The following is an excerpt from a scholarly work posted here for study and discussion and not intended to be an original sermon.

Claims and counter-claims for the place of dance in the Old Testament may well leave us bewildered. One popular writer maintains that, “In the Old Testament, examples of song and dance in worship abound” 1 , while one authority diminishes everything to the simple statement that “In the Old Testament dancing in connection with divine service is mentioned only in 2 Samuel 6:14” 2 ! Faced with two such opposite views, how can we decide who or what is right? Unfortunately, as with so many problems in life, there is no short cut to avoid some hard work. The only way we can resolve the issue is to look at all the words used in the Old Testament that could possibly refer to dance. But even here the answers are not clear!

The Jewish Encyclopedia lists eleven Hebrew verb roots that are “employed to describe dancing activity and to highlight the nuances of dance movements” 3 . That may look hopeful, but a careful study brings us to the conclusion that “nuances of dance movements” is an overstatement for some words that literally mean nothing more than to skip, jump, leap, or gyrate. Children engage in this type of movement often throughout the day, and we would not claim that they are experts in dancing. If these eleven words are nuances (delicate differences in meaning), then we should be able to construct a simple dancing manual from the Bible. In fact the Jewish Encyclopedia claims that this rich store of words “points to an advanced stage of choreography among the Jews.” Unfortunately that is a quite impossible claim. No one, even in the modern rush to bring dance into worship, has attempted to restore Jewish dances from the Old Testament. The Handbook of Hebrew Dance Movement in the Old Testament has not yet been published (or written, or thought of!). In fact, not all scholars would agree that there are as many as eleven Hebrew words for dance in the Old Testament. The Encyclopedia Biblica 4 reduces it to four, and some would not allow more than one, as we shall see shortly.

David's Dance . The best hunting ground for dance in the Old Testament is usually the passage in 2 Samuel 6 when David and Israel accompanied the Ark of the Covenant on its journey to Jerusalem. The key verses are 5, 14, and 16, although three months separate verses 5 and 14. One word is used in verse 5; in Hebrew it is sahek (also in 1 Chronicles 13:8), and the Jewish Encyclopedia claims that David danced “in the ordinary sense of the word sahek. ” But we are not told what the “ordinary sense” is. In fact, the word means “to laugh” or “make sport”; it has no necessary reference to dance at all. The same word is employed a few chapters earlier in 2 Samuel 2:14, and there it refers to single combat; that was some dance when twenty-four young men lay dead at the end of it! Here the New International Version has “fight hand to hand.” Back in 2 Samuel 6:5 the NIV translates sahek by “celebrating,” and in Jeremiah 31:4, where the same word is used, we find “dance.” In Judges 16:25 the Philistine crowds called for Samson “to entertain us.” It is hardly likely that Samson, blind and in chains, danced before the pagan audience. They simply wanted to laugh at him and make sport of his tragedy. What, then, is the “ordinary sense”? In fact, the word is never used in the Old Testament plainly meaning dance, and generally the word “celebrate” is sufficient. The word itself gives us no clue as to what form the celebration takes. The accompaniment of the musical instruments in 2 Samuel 6 and Jeremiah 31 does not automatically mean that dancing is taking place; in fact, the orchestral playing itself might well be the sahek , the celebration.

Significantly, even J.H. Eaton in his contribution to Worship and Dance , claims that the word sahek in 2 Samuel 6 is best translated “making merry;” and John Eaton is eager to find dance wherever he can in the Old Testament. 5 Others take the same approach. 6

The Ark of the Covenant remained at the home of Obed-Edom for three months before David brought it into Jerusalem. This time three new words are introduced to describe David's activity. We will have to use the Hebrew words, because their meaning can overlap in English and this is the only way we can keep a clear distinction.

In 2 Samuel 6:14 the word karar is used. It can mean “rotate” ( Jewish Encyclopedia ), “advance or spring” ( Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge ), “whirl about” (Oesterley), or simply “move around” (Young). One thing is clear: the idea behind the word is swift action; the noun for a dromedary comes from the same word because of its agility. David obviously gyrated with joy.

