What Does 1 Samuel 16:14-23 teach about music?
1 Samuel 16:23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
The passage that ends with this statement provides us with explicit revelation about “an evil spirit from God” in connection with the playing of music. What does this passage teach about music?
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[RajeshG]Sure, it would be interesting to look at all those verses, but we don’t need to examine them all to know that shouting is loud.I looked briefly at the meaning of Hebrew word in BibleWorks 10 before I responded to your initial comment with that question in it and saw similar info. Looking at all 33 verses in which the word occurs is an important part of ensuring correct understanding about what exactly is being commanded. Comparing this verse with other parallel passages that do not use this word but involve the same concept is also important.
Furthermore, because there are many passages involving shouting in Scripture, an accurate handling of this aspect of Psalm 33:3 would also need to take into account what is revealed in those passages.
[Kevin Miller]True, but just how helpful is it to say that we know that shouting is loud? Saying that does not really tell us very much about the nature of what is being commanded.Sure, it would be interesting to look at all those verses, but we don’t need to examine them all to know that shouting is loud.
Is the command that the instrumentalists should play loudly, the instrumentalists themselves should shout loudly while they play, people other than the instrumentalists should shout loudly, or some combination of these or all of them together?
Who decides how loud is loud enough? What kind of sound should the shouting have? What does proper shouting sound like?
etc.
[RajeshG]If the passage doesn’t get specific about those sorts of questions, then why would they even have to be asked? Why can’t we just say that God wants to be praised with shouting without having to specify “How loud?” You wrote “Furthermore, because there are many passages involving shouting in Scripture, an accurate handling of this aspect of Psalm 33:3 would also need to take into account what is revealed in those passages.” I really don’t think we can take the volume of shouting that may be specified in other passages and use that volume to say Psalm 33:3 requires a certain volume. An “accurate handling” of Psalm 33:3 would have us saying that volume levels are not specified in this verse. Going to other verses that have the word “shout” in them, especially ones that don’t even use the same Hebrew word for “shout,” would not be much help in specifying things that are left open-ended in a particular verse.True, but just how helpful is it to say that we know that shouting is loud? Saying that does not really tell us very much about the nature of what is being commanded.
Is the command that the instrumentalists should play loudly, the instrumentalists themselves should shout loudly while they play, people other than the instrumentalists should shout loudly, or some combination of these or all of them together?
Who decides how loud is loud enough? What kind of sound should the shouting have? What does proper shouting sound like?
etc.
I would say the same thing about the word “skillful” in 1 Kings 16. Finding a bunch of other Hebrew words that are also translated into English as “skillful” does not really tell us much about the skillfulness of David in 1 Samuel. Nor is David’s skillfulness necessarily the same type of skill that is “not optional” in Psalm 33:3.
[Kevin Miller]I meant 1 Samuel in my first sentence here. I figure that was obvious from the rest of the paragraph, but I want to make sure it was corrected.I would say the same thing about the word “skillful” in 1 Kings 16. Finding a bunch of other Hebrew words that are also translated into English as “skillful” does not really tell us much about the skillfulness of David in 1 Samuel. Nor is David’s skillfulness necessarily the same type of skill that is “not optional” in Psalm 33:3.
[Kevin Miller]I knew what you meant.I meant 1 Samuel in my first sentence here. I figure that was obvious from the rest of the paragraph, but I want to make sure it was corrected.
If you look carefully at 1 Samuel 16 compared with Psalm 33:3, there is strong evidence that both have the same skillfulness in view.
Having heard his servant’s recommendation (1 Sam. 16:16), Saul responds by saying that they should provide for him a man who can “play well.” Saul uses the participle of yatab with the infinitive construct of nagan.
1 Samuel 16:17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
WTT 1 Samuel 16:17 וַיֹּ֥אמֶר שָׁא֖וּל אֶל־עֲבָדָ֑יו רְאוּ־נָ֣א לִ֗י אִ֚ישׁ מֵיטִ֣יב לְנַגֵּ֔ן וַהֲבִיאוֹתֶ֖ם אֵלָֽי׃
In response to the royal command by Saul to provide him with a man who can “play well,” one of the servants testifies of his having seen that David was “cunning in playing.” He uses the participle of yada’ with the infinitive construct of nagan. Saying this with the use of these verbs, the servant believed that David’s being “cunning in playing” would fulfill the demand made by Saul that they provide him with a man who can “play well.”
