H2172 H2172
Song, melody, or music offered in praise; instrumental or vocal celebration of God's greatness.
A term for song or melody, almost always directed toward the praise of God. In the triumphant Song of the Sea (Exod 15:2), it appears in the famous declaration 'The LORD is my strength and my song'—a line echoed verbatim in Isaiah 12:2 and Psalm 118:14, underscoring its liturgical staying power. The word covers both instrumental music (Amos 5:23, paired with the lyre) and vocal celebration (Isa 51:3). Multilingual renderings consistently point to musical praise: English 'melody,' Spanish 'cantico,' French 'cantique,' and German 'ein Lied.'
Senses
1. sense 1 — Song, melody, or music offered in worship and praise. The term embraces both instrumental performance—as in Amos 5:23, where it is paired with the sound of harps—and vocal or general musical celebration, as in Psalm 81:2 ('Raise a song and sound the timbrel'). The cross-lingual evidence converges on musical praise: Spanish 'cantico,' French 'cantique,' German 'ein Lied,' all pointing to joyful liturgical music. Its repeated use in the phrase 'my strength and my song' (Exod 15:2; Isa 12:2; Ps 118:14) ties it firmly to Yahweh-directed worship. 4×
AR["تَرْنِيمٍ", "تَرْنِيمَةً", "وَ-عَزْفَ"]·ben["ও-সুর", "গানের", "সঙ্গীত", "স্তুতির"]·DE["[וזמרת]", "[זמרה]", "ein-Lied", "melody"]·EN["a-song", "and-music-of", "melody", "song"]·FR["[זמרה]", "cantique", "et-chant"]·heb["ו-זמרת", "זמרה"]·HI["और-बजाना", "गीत-का", "स्तुति-की", "स्तुति-गान"]·ID["dan-dentingan", "nyanyian"]·IT["[וזמרת]", "[זמרה]", "canto"]·jav["kidung", "lan-swanten"]·KO["그리고-음악을", "노래-의", "노래를", "노래의"]·PT["cântico", "e-melodia-de"]·RU["и-музыку", "пения", "песню"]·ES["cántico", "y-música-de"]·SW["na-muziki-wa", "wimbo"]·TR["ezgi", "ilahinin", "ve-müziğini"]·urd["اور-راگ", "سرود-کی", "گیت", "گیت-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
† I. זִמְרָה n.f. melody, song, in praise of י׳—abs. ז׳ ψ 81:3 + 2 times; זִמְרָת Ex 15:2 ψ 118:14 Is 12:2, read זִמְרָתִ(י) (v. Di Ex SS); cstr. זִמְרַת Am 5:23, on Gn 43:11 v. infr.;— 1. of instrumental music וְזִמְרַת נְבָלֶיךָ Am 5:23 (‖ המון שִׁריך). 2. of singing תּוֹדָה וקול ז׳ Is 51:3; as subject of song עֻזִּי וְזִמְרָתִי יָהּ (so read) Ex 15:2 Is 12:2 ψ 118:14. 3. not clearly determined…