ὑμνέω

From the study of Acts 16:25

Range of meaning

To sing a hymn to, or sing the praise of, a deity or honoured person. With no object it means simply 'sing a hymn'. In Greek a hymnos was a song of praise addressed to a god, and the verb is the act of singing it.

Against the English

KJV 'sang praises', BSB/WEB/YLT 'singing hymns', NASB 'singing hymns of praise'. All are accurate. The risk lies in the modern picture that 'hymn' brings to mind (see drift).

How it drifted

In modern English 'hymn' tends to mean a church song in verses, from a hymnbook, usually written after the Reformation. The Greek word is wider and older: any sung praise to God, including psalms.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) hymneō and hymnos translate Hebrew praise words and are used for singing the Psalms (e.g., 2 Chr 29:30; Ps 22:22 [21:23 LXX]; Isa 12:4). In the New Testament: Mark 14:26 / Matt 26:30, 'having sung a hymn' after the Last Supper (traditionally the Hallel Psalms 113–118). Also Heb 2:12, quoting Ps 22. Testament of Joseph 8:5 (a Jewish work of uncertain date) shows Joseph praising God while in fetters. Greek moral writers praised Socrates for composing a hymn in prison (Plato, Phaedo 60d; Epictetus, Discourses 2.6.26).

From the study of Matthew 26:30

Range of meaning

To sing in praise of someone, especially a god. It can be used with an object ('to praise God in song,' Acts 16:25; Heb 2:12) or without one ('to sing praise'). It always means praise sung or chanted aloud, not a hymn as a written composition. The related noun hymnos means a song of praise to a deity.

Against the English

Every major English version expands the single participle into 'sung a hymn.' That is a fair rendering, but it brings in a noun and with it the picture of one composed song. Nearly all versions treat the participle as coming before the main verb ('when they had sung,' 'after singing'), which matches the Greek tense.

How it drifted

In English, 'hymn' came to mean a church song in verse with a set tune, sung from a hymnal. That is a much later Christian form. What Jesus and his disciples sang was Hebrew psalm-chant from Israel's own Scripture.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), hymneō translates Hebrew words for praising God, e.g. Ps 22:22 (LXX 21:23), 'in the midst of the assembly I will sing your praise,' which Heb 2:12 puts in Jesus' mouth. Philo (Special Laws 2.148), a Jewish writer of Jesus' day, says Passover guests gather 'with prayers and hymns' (euchōn te kai hymnōn) to keep the ancestral custom. Wisdom of Solomon 18:9 imagines Israel already singing the fathers' praises on the first Passover night. The Mishnah (Pesahim 10:6–7, written down c. 200 AD) describes the Hallel (Psalms 113–118) being divided: one part sung before the meal and the rest finished over the fourth cup at the end.

From the study of Mark 14:26

Range of meaning

To sing a hymnos, a song of praise to a god. It can take an object ("to praise someone in song") or none ("to sing praise"). In Greek generally a hymnos was a song addressed to a deity, so the word is religious and points upward. It does not name a musical form. Chanting a psalm counts as "hymning".

Against the English

Every major English version says "sang a hymn". That is not wrong, but the English word now suggests a single composed song with rhyming verses from a hymnbook. The Greek has no "a" and no separate noun. It is one participle, "having hymned", which could just as well mean "after singing praises" or "after singing the psalms".

How it drifted

In modern English "hymn" mostly means a Christian congregational song, a genre that grew up from the 4th century onward and especially after the Reformation. Readers naturally picture that genre here.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament used in Jesus' day) the verb is used for temple singing and for psalm-singing. Ps 21:23 LXX (= 22:22), "in the midst of the assembly I will hymn you," is quoted in Heb 2:12. Isa 12:4–5 and 2 Chr 23:13 use it for Levites singing praise. Several Greek psalm headings label the psalms en hymnois, "with hymns" / "among songs". For Passover specifically, Philo (Special Laws 2.148) says the meal was celebrated "with prayers and hymns," and Wisdom of Solomon 18:9 pictures the first Passover with Israel "already singing the ancestral songs of praise." The Mishnah (Pesachim 10:6–7, written down c. 200 AD) prescribes the Hallel psalms (113–118) in two parts, with the second sung over the fourth cup at the end of the meal. The only other NT uses are Matt 26:30 (the parallel to this verse), Acts 16:25 and Heb 2:12.