In 2 Samuel 6:16 the word pazaz is introduced, and karar is repeated. Pazaz means simply “to jump.” David gyrated and jumped with joy. One modern lexicon allows “leap” (from a root meaning “to be startled”) as the only translation, with no necessary reference to dance. 7

In 1 Chronicles 15:29, a fourth word describes David's physical activity before the ark, rakad . The word means “to skip.” It is used in Isaiah 13:21 of wild goats leaping about, in Psalm 29:6 of the calf skipping, and in Job 21:11 of little children playing and skipping with delight. Even in Ecclesiastes 3:4, where the list of opposites is exact, the opposite of “mourn” is not “dance” but rejoice. “Skip with joy” would be more accurate.

David, then, was celebrating ( sakek , 2 Samuel 6:5) with the orchestra as the ark made its first journey to Jerusalem. After three months at the home of Obed-Edom, it continued on its journey; and David, ecstatic with joy, sprang about ( karar , 2 Samuel 6:14) like an excited child; he jumped ( pazaz , v. 16) and skipped ( rakad , 1 Chronicles 15:29). None of this necessarily means dancing. Clearly what David did was exceptional; it was not his customary way to worship. This is why Scripture draws attention to it and Michal, his wife, was offended by it. To speak of “nuances of dance movements” in these words is greatly overstated. It was the spontaneous overflow of an excited worshiper, and it was unusual enough to be recorded in Scripture. Never again are these words used of David's worship, and none of them refers to a formal dance.

Every hop, skip, and jump of excitement and exuberant joy is not dance. Let me illustrate this. In Acts 3:8 the lame man healed at the word of Peter by the gate Beautiful “jumped to his feet ¼ ” Similarly, in Acts 14:10 the man healed at Lystra “jumped up ¼ ” The same root word is used in both cases, and it means “to leap or spring up.” The men did not stagger to their feet; they leapt up with joy. The man healed by the gate Beautiful was found in the temple, “walking and jumping and praising God.” To my knowledge no one has tried to suggest the man was “dancing.” The word does not carry that meaning. There is another word in Greek for the formal dance, it is orcheomai , from which our word orchestra is derived. If we insist upon calling a hop, skip, or jump a “dance,” then we have devalued the word. David the king was doing no more than the men healed in Jerusalem and Lystra nearly a thousand years later. He was jumping with joy. It may be hard to accept the conclusion, but to use David as an example of dance in worship is to read far more into the words employed by the Holy Spirit to describe his activity. A matter of particular significance is the fact that there is only one Hebrew word that clearly refers to dancing, and that word, which we will come to in a moment, is never used with reference to David! If someone still insists, in spite of the evidence, that David's activity before the ark was dance, then they must concede that it was his first and last recorded excursion into dance in worship and that none of the later kings copied him, nor the priests, nor the prophets.

Far too much is being claimed today for the activity of David before the ark. J.H. Eaton encourages us to study David's dance alongside Psalm 132 and 1 Kings 8: “And we may then conclude with Mowinckel and others that the cult-founding working of David was annually re-enacted in Jerusalem's autumn festival. Thus his successors also will have led the ark with dancing and sacrifice into the sanctuary”! 8 However, Psalm 132 nowhere uses any of the words associated with dance, and the only physical activities of Solomon described in 1 Kings 8 are that he assembled with the priests and elders, turned around to face the people, stood before the altar, knelt down and lifted up his hands in prayer and offered sacrifices. It is unreasonable to assume that he danced. The fact that Egyptian kings danced tells us nothing about what the Israelite kings did and still less about what they ought to have done.

Other Words for Dance . While we're at it, let's consider one or two other words that are sometimes dragged into the dancing discussion. The word pasah means to “pass over,” “pass by,” or “spare.” But it can also carry the meaning of “to leap;” the word is used in just this way in 1 Kings 18:26 of the frantic antics of the prophets of Baal. 9 Now the word pasah lies at the root of the word for the Passover, and this fact has led many to assume that dancing accompanied the Passover which, they claim, was a festival of dancing. Such a claim violates all sensible understanding of words. The Passover Feast commemorated the night in which the angel of death “passed over” or spared the first-born of the Israelites (Exodus 12:27). It was a terrible night of death and sorrow in Egypt. The angel of death was hardly dancing through the land. There is absolutely no association of the Passover with dancing any more than a “leap year” in our calendar implies a year of national festivity and dancing! Oesterley supports the view of Robertson-Smith that this word pasah really has a dancing word at its root. But the evidence is so slight that Oesterley concludes only that “the option is worth hazarding”. 10 We must not make a case based on an “opinion worth hazarding.” This is surely clutching at Egyptian straws!