1 Samuel 16:18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
WTT 1 Samuel 16:18 וַיַּעַן֩ אֶחָ֙ד מֵהַנְּעָרִ֜ים וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנֵּ֙ה רָאִ֜יתִי בֵּ֣ן לְיִשַׁי֘ בֵּ֣ית הַלַּחְמִי֒ יֹדֵ֣עַ נַ֠גֵּן וְגִבּ֙וֹר חַ֜יִל וְאִ֧ישׁ מִלְחָמָ֛ה וּנְב֥וֹן דָּבָ֖ר וְאִ֣ישׁ תֹּ֑אַר וַיהוָ֖ה עִמּֽוֹ׃
The combined force of 1 Samuel 16:17-18 is that the participles of both yada’ and yatab are used with the same form of nagan to speak of the skillfulness of David that is in view in 1 Samuel 16.
In Psalm 33:3, the psalmist uses the imperative of yatab with the infinitive construct of nagan.
Psalm 33:3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
WTT Psalm 33:3 שִֽׁירוּ־ל֭וֹ שִׁ֣יר חָדָ֑שׁ הֵיטִ֥יבוּ נַ֜גֵּ֗ן בִּתְרוּעָֽה׃
Psalm 33:3 thus has the same verb combination (yatab w. nagan) that Saul used in 1 Samuel 16:17, which supports holding that the same skillfulness is in view in both passages.
With wisdom from God that excelled the wisdom of every other human being that had lived before him and every human being that was alive in his day, Solomon originated 1005 songs:
1 Kings 4:29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 30 And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. 32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. 33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34 And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
Concerning music, this passage stresses that Solomon’s musical skillfulness in producing songs was from wisdom that God gave him. There were no other songwriters in any other nation whose skillfulness in originating songs was greater than Solomon’s.
[RajeshG]This passages ties Solomon’s song writing directly to the wisdom that he had been supernaturally given. Given this example, would it be fair to say that skillfulness today is something supernaturally given by God rather than being something we can just conjure up ourselves?With wisdom from God that excelled the wisdom of every other human being that had lived before him and every human being that was alive in his day, Solomon originated 1005 songs:
1 Kings 4:29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 30 And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. 32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. 33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34 And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
Concerning music, this passage stresses that Solomon’s musical skillfulness in producing songs was from wisdom that God gave him. There were no other songwriters in any other nation whose skillfulness in originating songs was greater than Solomon’s.
[Kevin Miller]I do not believe that musical skillfulness today is given supernaturally by God to anyone in the same manner that it was given to David and Solomon.This passages ties Solomon’s song writing directly to the wisdom that he had been supernaturally given. Given this example, would it be fair to say that skillfulness today is something supernaturally given by God rather than being something we can just conjure up ourselves?
More broadly, I am continuing to study what Scripture reveals about skillfulness in general and especially about musical skillfulness, but I do not believe that I am anywhere near having fullness of understanding of all that has been revealed.
[RajeshG]Since musical skillfulness is not given to us in the same manner as David and Solomon, then just how helpful is it to say that Solomon was a great song writer? Saying that does not really tell us very much about the nature of musical skillfulness for us today.I do not believe that musical skillfulness today is given supernaturally by God to anyone in the same manner that it was given to David and Solomon.
More broadly, I am continuing to study what Scripture reveals about skillfulness in general and especially about musical skillfulness, but I do not believe that I am anywhere near having fullness of understanding of all that has been revealed.
Since the Holy Spirit gives believers spiritual gifts to use in the church, would it be fair to say that submitting to the Spirit is a prerequisite for skillfulness in whatever area we may be serving in the church?
[Kevin Miller]It is very important to first understand what Scripture reveals about the people that it explicitly talks about before we move to thinking about what is true for us. We have to have a right theology of music, etc. before we can understand what is right practice for us.Since musical skillfulness is not given to us in the same manner as David and Solomon, then just how helpful is it to say that Solomon was a great song writer? Saying that does not really tell us very much about the nature of musical skillfulness for us today.
Since the Holy Spirit gives believers spiritual gifts to use in the church, would it be fair to say that submitting to the Spirit is a prerequisite for skillfulness in whatever area we may be serving in the church?
Yes, submitting to the Spirit is absolutely essential for every aspect of our lives and service.
First Samuel 16 stresses that David’s unique excellence in skillfully playing the harp was subsequent to the Spirit’s coming mightily upon him and to the Lord’s being with him. Many other passages, including approximately (at least) half of the Psalms, show his God-given excellence in writing sacred songs.
