ֥י לְדָוִ֖ד צֶ֣מַח צַדִּ֑יק וּמָ֤לַךְ מֶ֙לֶךְ֙ וְהִשְׂכִּ֔יל וְעָשָׂ֛ה מִשְׁפָּ֥ט וּצְדָקָ֖ה בָּאָֽרֶץ	5		Behold days are coming, an oracle of Yahweh, when I will raise for David a sprout, a righteous one, and a king will reign and give insight, and he will do judgment and righteousness in the land.	3d	4C	22 19
בְּיָמָיו֙ תִּוָּשַׁ֣ע יְהוּדָ֔ה וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל יִשְׁכֹּ֣ן לָבֶ֑טַח וְזֶה־שְּׁמ֥וֹ אֲ‍ֽשֶׁר־יִקְרְא֖וֹ יְהוָ֥ה ׀ צִדְקֵֽנוּ	6		In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell in trust, and this is his name that he will be called, Yahweh is our righteousness.	3e	4B	18 14

My verse of the week is verse 2, and its music is like this. Note well where the ornaments are and how they paint the lines. The opening 'therefore', the accusing 'You', the emphasized 'me'.

Jeremiah 23:2 for the music

Verse of the week from Bob's Bible

Isaiah 12:4 

And you will say in that day, Give thanks to Yahweh. Call in his name. Make known among the peoples his prodigality. // Remember that set on high is his name.

A very unusual verse in the chapter and for the Revised Common Lectionary in that this chapter is used as the 'Psalm'. There is more on this verse in its musical context here. Of course if you want to know about 'that day', you can reference the prior chapter where the phrase 'And it will happen in that day' occurs twice. The phrase that day occurs 45 times in Isaiah (about a third of all instances in the Hebrew Bible).

Isaiah 12 as a Psalm in the lectionary

I think it is important not to forget what we perceive as being caught up short and project as anger or wrath in Someone Else. Our consciences may be a reliable guide to changing our minds - whether we use phrases like the wrath or anger of G-d or not.

The lectionary this week includes the 12th chapter of Isaiah beginning at verse 2! for the Psalm. Good grief - how can you leave out the structural wholeness? (Note the repetition of And you will say in that day).

Isaiah 12		Fn		Min	Max	Syll
וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא אוֹדְךָ֣ יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֥י אָנַ֖פְתָּ בִּ֑י יָשֹׁ֥ב אַפְּךָ֖ וּֽתְנַחֲמֵֽנִי	1		And you will say in that day, I will give you thanks, Yahweh, that you were angry against me. Your anger turns and you comfort me.	3e	4B	17 9
הִנֵּ֨ה אֵ֧ל יְשׁוּעָתִ֛י אֶבְטַ֖ח וְלֹ֣א אֶפְחָ֑ד כִּֽי־עָזִּ֤י וְזִמְרָת֙ יָ֣הּ יְהוָ֔ה וַֽיְהִי־לִ֖י לִֽישׁוּעָֽה	2		Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and I will not dread, for my strength and psalm is Yah, Yahweh, and he has become my salvation.	3c	4C	13 14
וּשְׁאַבְתֶּם־מַ֖יִם בְּשָׂשׂ֑וֹן מִמַּעַיְנֵ֖י הַיְשׁוּעָֽה	3		And you will draw water with joy, from the springs of salvation.	3e	4A	7 7
וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֞ם בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא הוֹד֤וּ לַֽיהוָה֙ קִרְא֣וּ בִשְׁמ֔וֹ הוֹדִ֥יעוּ בָֽעַמִּ֖ים עֲלִֽילֹתָ֑יו הַזְכִּ֕ירוּ כִּ֥י נִשְׂגָּ֖ב שְׁמֽוֹ	4		And you will say in that day, Give thanks to Yahweh. Call in his name. Make known among the peoples his prodigality. Remember that set on high is his name.	3e	4C	26 8
זַמְּר֣וּ יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֥י גֵא֖וּת עָשָׂ֑ה מוּדַ֥עַת זֹ֖את בְּכָל־הָאָֽרֶץ	5		Sing a psalm to Yahweh, for proud things he has done. This is known in all the earth.	3e	4B	9 9
צַהֲלִ֥י וָרֹ֖נִּי יוֹשֶׁ֣בֶת צִיּ֑וֹן כִּֽי־גָד֥וֹל בְּקִרְבֵּ֖ךְ קְד֥וֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל	6		Be bright and shout for joy, inhabitant of Zion, for great and near you is the Holy One of Israel.	3e	4B	11 10

Word / Gloss	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Vs	Stem
ואמרת and you will say	░								1	אמר
ביום in day		░							1	יום
ההוא that			░						1	הוא
אודך I will give you thanks				░					1	ידה
ישׁועתי is my salvation					░				2	ישׁע
וזמרת and psalm is						░			2	זמר
לישׁועה salvation					░				2	ישׁע
הישׁועה salvation					░				3	ישׁע
ואמרתם and you will say	░								4	אמר
ביום in day		░							4	יום
ההוא that			░						4	הוא
הודו give thanks				░					4	ידה
בשׁמו in his name							░		4	שׁם
הודיעו make known								░	4	ידע
שׁמו his name							░		4	שׁם
זמרו sing a psalm to						░			5	זמר
מודעת is known								░	5	ידע

And here is the raw data of the music and the arrangement I have done for congregational singing. Hoping for a hearing this Sunday at St John the Divine Anglican Church. This allows singing from verse 2 if you must. But the whole frame of the Psalms and of the Epistle to the Hebrews is that we have a father who deals with and gives correctional power to the wayward - i.e., us. We may perceive this as wrath or randomness or inexplicable consequences. The structure of the music is historically accurate from a theological point of view, perhaps even useful for correction itself. Here is a link to a performance at a later date from this post.