Another word is hagag , which basically means to move in a circle. I t happens also to be the common Old Testament word for a religious festival. It is used of the Passover festival in Exodus 12:14, for example, and in many other places in the Old Testament (e.g., Psalm 118:27). Certainly the word originally carried the meaning of some form of celebratory procession. It is used of a drunken orgy in 1 Samuel 30:16 (“reveling”) and is descriptive of the progress of the drunkard in Psalm 107:27. The problem, for our purpose, is that we have no evidence that when the Jews used the word to refer to their religious festivals they had any association with dancing in their mind. At the most the word can refer to the Jewish procession, led by the priests, to the tabernacle (and later to the temple). But a procession is not a dance unless we can prove that it involved a specified choreography. And on this, the Scriptures are totally silent. The Lord Mayor's procession in London each year, with all its ceremony and regalia, is not a dance.

Prof. S. R. Driver, one-time Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford, was unwilling to admit that the word hagag , when used of Jewish festivals or not, has any necessary connection with dance. 11 The evidence for this word having any association with a formal dance is so remote that it is surprising to find Oesterley making the claim that it is the “chief original Hebrew term for a religious dance.” 12

This may all be very depressing for those who expect to find a lot of examples of dance in Old Testament worship! 13 However, we did warn that Schaff-Herzog concluded, “Dancing in connection with divine service is mentioned only in 2 Sam. 6:14,” 14 and the present writer has not even allowed that reference!

Nevertheless, there is unquestionably dance in the Old Testament, and this brings us to the only Hebrew word that appears to have dance as its primary meaning. It is the word hul . At its root the word means to writhe or whirl, or twist. It is used of the labor pains of a woman giving birth (Isaiah 54:1), the whirlwind “swirling down” (Jeremiah 23:19), and even to be in great distress (Esther 4:4). Other words from the same root refer to strength, might, valor, soldiers, armies and fear. But the noun mahol , without question, means “dance.” In this sense, it is used in Scripture. Miriam danced with the women after the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20); Jepthah's daughter met her father with dancing (Judges 11:34); the girls of Shiloh were dancing when the men of Bethlehem chose wives from among them (Judges 21:21-23); and Saul and David were met by dancing women as they returned victoriously from battle with the Philistines (1 Samuel 18:6 cf. 21:11; 29:5). Jeremiah spoke of Israel “dancing with the joyful” (Jeremiah 31:4, 13) and of “dancing turned to mourning” (Lamentations 5:15). However, examples of dancing in any sense of the word hardly “abound” in the Old Testament. The Authorized Version is probably more generous than most translations in using the word “dance' for the various Hebrew words we have discussed and even then it only employs the word ‘dance' twenty-six times in the entire Old Testament.

Only in three places in the Old Testament is the word mahol used in association with worship. The dancing of the maidens in Judges 21 was possibly at the autumn festival, but J.H. Eaton suggests that this dance had associations with marriage and fertility both in the family and field. 15 He is probably right, and if so it is hardly a model for the worship of Jehovah!

The other two references where mahol is understood to be in the context of worship are found in Psalms 149:3 and 150:4. They refer to the joy of God's people overflowing into music-making and dancing. However, these two verses alone provide no evidence that dancing did form, still less that it should form, an essential part of worship. The context of both psalms is that everything that has breath should praise the Lord (150:6). The psalmist works out his theme that everything the people of God do should honor God. This includes their worship in the assembly (149:1, 150:1), their dancing (149:3, 150:4), their music (149:4, 150: 3,4) and even their wars (149:6-9)! These two psalms do not set out to discuss the content of Jewish worship in the temple; they simply claim that everything in the life of God's people, from dancing to war, should be to the honor of God. 16

The modern, formal, well-planned and rehearsed dancing movements were unknown to the religious life of the Jew, and there is no evidence in the Old Testament that they were known to his social life either. The complete absence of choreographers in the Old Testament is surely significant. We read of choir leaders and orchestral conductors (e.g., Nehemiah 12:42-45), but never of choreographers. When J.H. Eaton refers to “the specialists of temple music and dancing,” 17 he does so without authority. We never read of the specialists in temple dancing, and it is claiming too much to assume that music-making always meant dancing also. Dance, therefore, as it is generally understood and defined today, is nowhere found in the Old Testament directly in the context of worship. We cannot allow the formal religious procession to be called dance; neither can we allow every hop, skip, and jump of holy joy to be called dance. It would be absurd to suggest that the worshiper who raised his hands in prayer leaping with joy demonstrated an artistic form of religious dance. The only Hebrew word that refers clearly to dance ( mahol ) is not used of David's joy before the ark or of any activity in worship. The two psalms that are so frequently quoted do not obviously refer to dance in the service of worship but as an expression of holy joy in God. It may be inferred that this permits it in worship. But an inference is not an authority; at best it is a suggestion.

Dancing among the Jews was an entirely single-sex activity. As a matter of fact, we never read in the Old Testament of men dancing. It was always only the women with women. Not men with men, and least of all men with women. Also, dancing was never a spectator entertainment. It was never a performance. It was always a spontaneous response to a particular situation. Rehearsal and planned movements seem to be unknown in the Old Testament. At the most, dance was an unusual, spontaneous, and enthusiastic response to the goodness and kindness of God. The norm of Old Testament worship was the restrained and awesome approach towards a holy God. The high priest did not dance through the temple into the Holy of Holies; he approached with fear and trembling. Isaiah was not dancing in the sanctuary when he saw the Lord “high and lifted up.”

A book published in 1951 shows the influence of Jewish thought and culture in all areas of life. It is called The Hebrew Impact on Western Civilization (published by the Philosophical Society, New York ), and the editor, Dagobert D. Runes, devotes a chapter to “ Israel and the Dance.” Without difficulty he can demonstrate the significant contribution of Jews in contemporary dance and ballet, and even as far back as the great Italian Jew, Guglielmo Ebreo, two hundred years ago; but can put together only two pages to deal with the Old Testament. Admitting that there is no provision for dance in the Mosaic code, “which scrupulously regulates all other ritual matters,” Runes falls back on the support of King David. David's “dance” before the ark is described as “followed and probably greatly imitated by others. It was probably a rotary dance rich in gesture, accentuated by violent steps.” Notice the repetition of that word “probably”! We are even more suspicious when Runes assures us that the Jewish and early Christian prophets “found the spirit of God in the ecstasy of the dance” and then supports his claim solely by a vague reference to Jeremiah 1:9, which has nothing whatever to do with dance.

In the New Testament there is a total absence of any reference to dance in the context of worship. For the Christian this ought to imply, at the very last, that dance formed no part of the worshipping activity of first-century Christians. There are only three occasions of dancing mentioned in the entire New Testament. The Greek word orcheomai (‘orchestra') refers to Herodias' daughter (Matthew 14:6; Mark 6:22) and to children playing in the street (Matthew 11:17; Luke 7:32). A different word is used in Luke 15:25 for the celebration over the returned prodigal; it is choros (“chorus”) and can refer to singing or dancing, or both. None of these instances forms a model for Christian worship!

A discussion of W. O. E. Oesterley's The Sacred Dance . The following discussion of Oesterley's book, The Sacred Dance , A Study in Comparative Folklore 18 is not an essential part of the argument of this chapter. So, if you are short of time or incentive you can move on to the next chapter. However, if you are still with me, I have included this review of Oesterley's work for three reasons. First, he was writing in the 1920s, long before our subject became an emotive issue among evangelical Christians (though Oesterley was not an evangelical, anyway). Second, because his work is moderately thorough and certainly has not been replaced by a more up-to-date study; this is shown by the fact that he is frequently quoted with approval by those supporting dance in worship. Third, because Oesterley reveals the presuppositions and assumptions that have to be made to defend dance in worship.

