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Topic

Dance

11 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.

These works date from 1884 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.

The verses

The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.

Exodus 15:20Smith
¶ And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
Exodus 32:18Smith
And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
Exodus 32:19Smith
¶ And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
Judges 21:19–23Smith
Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. Therefore they commanded the…
1 Samuel 21:11Smith
And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
Psalms 30:11Smith
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
Ecclesiastes 3:4Smith
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
Jeremiah 31:4Smith
Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
Jeremiah 31:13Smith
Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
Matthew 11:17Smith
And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.
Mark 6:22Smith
And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.

In the reference works

Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) (entry 2) · 11 references

The dance is spoken of in Holy Scripture universally as symbolical of some rejoicing, and is often coupled for the sake of contrast with mourning, as in (Ecclesiastes 3:4) comp. Psal 30:11; Matt 11:17 In the earlier period it is found combined with some song or refrain, (Exodus 15:20; 32:18,19; 1 Samuel 21:11) and with the tambourine (Authorized Version "timbrel"), more especially in those impulsive outbursts of popular feeling which cannot find sufficient vent in voice or in gesture singly. Dancing formed a part of the religious ceremonies of the Egyptians, and was also common in private entertainments. For the most part dancing was carried on by the women, the two sexes seldom and not customarily intermingling. The one who happened to be near of kin to the champion of the hour led the dance. In the earlier period of the Judges the dances of the virgins of Shiloh. (Judges 21:19-23) were certainly part of a religious festivity. Dancing also had its place among merely festive amusements, apart from any religious character. (Jeremiah 31:4,13; Mark 6:22)

Texts: Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.

Dance

The verses

In the reference works

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