- Angel 013 (Photo credit: Juliett-Foxtrott)
I may have missed it, but–
I’ve checked and checked in the Bible and–
I cannot find any place where angels sing.
Consider:
And suddenly
there was with the angel
a multitude of heavenly host
praising God, and
SAYING,
glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men.
Luke 2:13-14
I know we say they were singing, but it says they were saying.
Just saying . . .
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Published by Katharine
Katharine is a writer, speaker, women's counselor, and professional mom. Happily married over 50 years to the same gorgeous guy. She loves cooking amazing homegrown food, celebrating grandbabies, her golden-egg-laying hennies, and watching old movies with popcorn.
Her writing appears at Medium, Arkansas Women Bloggers, Contently, The Testimony Train, Taste Arkansas, Only in Arkansas, and in several professional magazines and one anthology.
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It might not be in the Christmas story, but they sing in Revelations.
Hi! And thanks for this comment!
You know, I thought that, too, about them singing in the Revelation, but it’s not there or I’m overlooking it. I wish you would send me the reference, in a reply, here. Thanks!
Check Revelation 5:8-11. It might be a particular translation you are using as well. (Just a thought.)
Interesting topic though; I don’t think I’ve ever given it much thought.
Oh, you are right! I just checked a paper concordance and there it is. Okay. We’ve established that they DO sing, so when the Bible tells us they SAID, then they must not have been singing. It’s just one more of those questions like how many miles did Mary have to ride a donkey to get to Bethlehem, and the answer is: We don’t know that she rode, at all. All we know is that they went and we make up stuff.
(laughing) Good point!
Hi Katherine! Most Bible teachers do not think it is an important enough doctrine to take issue with in the church – whether angels sing or not. Wesley and other Christian poets take “poetic license,” often, to add expanse to their hymns. Just as in “We Three Kings,” there is no evidence how many wise men there were – we only know that there was more than one. But the “We Three” rhymes, so that was conducive to the hymn’s musicality.
The evidence for at least some of the angels being musical comes from the Old Testament.
The name “Lucifer” is mentioned only once in the Bible. Any other mention is with other names, such as Satan, Devil, or Dragon.
Isaiah 14:12-16
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides to the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the Most High.”
This passage from Ezekial gives us his only physical description:
Ezekial 28:14 says, “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth”, (meaning he is the angel that protects God.)
Ezekial 28:17 reads, “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty: thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness”, (beautiful and vain)
Ezekiel 28:13
Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
The assumption is made, that since he had “tabrets and pipes” he could also sing, as is the case with musical human beings. Usually – people that can play, can also sing, or at least carry a tune decently. Is it incorrect to make assumptions? Or is it, rather a deduction, that angels can sing?
Hi, Sage!
Well, I wasn’t talking about THAT angel! 😉
However, my point only was that we say they SANG. I have no presumptions about whether or not they COULD sing. (Why not, since they are able to do so many other things.) I only raised the point that they did not sing, every time they are mentioned as vocalizing.
It usually says they SAID.
But we misquote. To me, that is worth noting.