For a different interpretation in a major mode with several spurious silluqim and the occasional a#, beautiful singing from Esther Lamandier, listen here.

Here's a bit for the bulletin if you want to use it:

It is unusual to have a section of the prophets as the Psalm in the lectionary. The music for Isaiah 12 is extracted from directly the text of the Hebrew Bible using the accents as interpreted by the French composer Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura in the last century. These signs, a record of a musical tradition lost for millennia turn the whole of the Old Testament into a song. The arrangement today is by Bob MacDonald, translator and long-time student of the textual tradition and its music.

A few performance notes:

• The pulse can be flexible. Haïk-Vantoura considered the 'Psalms' to be syllabic, like very 'even' plainsong. She considered the prose books to be speech rhythm. Her mapping of the melodies is a brilliant use of Occam's Razor - getting as much information from the signs as possible. So the melodic framework is key. The plainsong idiom works for all books.
• The Psalms are poetry. The Prophets are generally not considered poetry by her because the system of signs is different from the three books (Psalms, Proverbs, and Job) compared to the 21 prose books - the rest of the Bible. So take longer breaks between verses or voices, if needed.
• Verse 4 is overloaded with content. I think it comes across as the centre of the piece. It has four responses to the opening statement. It can be spacious.
• Having changed the language to English, the pulse of the original must be adjusted. I have tried to keep the melody and ornaments consistent between English and Hebrew - but it is a whole host of decisions.
• Choir as women and men as congregation is fine as a strategy. The melodic line is from the hand signals in the text itself. The accompaniment can be ad lib with the melody doubled. I am still considering the structural aspects of the constraints of the harmonic framework that is implied by the decoding of the hand-signals in the text. These are clearly not tonic-dominant ternary or sonata forms. The sense of home and mid verse distance, or even of multiple-verses as migrating and then returning to home is something that needs a creative approach. 
• In the prose books (of which Isaiah is one), there is a mid-verse 'pause' on the subdominant and a return to the tonic (E) for each verse. Sometimes I will allow myself to have a full close on the subdominant (A) at the end of the verse or even a move to the submediant (C).
• re instrument - I think Organ is fine. I have written for a plucked instrument only because I cannot specify the stops in my music program (yet?).

Guest post at the Energion blog

Henry at Energion has a summary of my path toward the music embedded in the text of the Hebrew Bible. My friends are still shocked by this revelation. Who could believe that our abstract approach to the Bible - getting the words 'right' could give way to a recording of the voice of God from ancient times - getting the tone of voice in tune with the character that defines graciousness.

Finding the roots of the ordinary of the mass

In 2001 I attended a small conference at Cambridge, the roots of Christian sacrifice. led by the Milgroms. It was my introduction to conferences as a way of learning.

Here I heard and read with another Canadian (unknown to me) my first Targum taught by Jo Milgrom, and where I was first introduced by her husband Jacob to his theories of purity based on his work on Leviticus. Stefan Rief also presented as did George Bebawi and Bishop Kallistos. There too Bishop Basil introduced me to Réné Girard. Not a bad beginning to conferences.

This past few weeks I have been thinking again of the origins of the smaller sections of the Eucharist. When we sing Kyrie Eleison or the Agnus Dei, where are the sources for these hymns. The Sanctus and Benedictus are more obvious (Isaiah 6 and Psalms 118) but the others are less obvious.

My first question (Does the phrase kyrie eleison occur in the Septuagint?) which I put on a Facebook group generated a focused dialogue (detail here). The result for me was to recognize that the Kyrie seems to arise from the character of God as expressed in Exodus 34:6,

... Yahweh, Yahweh, a God compassionate and gracious (ἐλεέω),slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth, Preserving mercy for thousands, bearing iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and as for holding innocent, he will not hold innocent, visiting the iniquity of forebears on children and on the children’s children over three and over four generations

The discussion confirmed my texts for the Kyrie, Psalms 6:3 and 103:8 which I chose in 2011 before I had fully developed the transcription of the music. The first is traditional and applies to the individual or a representative of the corporate body. The second reminds us that in the bootstrap of all things, character rather than raw power is the key to love. Notice that the two verses share a melodic ending.

The raw data is as follows:

Psalms 6:3

Psalms 103:8

I begin the Sanctus with a distant Hosanna. In Isaiah's vision, I imagined the Seraphim singing more than Holy. To begin with a background Hosanna celebrates the prayer - save now, that precedes the Benedictus in Psalms 118. This invites an invocation of the graciousness of the character of God in the vision of holiness.

Here the texts and the melody of the trope are clearly defined in the Tanakh.

Isaiah 6:3

Psalms 118:25-26

For the Agnus Dei, I returned to the themes of the Kyrie, noting by the way that the only verse to include both the words lamb and God is Genesis 22:8, the verse I read with Jo Milgrom in that conference 18 years ago. I wondered how to include that as background, but for now I left it out. The music source for the Agnus also includes Isaiah 53:7 and 12 where the bearing of sin is indicated. One might notice that take away is included in the idea of bearing or lifting up (נשא) sin. I have allowed a slight overlap with the Hebrew לקח (but not in this verse).

Isaiah 53:7, 12, in part

Here is the product after a week of construction.

Carnival for October 2019

Here's the Biblical Studies carnival for last month.

I still keep my hand in but my head is in the music - a wholly different way of hearing the ancient words. Not an abstraction, but learning to hear tone of voice, a slow process. It is an area I can still learn in. Now after 6 months of trying to compose with these tropes, I am listening to all music with a different ear. My hearing is becoming easier to see (ha!). Experiments are here.