2 Chronicles 29:28 - "The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished."

Nehemiah 13:10 - "I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them; so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field."

Today there seems to be a resurgence of the popularity of the gospel tunes that used to be so well-known. In part, this is due to the "Jesus Movement" among so many young people, and, perhaps, it is also partly due to the state of extreme tension and unrest that prevails in our time. A local radio station in my listening area has recently given over three hours every weekday morning to gospel songs. And there has been a heartfelt chorus of approval for this move.

We have virtually made folk heroes of many of our singers today, and, regardless of the irregularities in the personal lives of many of them, a great many young people try to emulate them. Woodstock has moved into our language as a new noun. We pay fantastic amounts to all types of singers - from serious opera to sex and drug oriented performers.

So how far back can we go to find the origin of the singer as a professional? Way, way back! All of the ancient courts had professional singers attached - rather like press agents, since their function was to sing the praises of the king, as well as to entertain. There were also the traveling singers, who went from village to village, singing for handouts. This, of course, puts us in mind of the troubadors of the Middle Ages, who generally followed this same pattern. Unfortunately, however, the romantic picture that we generally have of these performers is far off base. Actually, they were wretched men of low morals, who couldn’t hold a job.

This was probably the same situation in ancient Israel before the establishment of the monarchy. It was only then that the singers achieved a degree of respectability. Of course, there had always been the indigenous balladeers, and we are grateful that there were these men, because they kept alive many of the legends and traditions of the people, that were later incorporated into the biblical narrative.

But it wasn’t until David (who was a great singer himself) that a class of singers arose. He is said to have used singers to entertain him at meals, an idea which was also carried on and expanded by Solomon, who probably appropriated some of the ideas of proper court entertainment from his Egyptian wife.

By the time that David began to crystallize plans for the building of the Great Temple, the idea of a class of professional liturgical singers had become a very real part of those plans. David is said to have organized 4,000 sacred singers for this purpose. Although this was all recorded by the Chronicler, who wrote very late within the Old Testament period, still we know that such professionals must have been around early, because the very nature of the worship service required them. In fact, if you will look through the Psalter, you will find that several of the Psalms are ascribed to such professionals.

Again referring to the Chronicler, we find that he has given David credit for instituting 24 classes of singers, and there were all assigned within the ranks of the Levites. It’s not my purpose here to go into the Hierarchical history of the Levites, but it is important to know that they were entrusted with the sacred music.

The Jews have always considered themselves to be a highly musical people, although, being Oriental in concept and origin, it would clash on our ears. It was often atonal, shrill, and harsh, alternately hauntingly beautiful and wildly raucous. But, then again, perhaps our ears have been assualted so badly by much of our modern music that we could have appreciated the ancient melodies. Of course, there was no harmony as we know it. That was a very late development.

But someone had to teach apprentice singers their craft, and again this was a job of the Levites, a job that we can compare to modern day music teachers. With one difference, however, that all music teachers will appreciate. The Levites were highly regarded, so much so, in fact, that they were tax exempt and lived free in special villages built around Jerusalem. Ah, I can hear you sigh, for the good old days. But now, at least we can escape. For the Levites, it was a matter of birth and a non-escapable obligation.