Psalms 108:2 — Word Study
WLCע֭וּרָֽה הַנֵּ֥בֶל וְכִנּ֗וֹר אָעִ֥ירָה שָּֽׁחַר׃
BSAto establishkûwn heartlêb Godʼĕlôhîym to singshîyr to singzâmar alsoʼaph glorykâbôwd
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| ע֭וּרָֽה | awake ! | Verb qal imperative second person masculine singular, suffix |
| הַנֵּ֥בֶל | O lyre | Particle, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| וְכִנּ֗וֹר | and harp | Conjunction, noun common masculine singular absolute |
| אָעִ֥ירָה | I will waken | Verb, Hiphil, infinitive construct first person common singular |
| שָּֽׁחַר׃ | [the] dawn | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. |
| KJV | Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. |
| ASV | Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake right early. |
| YLT | Awake, psaltery and harp, I awake the dawn. |
| WEB | Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn. |
| BBE | Give out your sounds, O corded instruments: the dawn will be awaking with my song. |
The translations agree on the imperative call to awaken the instruments.
The verse consists of a main command followed by a declaration of intent, emphasizing the act of awakening in worship.
3 commentators on this verse
Jamieson, Cambridge, Barnes & more — read them ›
clause
verbזָמַר
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Psalms 108:2
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — A Call to Worshipgenerated
Psalm 108:2 expresses the psalmist's desire to awaken his musical instruments, the harp and lyre, to herald the dawn. This reflects a broader theme in the psalms of using music to praise God and celebrate new beginnings, as seen in the surrounding verses that emphasize steadfastness and devotion to God.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Psalm 33:2 | Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to Him with ten strings. |
| 2 | Psalm 69:30 | I will praise God’s name in song and exalt Him with thanksgiving. |
| 3 | Psalm 81:2 | Lift up a song, strike the tambourine, play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre. |
| 4 | Psalm 92:1–4 | It is good to praise the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High, |
| 5 | Judges 5:12 | ‘Awake, awake, O Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song! Arise, O Barak, and take hold of your captives, O son of Abinoam!’ |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 7 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — ע֭וּרָֽה, 'U.rahgenerated
The verb עוּר (uwr) means to rouse or awaken. It can refer to waking oneself or stirring others into action. The imperative form here indicates a direct command, emphasizing urgency and excitement in the call to worship.
This word captures both the literal act of waking from sleep and the figurative sense of stirring emotions or actions, reflecting the psalmist's intent to energize the atmosphere of worship.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, which uses Awake for ע֭וּרָֽה, and this is consistent across the KJV, ASV, YLT, WEB, and BBE.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main verb אָעִ֥ירָה ('a.'I.rah) governs the entire verse, with two phrases following: the first calls to the instruments, and the second expresses the action of awakening the dawn.
The structure emphasizes the psalmist's command to the instruments, setting a tone of urgency and celebration in the act of worship.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, the word for ע֭וּרָֽה is rendered as καρδία (kardia), meaning 'heart.' This choice shifts the focus from a direct command to instruments to an internal call for emotional engagement in worship.
This reflects a broader interpretation, inviting not just the instruments but the heart of the worshipper to awaken and participate in the praise.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Psalm 108:2 calls for the harp and lyre to awaken and praises God at dawn. The psalmist expresses a desire for music to stir up a joyful response to God, marking the beginning of a new day.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The phrase suggests a desire to greet the new day with praise and music, symbolizing hope and renewal.
In the Psalms, musical instruments serve as a means of expressing worship and joy, enhancing the communal experience of praising God.
Similar themes of praise and worship through music appear throughout the Psalms, emphasizing the importance of engaging the heart and instruments in worship.
The call to awaken encourages believers to actively engage in worship and to bring their whole selves — including emotions and actions — into their expressions of faith.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- How can I incorporate music into my worship and daily life?
- What does it mean for me to 'awaken' in my spiritual life?
- In what ways can I encourage others to join in worship and praise?
- How does the imagery of dawn relate to new beginnings in my life?
Commentators on this verse — 3 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Psalms 108:2 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryWilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?
Read Robert Jamieson on Psalms 108 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges2. Awake, psaltery and harp] There is a special fitness in the call, if this Psalm was compiled at a time when the harp of Israel had long been mute in the Exile (Psalms 137:2). I myself will awake early] Better, as R.V. marg., I will awake the dawn. A bold and beautiful poetical figure. The dawn is often personified (Job 41:18; Psalms 139:9). Usually it is the dawn that awakes men; the Psalmist will awake the dawn by his praises before daybreak.
