Amos 6:5

That chant to the sound of the viol,.... Or psaltery; an instrument of twelve cords, and that gave twelve sounds, as Josephus (x) says, being stricken with the fingers; and to these sounds these men

That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; That chant - [ paaraT (H6527)], literally, mark distinct sounds and tones.

Woe to them that, in a time of deepest morning, do entertain themselves with songs, and with greatest skill sing to their musical instruments, as if they had no greater thing to mind! Viol; or lute, or gittern, one kind put for every one used in their feastings at this time of Amos. Invent to themselves instruments of music; not content with known, old-fashioned music, they find out new instruments, new songs and tunes. Like David; in imitation of David, as they profanely pretend, or else emulating his skill, and preferring their own feast songs and music before his temple music and songs. We may imagine what songs such ungodly, cruel, voluptuous men would sing, and what tunes they would set too, on such occasions, viz. loose, profane, and impure enough.

Amos 6:5 That chant to the sound of the viol, [and] invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; Ver. 5. That chant (or quaver) to the sound of the viol] That sing division with much variation of their voices, and many distinctions of diverse tones, modulations fractions. Particularizant, they sing their parts in concert. The Hebrew root word signifieth the single grains of grapes that remain after the vintage; or the particular berries, Leviticus 19:10. Our word parting, answereth to the Hebrew peret. It is their wanton and unseasonable music (emasculating, dissolving, and drawing out their spirits) that they are here threatened for. This abuse of music (given to men for better purposes) is elsewhere condemned, Amos 5:23 Isaiah 5:12 Exodus 32:18 Ecclesiastes 2:8. God made not man more avium minurire, to be chirping of birds to sport on earth as leviathan doth in the sea; to spend his whole time (as the people of Tombutum, in Africa, are said to do) in singing and dancing; and, when he is cast out of one paradise, to make himself another. It is charged as a foul fault upon those sensualists in St James, that they had "lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton," James 5:5. And invent to themselves instruments of music, like David] Whose example likely they pleaded to patronize their fiddlings and chanting of menial songs. But his music and theirs agreed like harp and harrow, as the proverb is. Two may do the same thing and yet it not be the same; because not from the same principles and for the same purposes: as we see in Cain and Abel, the Pharisee and the publican, David and these singsters, who did nothing less than help forward their devotion by music, as did David; and as did our late holy Esty, who, when he sat and heard a sweet concert of music, seemed upon this occasion carried up for the time beforehand to the place of his rest, saying very passionately, What music may we think there is in heaven? (Dr Hall’ s Art of Div. Medit.)

(5) Chant.—The original Hebrew only occurs in this passage, and is best rendered prattle, or jabber. The comparison with David is ironical He made these instruments to please the Lord, these princes to please themselves.

Verse 5. And invent to themselves instruments of music, like David] 2 Chronicles 23:5; and see especially Clarke's note on "2 Chronicles 29:25". I believe that David was not authorized by the Lord to introduce that multitude of musical instruments into the Divine worship of which we read, and I am satisfied that his conduct in this respect is most solemnly reprehended by this prophet; and I farther believe that the use of such instruments of music, in the Christian Church, is without the sanction and against the will of God; that they are subversive of the spirit of true devotion, and that they are sinful. If there was a wo to them who invented instruments of music, as did David under the law, is there no wo, no curse to them who invent them, and introduce them into the worship of God in the Christian Church? I am an old man, and an old minister; and I here declare that I never knew them productive of any good in the worship of God; and have had reason to believe that they were productive of much evil. Music, as a science, I esteem and admire: but instruments of music in the house of God I abominate and abhor. This is the abuse of music; and here I register my protest against all such corruptions in the worship of the Author of Christianity. The late venerable and most eminent divine, the Rev. John Wesley, who was a lover of music, and an elegant poet, when asked his opinion of instruments of music being introduced into the chapels of the Methodists said, in his terse and powerful manner, "I have no objection to instruments of music in our chapels, provided they are neither HEARD nor SEEN." I say the same, though I think the expense of purchase had better be spared. The word הפרטים happoretim, which we render chant, and the margin quaver, signifies to dance, to skip, &c. In the sight of such a text, fiddlers, drummers, waltzers, &c., may well tremble, who perform to excite detestable passions.

