The first occurrence.
Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; I, even I, will sing unto YHVH; I will sing praise to YHVH God of Israel. Jud 5:3
The primitive root.
Strong’s H2167 זמר zamar; a primitive root meaning, “to sing praise.” The 3-letter root is zayin + mem + resh, however, the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon indicates the mem was originally a nun, being transposed over time because of their similar sounds. Thus the original 3-letter root was zayin + nun + resh.
zayin ז = the mattock, thus tool, food, cut, nourish
nun נ ן = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
resh ר = the head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
The story: To pluck (zayin) that which the seed (nun) began (resh), i.e., to harvest fruit. The connection to making music, is that originally music was made through plucking the strings on a harp. How interesting is the connection between singing our praise to God, with harvesting fruit. Does He harvest the fruit sown by the Spirit in our lives, when we open our mouth in lovely and joyful praise to Him?
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