Read Cambridge on Psalms 108 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleAwake, psaltery and harp ... - This is copied without change from Psalms 57:8.
Read Albert Barnes on Psalms 108 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn.
Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
Awake, O stringed instrument and harp! I will wake up at dawn!
Tyndale line
Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake right early.
Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake right early.
Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
Awake viole and harpe: I will awake early.
Strictly literal
Awake, lute and harp: I will wake the dawn.
Awake, psaltery and harp, I awake the dawn.
Awake, stringed instrument and harp, || I awake the dawn.
(108:3) Awake, psaltery and harp: I will wake up the morning-dawn.
Wake up, lute and harp; I will wake up the dawn.
From the Latin
O God, be not thou silent in thy praise: for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful man is opened against me.
Simplified
Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn!
Give out your sounds, O corded instruments: the dawn will be awaking with my song.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text reads ע֭וּרָֽה הַנֵּ֥בֶל וְכִנּ֗וֹר אָעִ֥ירָה שָּֽׁחַר׃, and the Septuagint matches four out of five words, maintaining the core message while differing in word order and emphasis.
ע֭וּרָֽה הַנֵּ֥בֶל וְכִנּ֗וֹר אָעִ֥ירָה שָּֽׁחַר׃
4 of the 5 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Psalms 108:2
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
עוּר (uwr) is a Hebrew verb meaning to rouse or awaken. It encompasses various forms, including to rouse oneself, be incited, or act in an excited manner. The entries suggest a range of uses from literal waking to figurative stirring up of emotions or actions, with different grammatical forms indicating nuances in meaning.
[עוּר] vb. rouse oneself, awake
Qal rouse oneself to activity
Niph. be roused; be incited to activity
Pō‛l. rouse, incite to activity
Pilp. rouse (i.e. raise ?) a cry of destruction
Hithpō‛l. and I was (joyfully) excited, triumphant
Hiph.
rouse
declarative or exhibitive sense, act in an aroused manner, awake
base
H5782 [עוּר] rouse oneself, awake
5782 `uwr oor
a primitive root (rather identical with 5783 through the idea
of opening the eyes); to wake (literally or
figuratively):--(a- )wake(-n, up), lift up (self), X master,
raise (up), stir up (self).
see HEBREW for 05783
עוּר (ur) — to rouse.
1) to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite
1a) (Qal) to rouse oneself, awake
1b) (Niphal) to be roused
1c) (Polel) to stir up, rouse, incite
1d) (Hithpolel) to be excited, be triumphant
1e) (Hiphil)
1e1) to rouse, stir up
1e2) to act in an aroused manner, awake
HVqv2ms/Sh — Verb qal imperative second person masculine singular · suffixHVqv2ms/Sh
a-wak' yaqats, ("to waken"; `ur, "to rouse up" from sleep; egeiro, "to arouse from sleep"): The ordinary terms for awaking from natural slumber: as of Jacob at Bethel (Ge 28:16); of Solomon at Gibeon (1Ki 3:15); of Jesus in the storm-tossed boat (Lu 8:24).
Used figure with striking effect of awaking from mental, moral and spiritual sleep: as when Deborah calls upon herself to awake to the fervor and eloquence of poetry (Jud 5:12); of Zion's awaking to moral vigor and beauty (Isa 52:1); of waking from spiritual death (Eph 5:14); from the grave in resurrection (
נֵ֫בֶל (nevel) refers to both a container and a musical instrument. It can denote a skin-bottle or jar used for liquids, as well as a harp or lute. The word is derived from a root meaning to collapse, reflecting its use for a flexible container. The entries consistently highlight these two main meanings without significant disagreement.
נֵ֫בֶל n.m.
skin-bottle, skin
jar, pitcher
base
נֵ֫בֶל, נֶ֫בֶל n.m. a musical instrument, either a portable harp, or a lute, guitar
base
H5035a נֵ֫בֶל . skin-bottle, skin
. jar, pitcher
H5035b נֵ֫בֶל, נֶ֫בֶל a musical instrument, either a portable harp, or a lute, guitar
5035 nebel neh'-bel
or nebel {nay'-bel}; from 5034; a skin-bag for liquids (from
collapsing when empty); hence, a vase (as similar in shape
when full); also a lyre (as having a body of like
form):--bottle, pitcher, psaltery, vessel, viol.
see HEBREW for 05034
נֵ֫בֶל (ne.vel) — bag.