First Kings 4:29-34 establishes the unique God-given excellence of Solomon as an originator of songs that displayed the surpassing excellence of divinely given wisdom.
Given that God provided David and Solomon as surpassingly excellent musicians to His people, there is no basis for holding that either David or Solomon ever needed to learn anything about music from anyone else, least of all any of the wicked musicians who participated in the idolatrous worship of all the ungodly nations surrounding Israel. The Bible does not provide any support for holding that any godly Israelite musicians who ministered music to God in divine worship in His tabernacle and His temple ever borrowed any musical understanding or skillfulness from any ungodly sources.
to learn to play worship music I should only learn to play by ear from the church piano player?
Can I read notes written down on paper? After all, how can I be sure the source is holy enough, not just the music itself, but the paper, ink, the software to format the music to print, etc. What about the printer I am printing the music on. And wait a minute, what about the instrument itself? Did an ungodly person make it? What about the salesman I bought it from? Wow… I never thought of all this. Thanks Rajesh!
[Mark_Smith]to learn to play worship music I should only learn to play by ear from the church piano player?
Can I read notes written down on paper? After all, how can I be sure the source is holy enough, not just the music itself, but the paper, ink, the software to format the music to print, etc. What about the printer I am printing the music on. And wait a minute, what about the instrument itself? Did an ungodly person make it? What about the salesman I bought it from? Wow… I never thought of all this. Thanks Rajesh!
You can’t learn anything from unsaved people! They are all demon possessed. The car repair guy, the insurance salesman, the investment advisor. All demon possessed!
I’m a carpenter … all of my tools are made by Christians. I wouldn’t trust an unsaved person (who may be demon possessed) to make even a hammer. No sir!
[Mark_Smith]Your comments do not have anything to do with promoting edifying discussion of what the Bible reveals about the musical skillfulness of David, Solomon, and other sacred musicians in OT Israel.to learn to play worship music I should only learn to play by ear from the church piano player?
Can I read notes written down on paper? After all, how can I be sure the source is holy enough, not just the music itself, but the paper, ink, the software to format the music to print, etc. What about the printer I am printing the music on. And wait a minute, what about the instrument itself? Did an ungodly person make it? What about the salesman I bought it from? Wow… I never thought of all this. Thanks Rajesh!
If you are not interested in actually discussing the Bible itself, I would appreciate much your not making further remarks of this sort on this thread.
In David, God did more than just provide a surpassingly excellent musician to His people. He also ordained through David (and others) that specially chosen and consecrated Levites who were skillful musicians were themselves to disciple others musically:
1 Chronicles 15:16 And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; 18 And with them their brethren of the second degree, Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, the porters. 19 So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed to sound with cymbals of brass; 20 And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with psalteries on Alamoth; 21 And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the Sheminith to excel. 22 And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song: he instructed about the song, because he was skilful.
1 Chronicles 25:1 Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was: 2 Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king. 3 Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun; Gedaliah, and Zeri, and Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the hands of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp, to give thanks and to praise the LORD. 4 Of Heman: the sons of Heman; Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, and Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, and Romamtiezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth: 5 All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to lift up the horn. And God gave to Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. 6 All these were under the hands of their father for song in the house of the LORD, with cymbals, psalteries, and harps, for the service of the house of God, according to the king’s order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman. 7 So the number of them, with their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the LORD, even all that were cunning, was two hundred fourscore and eight. 8 And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.
God thus ensured that the musical skillfulness of David and other skillful sacred Israelite musicians in Israel in his day was to be perpetuated unendingly for service in His temple.
None of these future musical ministers in the house of God would therefore have any need or authorization to go to ungodly musicians and learn their musical ways and bring their musical ways into the worship of God in His temple. Instead, they would be taught everything that they needed to know by skillful temple musicians who were specially consecrated ministers of God.
[RajeshG]Given that God provided David and Solomon as surpassingly excellent musicians to His people, there is no basis for holding that either David or Solomon ever needed to learn anything about music from anyone else,
From anyone else? Really? Are you suggesting that David never even saw someone else play the harp before he picked it up and was supernaturally able to play it? Did he also have this ability with every other instrument in existence at the time? The Biblical idea of skillfulness certainly doesn’t require that someone with skillfulness has had no instruction from anyone else. You say you want an “edifying discussion of what the Bible reveals,” but at the same time, you make a statement like this that goes way, way beyond what the Bible reveals.
