Luke 7:32

7:32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another, ¹ 

‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; ² 

we wailed in mourning, ³  yet you did not weep.’

Exodus 15:20

15:20 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand-drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand-drums and with dances. ⁴ 

Exodus 15:2

15:2 The Lord ⁵  is my strength and my song, ⁶ 

and he has become my salvation.

This is my God, and I will praise him, ⁷ 

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Exodus 6:14

The Ancestry of the Deliverer

6:14 ⁸ These are the heads of their fathers’ households: ⁹ 

The sons ¹⁰  of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans ¹¹  of Reuben.

Psalms 30:11

30:11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;

you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy. ¹² 

Psalms 126:1

Psalm 126 ¹³ 

A song of ascents. ¹⁴ 

126:1 When the Lord restored the well-being of Zion, ¹⁵ 

we thought we were dreaming. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 149:3

149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing!

Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp!

Psalms 150:4

150:4 Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing!

Praise him with stringed instruments and the flute!

Ecclesiastes 3:4

3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

Jeremiah 31:4

31:4 I will rebuild you, my dear children Israel, ¹⁷ 

so that you will once again be built up.

Once again you will take up the tambourine

and join in the happy throng of dancers. ¹⁸ 

[7:32]  ¹ tn Grk “They are like children sitting…and calling out…who say.”

[7:32]  ² sn ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance…’ The children of this generation were making the complaint (see vv. 33-34) that others were not playing the game according to the way they played the music. John and Jesus did not follow “their tune.” Jesus’ complaint was that this generation wanted things their way, not God’s.

[7:32]  ³ tn The verb ἐθρηνήσαμεν (eqrhnhsamen) refers to the loud wailing and lamenting used to mourn the dead in public in 1st century Jewish culture.

[15:20]  ⁴ sn See J. N. Easton, “Dancing in the Old Testament,” ExpTim 86 (1975): 136-40.

[15:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “Yah.” Moses’ poem here uses a short form of the name Yahweh, traditionally rendered in English by “the LORD.”

[15:2]  ⁶ tn The word וְזִמְרָת (vÿzimrat) is problematic. It probably had a suffix yod (י) that was accidentally dropped because of the yod (י) on the divine name following. Most scholars posit another meaning for the word. A meaning of “power” fits the line fairly well, forming a hendiadys with strength – “strength and power” becoming “strong power.” Similar lines are in Isa 12:2 and Ps 118:14. Others suggest “protection” or “glory.” However, there is nothing substantially wrong with “my song” in the line – only that it would be a nicer match if it had something to do with strength.

[15:2]  ⁷ tn The word נָוָה (navah) occurs only here. It may mean “beautify, adorn” with praises (see BDB 627 s.v.). See also M. Dahood, “Exodus 15:2: ‘anwehu and Ugaritic snwt,” Bib 59 (1979): 260-61; and M. Klein, “The Targumic Tosefta to Exodus 15:2,” JJS 26 (1975): 61-67; and S. B. Parker, “Exodus 15:2 Again,” VT 21 (1971): 373-79.

[6:14]  ⁸ sn This list of names shows that Moses and Aaron are in the line of Levi that came to the priesthood. It helps to identify them and authenticate them as spokesmen for God within the larger history of Israel. As N. M. Sarna observes, “Because a genealogy inherently symbolizes vigor and continuity, its presence here also injects a reassuring note into the otherwise despondent mood” (Exodus [JPSTC], 33).

[6:14]  ⁹ tn The expression is literally “the house of their fathers.” This expression means that the household or family descended from a single ancestor. It usually indicates a subdivision of a tribe, that is, a clan, or the subdivision of a clan, that is, a family. Here it refers to a clan (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 46).

[6:14]  ¹⁰ tn Or “descendants.”

[6:14]  ¹¹ tn Or “families,” and so throughout the genealogy.

[30:11]  ¹² sn Covered me with joy. “Joy” probably stands metonymically for festive attire here.

[126:1]  ¹³ sn Psalm 126. Recalling the joy of past deliverance, God’s covenant community asks for a fresh display of God’s power and confidently anticipate their sorrow being transformed into joy.

[126:1]  ¹⁴ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[126:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “turns with a turning [toward] his people.” The Hebrew noun שִׁיבַת (shivat) occurs only here in the OT. For this reason many prefer to emend the form to the more common שְׁבִית (shevit) or שְׁבוּת (shÿvut), both of which are used as a cognate accusative of שׁוּב (shuv; see Ps 14:7). However an Aramaic cognate of שְׁבִית appears in an eighth century b.c. Old Aramaic inscription with the verb שׁוּב. This cognate noun appears to mean “return” (see J. Fitzmyer, The Aramaic Treaties of Sefire [BibOr], 119-20) or “restoration” (see DNWSI 2:1125). Therefore it appears that שְׁבִית should be retained and understood as a cognate accusative of שׁוּב. In addition to Fitzmyer (119-20) see L. C. Allen, who offers the literal translation, “turn with a turning toward” (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 170). Allen takes שְׁבִית as construct and understands “Zion” as an objective genitive.

[126:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “we were like dreamers.” This could mean the speakers were so overcome with ecstatic joy (see v. 3b) that they were like those who fantasize about pleasurable experiences in their sleep (see Isa 29:7-8). Since dreams are more commonly associated in the OT with prophetic visions, the community may be comparing their experience of God’s renewed favor to a prophet’s receiving divine visions. Just as a prophetic dream sweeps the individual into a different dimension and sometimes brings one face-to-face with God himself (see Gen 28:11-15; 1 Kgs 3:5-15), so the community was aware of God’s presence in a special way in the day of Zion’s restoration. Though the MT as it stands makes good sense, some choose to understand a homonymic root here meaning “to be healthy; to be strong” (see BDB 321 s.v. I חָלַם) and translate, “we were like those restored to health.” This reading appears to have the support of several ancient translations as well as 11QPs^a. See L. C. Allen (Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 170-71) for a discussion of the viewpoints.

[31:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Virgin Israel.”

[31:4]  ¹⁸ sn Contrast Jer 7:34 and 25:10.