1) a skin-bag, jar, pitcher
1a) skin-bottle, skin
1b) jar, pitcher (earthen)
נֵ֫בֶל (ne.vel) — harp.
harp, lute, guitar, musical instrument
HTd/Ncmsa — Particle · noun common masculine singular absoluteHTd/Ncmsa
כִּנּוֹר (kinnor) refers to a lyre or harp, derived from a root meaning to twang. The term is consistently used across lexicons to denote this stringed musical instrument.
כִּנּוֹר n.m. lyre
base
H3658 כִּנּוֹר lyre
3658 kinnowr kin-nore'
from a unused root meaning to twang; a harp: -harp.
כִּנּוֹר (kin.nor) — lyre.
lyre, harp
HC/Ncmsa — Conjunction · noun common masculine singular absoluteHC/Ncmsa
harp.
See MUSIC.
Harp
(Heb. kinnor), the national instrument of the Hebrews. It was invented by Jubal (Gen. 4:21). Some think the word kinnor denotes the whole class of stringed instruments. It was used as an accompaniment to songs of cheerfulness as well as of praise to God (Gen. 31:27; 1 Sam. 16:23; 2 Chr. 20:28; Ps. 33:2; 137:2).
In Solomon’s time harps were made of almug-trees (1 Kings 10:11, 12). In 1 Chr. 15:21 mention is made of “harps on the Sheminith;” Revised Version, “harps set to the Sheminith;” better perhaps “harps…
The harp was the national instrument of the Hebrews, and was well known throughout Asia. Moses assigns its invention to Jubal during the antediluvian period. (Genesis 4:21) Josephus records that the harp had ten strings, and that it was played on with the plectrum. Sometimes it was smaller having only eight strings, and was usually played with the fingers.
Hebrew KINNOR, the most ancient and common stringed instrument of the Jews, more properly translated lyre. It was light and portable, and was used on joyful occasions, whether sacred or not. It was invented by Jubal, Ge 4:21 31:27 1Ch 16:5 25:1-5 Ps 81:2. David was a proficient in its use, 1Sa 16:16,23 18:10. The instrument most nearly resembling our harp was the Hebrew NEBEL, translated, psaltery in the Old Testament, Ps 57:8 81:2 92:3 108:2. It had a general triangular shape, and seven to twelve strings, Ps 33:2 144:9. It was played with the hand or with a short…
עוּר (uwr) is a Hebrew verb meaning to rouse or awaken. It encompasses various forms, including to rouse oneself, be incited, or act in an excited manner. The entries suggest a range of uses from literal waking to figurative stirring up of emotions or actions, with different grammatical forms indicating nuances in meaning.
[עוּר] vb. rouse oneself, awake
Qal rouse oneself to activity
Niph. be roused; be incited to activity
Pō‛l. rouse, incite to activity
Pilp. rouse (i.e. raise ?) a cry of destruction
Hithpō‛l. and I was (joyfully) excited, triumphant
Hiph.
rouse
declarative or exhibitive sense, act in an aroused manner, awake
base
H5782 [עוּר] rouse oneself, awake
5782 `uwr oor
a primitive root (rather identical with 5783 through the idea
of opening the eyes); to wake (literally or
figuratively):--(a- )wake(-n, up), lift up (self), X master,
raise (up), stir up (self).
see HEBREW for 05783
עוּר (ur) — to rouse.
1) to rouse oneself, awake, awaken, incite
1a) (Qal) to rouse oneself, awake
1b) (Niphal) to be roused
1c) (Polel) to stir up, rouse, incite
1d) (Hithpolel) to be excited, be triumphant
1e) (Hiphil)
1e1) to rouse, stir up
1e2) to act in an aroused manner, awake
HVhc1cs — Verb · Hiphil · infinitive construct first person common singularHVhc1cs
שַׁ֫חַר (shachar) means 'dawn' and can refer to both the literal time of day and figuratively or adverbially to concepts of early light or morning. It is derived from a related root, שָׁחַר (H7836), and is used in various contexts to denote the beginning of light.
שַׁ֫חַר n.m. dawn
base
H7837 שַׁ֫חַר dawn
7837 shachar shakh'-ar
from 7836; dawn (literal, figurative or
adverbial):--day(-spring), early, light, morning, whence
riseth.
see HEBREW for 07836
שַׁ֫חַר (sha.char) — dawn.
1) dawn
1a) dawn
1b) at dawn (as adverb)
HNcmsa — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa