Hebrew word · H1902
הִגָּיוֹן
higayon
meditation
A low sound, murmuring or musing. In Ps 92:3 it is the soft sound of a lyre. In Ps 9:16 it is probably a musical or performance note. In Lam 3:62 it is the muttered plotting of enemies.
Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) meditation, resounding music, musing
1a) resounding music
1b) meditation, plotting
Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
A low sound, murmuring or musing. In Ps 92:3 it is the soft sound of a lyre. In Ps 9:16 it is probably a musical or performance note. In Lam 3:62 it is the muttered plotting of enemies. The verb hāgâ means to murmur or mutter: a lion growling over its prey (Isa 31:4), doves moaning (Isa 38:14), and the righteous who 'murmur' God's Torah day and night (Ps 1:2).
- Against the English
'Meditation' is a fair translation, but modern English links it with silent, wordless stillness or with clearing the mind. The Hebrew word means words: the mind going over and over something, often under the breath.
- How it drifted
Over time 'meditation' in English came to mean inner contemplation and, more recently, techniques borrowed from Eastern religion and mindfulness. In ancient Israel people usually read and pondered half-aloud.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Ps 1:2 and Josh 1:8 (the verb hāgâ for murmuring over Torah). The Dead Sea Scrolls speak of a 'Book of Hagu/Hagi' to be studied (1QSa 1.7; CD 10.6). The Septuagint has meletē, 'practice, careful study'.
- Range of meaning
From hāgâ: to murmur, moan, growl (of a lion, Isa 31:4), coo (of a dove, Isa 38:14), mutter, or meditate. The noun means a resounding sound or musing (Ps 19:14, "the higgaion of my heart"), a murmured plot (Lam 3:62), or a musical sound (Ps 92:3, "with higgaion on the lyre").
- Against the English
KJV, NASB and BSB transliterate it as "Higgaion". WEB and YLT translate it "Meditation", which picks one possible sense and gives it a quiet, inward feel that the word's sound-related range does not require.
- How it drifted
"Meditation" in modern English suggests silent contemplation. The Hebrew root is basically about low, audible sound.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Septuagint translates the pair "Higgaion Selah" as ᾠδὴ διαψάλματος, roughly "a song of interlude", which shows that early on it was already taken as a musical instruction.
Where it appears
Psalms · 3
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Psalm 9:16 הִגָּי֥וֹן Higgaion
The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
Here: A performance note, used as a rubric only here in the Bible. It comes from a root meaning to murmur, growl or hum. It probably marks a musical sound or interlude (compare Ps 92:3, "higgaion on the lyre"). Its exact sense is uncertain.
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Psalm 19:14 וְהֶגְי֣וֹן and [the] meditation of
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Here: 'And the murmuring of.' From the root hgh, 'to murmur, mutter, growl'. It means a person turning words over half-aloud or inwardly. It is inner speech, not a mind made empty.
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Psalm 92:3 הִגָּי֣וֹן a melody
with the ten-stringed harp and the melody of the lyre.
Lamentations · 1
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Lamentations 3:62 וְהֶגְיוֹנָ֔ם and muttering their
the slander and murmuring of my assailants against me all day long.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.