In your response, you made another one of those “The Bible does not provide any support for holding…” comments. Sure, the Bible does not provide any support for saying that David had people teach him to play, but it ALSO does not provide any support for saying that David could supernaturally play any instrument without any instruction. The Bible simply doesn’t tell us what musical influences were present in David’s life or what instruction/learning he may have experienced. Your implication that he didn’t ever need to learn about music from anyone else is a leap of logic. There’s a remote chance it may be true, but most children learn their abilities from others, so without any Biblical information regarding his very early years in music, it’s hard to make an inference that he wouldn’t have learned from others.
[RajeshG]“Unendingly”? Really? Do we still have this line of “specially consecrated ministers” in existence today to keep temple worship free of “ungodly ways” in music?God thus ensured that the musical skillfulness of David and other skillful sacred Israelite musicians in Israel in his day was to be perpetuated unendingly for service in His temple.
It might be helpful in the discussion if you hold off on the hyperbole a bit.
[Kevin Miller]There was no hyperbole in what I said. Had Israel remained faithful to God, the provisions that He had made for the discipleship of skillful musical ministers who would serve Him in His temple would have been unendingly complete to provide them with all that they would ever have needed to please Him with their music that they ministered in worshiping Him.It might be helpful in the discussion if you hold off on the hyperbole a bit.
[Kevin Miller]Although there is no explicit information specifically about musical influences in David’s life, Scripture is not silent about relevant information that does pertain to musical antecedents in David’s life.From anyone else? Really? Are you suggesting that David never even saw someone else play the harp before he picked it up and was supernaturally able to play it? Did he also have this ability with every other instrument in existence at the time? The Biblical idea of skillfulness certainly doesn’t require that someone with skillfulness has had no instruction from anyone else. You say you want an “edifying discussion of what the Bible reveals,” but at the same time, you make a statement like this that goes way, way beyond what the Bible reveals.
In your response, you made another one of those “The Bible does not provide any support for holding…” comments. Sure, the Bible does not provide any support for saying that David had people teach him to play, but it ALSO does not provide any support for saying that David could supernaturally play any instrument without any instruction. The Bible simply doesn’t tell us what musical influences were present in David’s life or what instruction/learning he may have experienced. Your implication that he didn’t ever need to learn about music from anyone else is a leap of logic. There’s a remote chance it may be true, but most children learn their abilities from others, so without any Biblical information regarding his very early years in music, it’s hard to make an inference that he wouldn’t have learned from others.
1. David grew up in and lived in the one nation in the history of the world that was uniquely God’s people. Godly people in his nation regularly traveled to worship and sacrifice to the Lord in the Lord’s house in Shiloh (1 Sam. 1:3; cf. “the house of the Lord in Shiloh” [1:24] ). David was undoubtedly exposed to godly Israelite music played by godly Israelite sacred musicians during his early years on many such occasions.
2. The Spirit explicity testifies of prophets in Israel who were sacred musicians:
1 Samuel 10:5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:
We can be absolutely certain that these divinely chosen and anointed musical ministers of God who had the Spirit on them knew how to play sacred music that pleased God. Our certain knowledge of the existence of such musicians in Israel prior to David’s coming on the scene as a uniquely skilled musician (1 Sam. 16) points to his having the opportunity at least on some occasions to observe the musical ministries of such Spirit-empowered musicians who knew how to play godly instrumental music and played it under the direction of the Spirit.
3. David was unique in Israel as a young man who had a heart for God (1 Sam. 13:14; 15:28; 16:7, 12; Acts 13:22; etc.). Being such a godly man, David undoubtedly would have been obedient to divine directives that completely prohibited God’s people from learning any of the wicked ways of the Canaanites (Deut. 12:29-32; etc). He certainly would not have had anything to do with how the wicked Canaanite musicians in the nations surrounding Israel (and even among the Israelites) served their gods musically.
4. David himself was a prophet of God (Acts 2:30). His being a prophet means that he had supernatural discernment that certainly would have enabled him to discern what music did not please God. Had he had any early exposure to ungodly music, the subsequent (or perhaps even concurrent) supernatural work of the Spirit in his life would have directed him to reject completely such music that displeased God.
Based on these considerations, there is no biblical basis for holding that David learned to play the harp skillfully in the service of God from any wicked musicians of the wicked nations surrounding him or any wicked musicians among the Israelites. Moreover, the special work of the Spirit in his life was fully capable of granting him skill supernaturally that he did not learn from anyone else.