5. chant] improvise idly. The word (pβraṭ ?) occurs only here; and its meaning is uncertain: but (if the text be correct) this on the whole is the most probable rendering: see the Additional Note, p. 236. In illustration of the custom of having music at banquets, see Isaiah 5:12; Isaiah 24:9. the viol] the harp (comp. Amos 5:23, and see p. 234 ff.). devise for themselves instruments of musick, like David] or, perhaps, like David’s. The skill of David as a player on the kinnτr (p. 234) is of course, well known (1 Samuel 16:18; 1 Samuel 16:23, &c.): this passage speaks of him as famed further either for the musical instruments which he invented, or for those which he owned, and which will naturally have been performed upon either by himself or by others at his direction. The comparison rather suggests that the music for which David at this time was chiefly remembered was of a secular kind (cf., of Solomon, 1 Kings 10:12 where ‘singers’ is not the term used technically in later writings of the Temple-singers), but it is obviously not inconsistent with the tradition embodied in the Chronicles that he cultivated sacred music as well. Comp. W. R. Smith, O.T.J.C[176][177] p. 223 f. [176] .T.J.C. … W. Robertson Smith, The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, ed. 2, 1892. [177] … W. Robertson Smith, The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, ed. 2, 1892.Additional Note on Chap. Amos 6:5 (pβraṭ ?)The root in Arabic which corresponds to the Hebrew pβraṭ ? means properly to precede, anticipate, hence faraṭ ?a minhu kalβm, “speech proceeded from him prematurely, without reflexion,” and faraṭ ?a ‘alaihi (Qor. 20:47), “he hasted (acted hastily and unjustly) against him”; conj. ii. to send before, hence to send before so as to leave, to relinquish, to fail, be remiss, neglectful in anything (Qor. 6:31, 12:80, 39:57); conj. iii. takallama firβṭ ?an, he spoke hastily, without premeditation; conj. iv. to send before (Qor. xvi. 64 “They shall be sent first into the fire of hell”), to hasten, and (very frequently) to exceed due bounds, act extravagantly in a thing, ’afraṭ ?a fi ’lqauli, to be immoderate in talk. It is thus just possible that, as Abul-walid supposed, it might be used of those who extemporized poetry over-rapidly, without premeditation, in a hurried flow of unmeaning, unconsidered words: hence R.V. sing idle songs. The mediaeval Jewish authorities, Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and David Kimchi, connecting the word with pereṭ ? (Leviticus 19:10), the fallen or separated berries in a vineyard, supposed it to denote the way in which a singer divides his words into parts (ξְ ?ηַ ?ϊֵּ ?κְ ΰֶ ?ϊΞδַ ?γּ ?αּ ?εּ ?ψαִּ ?τְ ?ψεּ ?ρְ ?ψεּ ?ν) to suit the notes of the accompaniment; hence, no doubt, A. V. chant (marg. quaver). (In Dr Pusey’s note, “measured out defilements” should be “divided the melody”: a word was inaccurately transcribed in the Thesaurus of Gesenius; see Roediger’s note in the Appendix, p. 107, or Neubauer’s ed. of Abul-walid’s Lexicon, col.

That chant to the voice of the lyre - Accompanying “the voice of the lyre” with the human voice; giving vocal expression and utterance to what the instrumental music spoke without words.

Condemnation of the nobles, Amos 6:1-7.1. Woe — See on Amos 5:18. That are at ease — Margin, “secure.” In a bad sense, those who are recklessly at ease, who are insensible to the dangers lurking on every side (Isaiah 32:9).