Bible Encyclopedia: Hymn

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

HYMN

him (humnos): In Colossians 3:16 Ephesians 5:19 Paul bids his readers sing "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." Gregory of Nyssa (4th century) distinguishes these as follows: the Psalms were accompanied by instruments, the hymns were mainly vocal, and the song, ode, was a general term comprehending both. This distinction might suggest that the psalm belonged especially to the public worship of the church, while the hymn was the production, more or less spontaneous, of the individual member. The inference is, however, inconsistent with 1 Corinthians 14:26, and it is probable that in the apostolic age, at least, the terms were used indiscriminately. Of Christian psalms or hymns we have examples in the New Testament. Luke 1 and 2 contain such hymns in the songs of Mary, Zacharias and Simeon. The Apocalypse is studded with hymns or odes, many of them quite general in character, and probably borrowed or adapted from Jewish books of praise. In the Epistles of Paul, especially the later ones, fragments of hymns seem to be quoted. Lightfoot detects one in Ephesians 5:14, and others readily suggest themselves.

It is probable that the hymn mentioned as having been sung by Jesus and the disciples after the Passover (Matthew 26:30 Mark 14:26) was the second part of the Hallel, i.e. Psalms 115-118, and the hymns of Paul and Silas were most likely also taken from the Psalter. But the practice of interpolating and altering Jewish non-canonical books, like the Psalter of Solomon and the recently discovered Odes of Solomon, shows that the early Christians adopted for devotional purposes the rich store of sacred poetry possessed by their nation. For the music to which these psalms, etc., were sung, see MUSIC; SONG.

James Millar

Greek

5215. humnos -- a hymn
... a hymn. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: humnos Phonetic Spelling:
(hoom'-nos) Short Definition: a hymn, sacred song Definition: a hymn, sacred ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5215.htm - 7k

5214. humneo -- to sing to, to laud
... to, praise. 5214 (from 5215 , "a song or hymn") -- to a hymn. Word Origin ...
hymns of praise (1). sing to, sing a hymn of praise unto. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5214.htm - 7k

2358. thriambeuo -- to triumph
... Word Origin from thriambos (a festal hymn to Bacchus) Definition to triumph NASB
Word Usage leads...in triumph (1), triumphed over (1). cause to triumph over. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2358.htm - 7k

5603. ode -- a song, ode
... a song, ode. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: ode Phonetic Spelling:
(o-day') Short Definition: an ode, song Definition: an ode, song, hymn. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5603.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

8605. tephillah -- prayer
... prayer. From palal; intercession, supplication; by implication, a hymn -- prayer.
see HEBREW palal. 8604, 8605. tephillah. 8606 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/8605.htm - 6k

8416. tehillah -- praise, song of praise
... deep place, depth. From halal; laudation; specifically (concretely) a hymn -- praise.
see HEBREW halal. 8415, 8416. tehillah. 8417 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/8416.htm - 6k

Library

Hymn Writers of the Church
Hymn Writers of the Church. <. Hymn Writers of the Church Charles S. Nutter.
Table of Contents. Title Page. HYMN WRITERS OF THE CHURCH. Adams. Addison. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/nutter/hymn writers of the church/

Indian Methodist Hymn-book
Indian Methodist Hymn-book. <. Indian Methodist Hymn-book Various.
Produced by Stephen Hutcheson and the Online Distributed ...
//christianbookshelf.org/various/indian methodist hymn-book/

Hymn 1
... I. Solemn Addresses to Sinners. Hymn 1. John Newton 10,10,11,11. No words can declare,.
No fancy can paint,. What rage and despair,. What hopeless complaint,. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/newton/olney hymns/hymn 1.htm

Evening Hymn.
... EVENING HYMN. ... This little hymn, which, I believe, is not used in the public service
of the Church, is a great favourite in the Greek Isles. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/neale/hymns of the eastern church/evening hymn.htm

Sabbath Hymn.
... SABBATH HYMN. SABBATH HYMN. 7,7,7,7. "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
day.""Rev.1:10. "Zeige dich uns ohne Huelle.". [73]Klopstock. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/borthwick/hymns from the land of luther/sabbath hymn.htm

Morning Hymn.
... MORNING HYMN. MORNING HYMN. 7,7,7,7,7,3. "My voice shalt thou hear in the morning,
O Lord.""Psalm 5:3. "Morgen glanz der Ewigkeit.". [35]Knov. von Rosenroth. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/borthwick/hymns from the land of luther/morning hymn.htm

Evening Hymn.
... EVENING HYMN. EVENING HYMN. 7,7,6,7,7,8. "Nun ruhen alle Waelder.". [12]Paul Gerhard.
transl., Sarah Findlater, 1854. Quietly rest the woods and dales,. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/borthwick/hymns from the land of luther/evening hymn.htm

Funeral Hymn.
... FUNERAL HYMN. FUNERAL HYMN. 8,8,8,8. "Then shall the dust return to the Earth as
it was; and the Spirit shall return to God Who gave it.""Eccles.12:7. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/borthwick/hymns from the land of luther/funeral hymn.htm

