The Audience Matters

For the choir director, for Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.  Psalm 39:1 Hebrew text numbering, NASB translation

[For the rest of this year, we will investigate Psalm 39.  We will play a great game of connect-the-dots as we attempt to understand whyDavid wrote these words for a song.  Now that you know where we’re going, try reading one verse each day before you read Today’s Word, and see if you connect the dots the same way that I do.]

Jeduthun– Who is this man?  Why is it important that we know?  Obviously, typical English Bible translations that place this verse in smaller font assume that David’s instructions to the choir director don’t really matter to the rest of the lyrics, but that would be a mistake.  The Hebrew Bible does notdistinguish these introductions from the rest of the text.  Neither should we.  So, who is Jeduthun?

Jeduthun

lauder; praising, a Levite of the family of Merari, and one of the three masters of music appointed by David ( 1 Chronicles 16:41 1 Chronicles 16:42 ;  25:1-6 ). He is called in 2 Chronicles 35:15 “the king’s seer.” His descendants are mentioned as singers and players on instruments ( Nehemiah 11:17 ). He was probably the same as Ethan ( 1 Chronicles 15:17 1 Chronicles 15:19 ). In the superscriptions to Psalms 39,62, and 77, the words “upon Jeduthun” probably denote a musical instrument; or they may denote the style or tune invented or introduced by Jeduthun, or that the psalm was to be sung by his choir.[1]

This much we know for certain.  David intended these lyrics to be sung in public (as we shall see) and in order to accomplish that, he sent the lyrics to this man to set them to music.  Of course, the name in Hebrew doesn’t begin with a J.[2]  The J wasn’t distinctly separated from the sound of I in ancient documents until 1524.[3]  But traditional English translations retain the J, just as they do with the name “Jesus,” even though neither is possible in the original.

Why do we need to know something about ידותון (Jeduthun)?  Because the nature of this poem, these lyrics, is intensely private.  That they were sent to the public choir master is the first contradiction in the poem, and it sets the stage for the remaining contradictions and surprises. Jeduthun’s name and his role is the first red flag.  If we miss this one, we could start off in the wrong direction.

Here’s the lesson. None of the words are unimportant no matter what the translation committee makes them look like. When we look at the rest of Psalm 39, keep this red flag in mind.

Topical Index: Jeduthun, praising, J, Psalm 39:1 (Hebrew)

[1]https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/jeduthun/

[2]The famous Jeduthun is a Levite musician who played a major part in the ministry at the Ark of the Covenant, after king David transported it from the house of Obed-edom to the tabernacle in Jerusalem. When this man is mentioned first, as the father of a gatekeeper (1 Chronicles 16:38), his name is spelled with a yod: ידיתון (Jedithun). Three verses later, as an active musician, his name is spelled with a waw: ידותון (Jeduthun).

[3]By Italian grammarian Gian Giorgio Trissino