H2170 H2170
Music, instrumental song; an Aramaic term for the musical performance accompanying Nebuchadnezzar's golden image.
An Aramaic noun in the emphatic state (zemara), appearing exclusively in Daniel 3 within the repeated catalogue of instruments summoning worship of Nebuchadnezzar's golden image. The word is cognate with the well-known Hebrew zamar ('to make music, sing praise') and here denotes music in a general or collective sense — the combined sound of the orchestra. All four occurrences appear in the formulaic list: 'when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre... and every kind of music.' Spanish 'música,' English 'music,' and German 'Musik' all render it straightforwardly, while French 'sacrifice' appears to be a contextual mistranslation.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Music or instrumental song — the collective sound of an orchestra or ensemble. All four uses occur in the formulaic summons to worship Nebuchadnezzar's image (Dan 3:5, 7, 10, 15), where 'every kind of music' caps the list of individual instruments. The Aramaic emphatic form zemara corresponds to Hebrew zimrah and the well-known verb zamar ('to sing praise'). Spanish 'música,' English 'music,' and German 'Musik' all give a direct equivalent, while French 'sacrifice' likely reflects a confusion with a different context. The word's setting — coerced pagan worship — contrasts sharply with its Hebrew cognate's association with praise of the Lord. 4×
AR["الْمُوسِيقَى"]·ben["বাদ্যের"]·DE["Musik"]·EN["music"]·FR["sacrifice"]·heb["זמר"]·HI["वाद्यों"]·ID["musik"]·IT["musica"]·jav["gamelan"]·KO["음악", "음악을"]·PT["música"]·RU["музыки"]·ES["música"]·SW["muziki"]·TR["müziğin"]·urd["موسیقی-کی"]
Related Senses
H0559 1. say, speak, tell (5297×)G3004 1. say, tell, speak (2226×)H1696 1. speak, say, tell (Piel) (1105×)H7121 1. call, summon, name (575×)H6680 1. command, order, charge (483×)H6030b 1. answer, respond, reply (289×)G2980 1. speak, talk (277×)H5046 1. Hifil: to tell, report (237×)G0611 1. answer or respond verbally (232×)H1288 1. Piel: bless, invoke blessing (227×)H7650 1. swear, take an oath (Niphal) (154×)H3789 1. Qal passive participle: written, recorded (112×)H1984b 1. praise, laud (Piel) (111×)H7592 1. ask, inquire, question (96×)H3034 1. give thanks, praise (Hifil) (94×)G1321 1. teach, instruct actively (92×)H3789 2. Qal active: write, compose (89×)G1125 1. to write, compose (a letter or document) (84×)H5046 2. Hifil: to declare, proclaim (79×)H7892a 1. song, musical composition (78×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [זְמָר] n.[m.] music (cf. BH I. [זָמַר]);—emph. זְמָרָא Dn 3:5, 7, 10, 15.