Harvest Hymn
... VARIOUS Harvest Hymn. tr., John Brownlie 12,10,12,10. I. Come, praise with gladness
the Lord of all creation,. Heaven tells His glory, earth His bounty shews; ...
//christianbookshelf.org/brownlie/hymns from the morningland/harvest hymn.htm

Hymn {338}
... HYMN {338}. Accept this building, gracious Lord, No temple though it be; We
raised it for our suffering kin, And so, Good Lord, for Thee. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/andromeda and other poems/hymn 338.htm

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Hymn

a religious song or psalm. (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16) Our Lord and his apostles sung a hymn after the last supper. In the jail at Philippi, Paul and Silas "sang hymns" (Authorized Version "praises") unto God, and so loud was their song that their fellow prisoners heard them.

ATS Bible Dictionary

Hymn

A religious canticle, song, or psalm, Ephesians 5:19 Colossians 3:16. Paul requires Christians to edify one another with "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." Matthew says that Christ and his disciples, having supped, sung a hymn, and went out. They probably chanted a part of the psalms which the Jews used to sing after the Passover, which they called the Halal; that is, the Hallelujah psalms. These are Psalm 113:1-118:29, of which the first two are supposed to have been chanted before the Passover was eaten, and the others afterwards.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Occurs only Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. The verb to "sing an hymn" occurs Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26. The same Greek word is rendered to "sing praises" Acts 16:25 (R.V., "sing hymns") and Hebrews 2:12. The "hymn" which our Lord sang with his disciples at the last Supper is generally supposed to have been the latter part of the Hallel, comprehending Psalm 113-118. It was thus a name given to a number of psalms taken together and forming a devotional exercise.

The noun hymn is used only with reference to the services of the Greeks, and was distinguished from the psalm. The Greek tunes required Greek hymns. Our information regarding the hymnology of the early Christians is very limited.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) An ode or song of praise or adoration; especially, a religious ode, a sacred lyric; a song of praise or thanksgiving intended to be used in religious service; as, the Homeric hymns; Watts' hymns.

2. (v. t.) To praise in song; to worship or extol by singing hymns; to sing.

3. (v. i.) To sing in praise or adoration.

Thesaurus

Hymn (5 Occurrences)
... Occurs only Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. The verb to "sing an hymn" occurs
Matthew 26:30 and Mark 14:26. ... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. HYMN. ...
/h/hymn.htm - 11k

Doxology
... (n.) In Christian worship: A hymn expressing praise and honor to God; a form of
praise to God designed to be sung or chanted by the choir or the congregation. ...
/d/doxology.htm - 8k

Magnificat
... mag-nif'-i-kat: The name given to the hymn of Mary in Luke 1:46-55, commencing
"My soul doth magnify the Lord." Three old Latin manuscripts substitute the name ...
/m/magnificat.htm - 7k

Singing (65 Occurrences)
... Matthew 26:30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
(See NAS). Mark 14:26 After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ...
/s/singing.htm - 29k

Sung (13 Occurrences)
... Matthew 26:30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ... Mark
14:26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ...
/s/sung.htm - 10k

Acrostic (2 Occurrences)
... In Byzantine hymn-poetry the term acrostichis with which our word "acrostic" is
connected was also used of alphabetical poems, that is poems the lines or ...
/a/acrostic.htm - 15k

Three (5005 Occurrences)
... A under the headings, "The Prayer of Azarias" (Proseuche Azariou, Azariah, Daniel
1:6) and "The Hymn of Our Fathers" (Humnos ton pateron hemon); see Swete, The ...
/t/three.htm - 18k

Praise (487 Occurrences)
... The "hymn" which Jesus sang with His disciples after the Last Supper (Matthew
26:30) would be a Hebrew psalm, probably from the Hallel (Pss 113-118) which was ...
/p/praise.htm - 47k

Hymns (6 Occurrences)

/h/hymns.htm - 8k

Pharaoh (245 Occurrences)
... 1896, Professor Flinders Petrie discovered, among the ruins of the temple of Menephtah
at Thebes, a large granite stela, on which is engraved a hymn of victory ...
/p/pharaoh.htm - 60k

Bible Concordance

Hymn (5 Occurrences)

Matthew 26:30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 14:26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 14:26 What is it then, brothers? When you come together, each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has another language, has an interpretation. Let all things be done to build each other up.
(See RSV NIV)

Hebrews 2:12 as when He says: "I will proclaim Thy name to My brothers: in the midst of the congregation I will hymn Thy praises;"
(WEY)

Psalms 40:3 He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahweh.
(See NIV)

Subtopics

Hymn

Related Terms

Doxology

Magnificat

Singing (65 Occurrences)

Sung (13 Occurrences)

Acrostic (2 Occurrences)

Three (5005 Occurrences)

Praise (487 Occurrences)