Did women ever sing publicly with men present, other than their close family, in Bible history?
Upvote:3
In addition to the specific examples of women singing in public already mentioned, there are several references to singers that pair masculine and feminine Hebrew nouns together:
Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah, and all the singing men and singing women (כָֽל־הַשָּׁרִ֣ים וְ֠הַשָּׁרוֹת) have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. (2 Chronicles 35:25, NRSV)
The whole assembly together was forty-two thousand three hundred sixty, besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty-seven; and they had two hundred male and female singers (מְשֹׁרְרִ֥ים וּֽמְשֹׁרְר֖וֹת). (Ezra 2:64-65, NRSV)
I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and of the provinces; I got singers, both men and women (שָׁרִ֣ים וְשָׁר֗וֹת), and delights of the flesh, and many concubines. (Ecclesiastes 2:8, NRSV)
Particularly significant to the question of whether women sang with men present is this quote from Barzillai the Gileadite:
Today I am eighty years old; can I discern what is pleasant and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or what he drinks? Can I still listen to the voice of singing men and singing women (שָׁרִ֣ים וְשָׁר֑וֹת)? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? (2 Samuel 19:35, NRSV)
Barzillai implies that he used to listen to singing men and singing women, but now he is too hard of hearing to be able to enjoy their singing like he used to.
Upvote:10
Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,
2Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.
Judges 5
And so on for the rest of the chapter.
It is clear from the repetition of 'I' in verse 2 that it is a duet.
I have put the whole of this song into verse (from the KJV) if anyone is interested and it is available (free of charge) as a download from my website in the book entitled 'Songs of the Witnesses'.
Song 10 Deborah’s Duet
1 Praise ye the LORD who did avenge
his people Israel.
When willingly themselves did give,
‘twas then they did prevail.
2 Give ear O kings and princes, hear;
I, I, a song will raise,
unto the LORD. To Isr’el’s God,
the LORD, will I sing praise
And so on . . . . .
Upvote:12
Exodus 15:19-21 (NIV)
19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and hors*m*n[e] went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. 20 Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. 21 Miriam sang to them:
“Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.”
The other women appear to be the immediate audience, but as this happens immediately after crossing the Red Sea, it seems pretty certain that there would have been men present too.
Upvote:13
The answer seems simple. The bible directly speaks of women singing in public.
When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres.
-- 1 Samuel 18:6 NIV
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