8339. 'With timbrels and with dances' means praise from joy and gladness. This is clear from the meaning of 'timbrel' as that which has regard to an affection for spiritual good, or to the good of truth, and means the delight or joy belonging to it, dealt with just above in 8337; and from the meaning of 'dance' as that which has regard to an affection for spiritual truth, and means the delightful feeling or gladness belonging to it, dealt with below. In ancient times not only musical instruments and singing served to bear witness to gladness of heart but also dancing. Joyful feelings in the heart or interior things erupted into various activities in the body, such as singing and also dancing. Since in ancient times the glad feelings excelling all others were spiritual ones, that is, feelings springing from affections belonging to spiritual kinds of love, which were affections for goodness and truth, people were allowed, when they engaged in singing and musical harmony, to dance as well and so in dancing also to bear witness to their joy. This explains why 'dancing' is mentioned in the Word, meaning the glad feelings that belong to affections for truth, or to faith grounded in good or charity, as in Jeremiah,

Again you will adorn your timbrels, ¹ and will go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. Their life ² will become like a watered garden, and they will not sorrow any more. Then will the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together. Jeremiah 31:4, 12-13.

In the same prophet,

The joy of our heart has ceased ³ , our dance has been turned into mourning. Lamentations 5:15

In David,

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing. Psalms 30:11.

In the same author,

Let them praise His name in dancing, with timbrel and harp let them make melody to Him. Psalms 149:3; 150:4.

Also the gentiles played and danced when they worshipped their gods, as is clear in Exodus 32:6, 19.

[2] The words 'joy and gladness' are used because 'joy' in the Word has reference to good and 'gladness' to truth. This is why 'joy' and 'gladness' are mentioned many times in the Word both together, as in Isaiah,

Behold, joy and gladness consist in slaying oxen ... Isaiah 22:13.

In the same prophet,

They will obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 35:10.

In the same prophet, Joy and gladness will be found in Zion, confession and the voice of song. Isaiah 51:3, 11.

In Jeremiah,

The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, and the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. Jeremiah 33:11.

In Zechariah,

The fast of the tenth [month] will be to the house of Judah one of joy and gladness. Zechariah 8:19.

In David,

You shall cause me to hear joy and gladness. Psalms 51:8.

In these places both are mentioned because 'joy' has reference to good and 'gladness' to truth; if this were not so the use of one word would have been sufficient. This holy way of speaking is used in the Word in order that the heavenly marriage, that is, the marriage of goodness and truth, might be present in every detail there, 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712, 4138 (end), 5138, 5502, 7945.

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8337. 'And Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a timbrel in her hand' means ascribing glory to the Lord from the good of faith. This is clear from the representation of 'Miriam' as the good of faith, for 'Moses' represents the truth of faith that goes forth directly from the Lord, thus inward truth, whereas 'Aaron' represents the truth of faith that goes forth from the Lord in an indirect way, thus outward truth, 7009, 7089, 7382, so that 'Miriam' is the good of faith which goes forth in an indirect way from the Lord, for when 'men' represent truth, 'their womenfolk' represent good, 6014 (since Miriam along with the women represents external good she is in addition referred to as 'Aaron's sister', though she is not called Moses' sister, the relation between good and truth being like that of sister and brother, 3160. But it should be remembered that 'women' represent good and 'men' truth when the spiritual Church is the subject, whereas 'women' represent truth and 'men' good when the celestial Church is the subject, 4823); from the meaning of 'the prophetess' as one who teaches, dealt with in 2534, 7269, at this point one who joins in praising the Lord, or what amounts to the same thing, one who ascribes glory to Him from the good of faith, since she sang to Jehovah, as Moses and the men of Israel had done (for the meaning of 'singing' as ascribing glory, see 8261, 8263, 8267); and from the meaning of 'taking a timbrel in one's hand' as ascribing glory from the good of faith, since 'a timbrel' has reference to spiritual good, or what amounts to the same thing, to the good of faith, 4138.

[2] In former times many types of musical instruments were used when God was worshipped, but with much discrimination. In general wind instruments were used to express affections for good, and stringed instruments affections for truth; and the origin of this was the correspondence of every sound to the affections. It is well known that some types of musical instruments are used to express one kind of natural affections and other types to express another kind, and that when a fitting melody is played they in actual fact stir the affections. Skilled musicians know all about this and also make proper use of it. The reason for it lies in the very nature of sound, and its accord with the affections. Mankind at first learned about it not from science and art but through the ear and its keen sense of hearing. From this it is plain that the ability does not have its origin in the natural world but in the spiritual world; it, springs from the correspondence of things in the natural world - which flow into it in accordance with true order - with realities in the spiritual world. Harmonious sound and various forms it takes correspond to states of joy and gladness in the spiritual world, and states of joy and gladness there spring from affections, which in that world are affections for what is good and true. From this one may now recognize that musical instruments correspond to delights and pleasures belonging to spiritual and celestial affections, and that some instruments correspond to celestial affections, others to spiritual ones; see what has been stated and shown about them previously in 418-420, 4138.

[3] As regards 'a timbrel' in particular, this corresponds to spiritual good, that is, to the good of truth. This is because a timbrel is neither a stringed nor a wind instrument but, being made of skin, is an instrument of one continuous string so to speak; and it is also because it has a heavier and deeper sound than that made by stringed instruments. This may also be recognized from the Word, in places in which 'a timbrel' is mentioned, as in Isaiah,

The joy of timbrels will cease, the noise of merry ones will cease, the joy of the harp will cease. Isaiah 24:8.

'The joy of timbrels' stands for delights that belong to affections for the good of faith; 'the joy of the harp' stands for delight that belongs to an affection for the truth of faith.

In Jeremiah,

Again I will build you, that you may be built, O virgin of Israel! Again you will adorn your timbrels, ¹ and will go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. Jeremiah 31:4.

'Adorning timbrels' stands for ascribing glory to God from spiritual good, for it refers to the spiritual Church, meant by 'the virgin of Israel'.

[4] Similarly in Ezekiel,

You were in Eden, the garden of God. The workmanship of your timbrels and your pipes was within you; on the day you were created they were prepared. Ezekiel 28:13.

This refers to Tyre, by which cognitions or knowledge of good and of truth are meant, 'timbrels' meaning affections for the former and 'pipes' feelings of joy in the latter.

In David,

They have seen Your goings, O God, the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. The singers went before, players [of stringed instruments] after, in the midst of the virgins playing timbrels. Psalms 68:24-25.

In the same author,

Shout to the God of Jacob; raise a song, and sound the timbrel, the delightful harp with the lyre. Psalms 81:1-2.

In the same author,

Sing to Jehovah a new song; let them praise His name in dancing, with timbrel and harp let them make melody to Him. Psalms 149:1, 3.

Here 'praising with timbrel' stands for ascribing glory from the feeling of delight that belongs to an affection for the good of faith, and 'praising with harp' for the pleasant feeling that belongs to an affection for the truth of faith.

[5] In the same author,

Praise God with timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and organ praise Him with sounding cymbals ² ; praise Him with clanging cymbals. ³ Psalms 150:3-5

'Praising with timbrel and dance' stands for doing so from the good and truth of faith; 'on stringed instruments and organ' stands for doing so from truths and consequently from good. Since all instruments corresponded to and were signs of the delights and pleasant feelings that belong to spiritual and celestial affections a large number of the Psalms of David have titles indicating how they were to be accompanied, such as On Neginoth, On the Nehiloth, On the Octave, ⁴ Shiggaion, the Gittith Muthlabben, the Sheminith, Shoshannim, or Mahalath.

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