As he prepared to for the building of the temple, David declared the following:
1 Chronicles 22:5 And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
The temple of the Lord was to be incomparably glorious in the earth. There were no other temples that exceeded the magnificence, fame, and glory of the temple of God.
In keeping with its unique excellence, every aspect of the temple, including the worship in the temple was also uniquely excellent from divine viewpoint:
Psalm 29:9 The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.
NAU Psalm 29:9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”
God provided for the unique excellence of the music in the temple by raising up two surpassingly excellent musicians as kings over his people: David (instrumentalist, inventor of instruments, singer, and songwriter) and Solomon (originator of songs). With divinely given wisdom and skill, these two premier musicians heeded divine direction given to them to establish uniquely excellent worship music ministry in the temple of God.
Not only were there no other musicians anywhere in the world who were finer musicians than David and Solomon, but also there were no other people anywhere whose temple music even remotely matched the unique excellence of Israel’s temple music. For it to have been otherwise would have meant that what David said about what was to be true of the temple (1 Chron. 22:5) would not have been true.
Because God had already supernaturally worked in their lives to provide them as the finest sacred musicians in the world for His worship in Israel, neither David nor Solomon (nor any other sacred musicians in the temple) would ever have had any need to learn or borrow anything from any other musicians of any other country, least of all from any wicked musicians who played music in the worship of their idols.
A thorough accounting of what Scripture reveals about human skillfulness shows that David and Solomon made use of skilled workers from Tyre/Sidon:
David:
1 Chronicles 14:1 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and timber of cedars, with masons and carpenters, to build him an house.
Solomon:
1 Kings 5:6 Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
1 Kings 7:13 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. 14 He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
1 Kings 9:27 And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
These passages show that both David and Solomon did take advantage of the skillfulness of certain non-Israelites (or half-Jewish men) in certain areas of their expertise. What relevance these passages have for a proper understanding about Israel’s music is an important subject that must be treated carefully to have a sound understanding from a broader perspective of what passages such as 1 Samuel 16:14-23 (skillfulness playing an instrument) and 1 Kings 4:29-34 (skillfulness in originating songs) teach us about the musical skillfulness of Israel.
Concerning Solomon’s use of Hiram in building the temple of God,
1. Being from Tyre and having a man of Tyre as his father does not prove that Hiram was an unbeliever. His mother was an Israelite so it is quite possible that she may have been a believer and that he was a believer as well.
The fact that both passages (1Kings 7:14; 2 Chron. 2:14) mention his mother first and then his father may also be further indication that he may have been a believer.
2. The parallel passages in 2 Chron. 2:11-14 speak of the king of Tyre as a man who had such a regard for God and His people that he himself may have been a believer:
2 Chronicles 2:11 Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them. 12 Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.
The likelihood of such a king’s sending a rank unbeliever who was opposed to Israel, her God, and His ways is very unlikely.
Furthermore, the passage goes on to say that the man that he sent was a half-Israelite who was the skilled craftsmen who worked together with skilled Israelite men to make the temple:
2 Chronicles 2:13 And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father’s, 14 The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.
This craftsman from Tyre therefore did not do anything independently of the skilled Israelite craftsmen.
3. Hiram did not exercise any significant creative influence on anything to do with the design of the temple or its operations. God revealed in writing to David how the temple was to be made (1 Chron. 28:19), and David passed on that information to Solomon (1 Chron. 28:11-19).
Through David and other Israelite leaders, God gave direction to His people about all the activities that were to take place in the temple.
Hiram only made and did exactly what God through David, Solomon, and other Israelite leaders directed him to make and do.
4. Regardless of whether Hiram was an unbeliever or not and regardless of whatever he made concerning the temple, none of the passages provide any basis for holding that he had any input at all concerning Israel’s music. Moreover, there are no passages anywhere in the Bible that show that Israel ever borrowed anything from pagans concerning its music.
Solomon’s use of Hiram does not provide any basis for holding that any aspect of Israel’s musical skillfulness was based on anything originated by, sourced in, or borrowed from any wicked musicians of evil nations who served their idols.
To have a thorough understanding of biblical revelation about the use by believers of things made by pagans/unbelievers, we must account for all relevant information. The following are two more passages that are pertinent.
David used Goliath’s sword to kill Goliath (1 Sam. 17:51) and later availed himself of the sword again when he needed a weapon (1 Sam. 21:9).
David also had put on him a crown that was on the head of an Ammonite king (2 Sam. 12:30).
These passages show that David used a sword and a crown that were very likely made/designed by pagans/unbelievers.
Discussion