As a matter of fact, Oesterley admits a lack of solid evidence in the Old Testament itself yet still includes the Old Testament in his list of “abundant” source material! His purpose in writing the book was to show the extent and significance of dance in ancient religion and particularly Judaism, Oesterley has no doubt that dance played a major role in Jewish worship, and he sets out to prove his case. In the light of this, it will prove helpful to take an extended quotation from the early part of his book.

“In some important instances the Old Testament is silent. . . When a particular type of the sacred dance is not mentioned in the Old Testament, it must not be supposed that it did not exist; indirectly, evidence is forthcoming which makes it highly probable that the reverse in the case. For this reason we shall often refer to post-biblical Jewish custom and practice. Such a thing as the sacred dance is not likely, from the very nature of things, to have been an innovation of later ages; so that its existence in post-biblical times may well be regarded as the continuance of traditional custom; and if so, its existence among the Israelites of Old Testament times may be taken for granted.” 19

Look carefully at some of Oesterleys statements here: “In some important instances silent ¼ indirectly ¼ highly probable ¼ not likely ¼ may well be regarded ¼ may be taken for granted ¼ ” These admissions are most revealing from one who sets out to show the widespread importance of religious dance to the Jew! Oesterley admits that the Old Testament is silent “in some important instances.” In fact, nowhere in the Old Testament is there one verse of instructive detail on the use of dance either for social, recreation, or religious dance to the Jew! Oesterley admits that the Old Testament is silent “in some important instances.” In fact, nowhere in the Old Testament is there one verse of instructive detail on the use of dance either for social, recreation, or religious worship. If dance is so intrinsically part of Jewish worship, this is most strange in the light of the incredible detail given to cover every other aspect of their religious life. The fabric, color, and embroidery of priestly garments, the design and materials of every item connected with the sacrifices, the quality and type of animals to be used, are all covered in great detail. The actions of the officiating priests are also finely spelled out. Yet nothing, not one word of instruction, is given regarding the so-called sacred dance. It would be more accurate for Oesterley to admit that in all important instances the Old Testament is silent. He does at least concede to “the comparatively rare mention, therefore, of the sacred dance in the Old Testament.” 20 It is a lame response of Oesterley to claim there was no need of instructions on dance because in worship “dance” had been in vogue from time immemorial. So had sacrifices and priests and altars, but God provided great detail for their use.

“Post-biblical Jewish custom and practice” is, unfortunately, little evidence for Old Testament practices. During the four hundred years from the close of Malachi to the birth of Christ, Jewish life changed drastically, and many beliefs and practices crept into the religion of the Jew that had no foundation in the Old Testament and which Christ had to tear away. The Jewish ideas concerning the world of angels and spirits were a far cry from anything found in the Old Testament. We may ask why “from the very nature of things” the sacred dance could not have been an innovation of later ages? The Jews were constantly, throughout their history, adding pagan bits and pieces to their religion, and the prophets spent much of their time trying to prune out the additions. That was one of the great weaknesses of Jewish history. We cannot “take for granted” that a post-biblical custom was “a continuance of traditional custom.” We must either prove it or the case falls. It is hard enough to show that choreography existed in the Old Testament worship; it is impossible to conclude that God commanded it.

The particular weakness of Oesterley's case is revealed when he offers us examples of the types of sacred dance in the Old Testament. 21 He speaks of the processional dance and offers only 2 Samuel 6 as evidence, claiming that the common Hebrew word for dancing is found here! It is not. Oesterley then refers to the encircling a sacred object and having admitted it is “nowhere specifically mentioned in the Old Testament” nevertheless concludes, “We can scarcely doubt its having existed among the Israelites.” That is merely wishful thinking; we want evidence!

The ecstatic dance is supposedly proved by the “well-known example' of Saul in 1 Samuel 10. But no word relating to dance or even physical activity is found in this passage. The emphasis of the prophet's ministry is his utterance, not his activity. The word translated “procession” in verse 5 is literally a “band or group” of prophets. The only other ecstatic dance referred to by Oesterley is that of the prophets of Baal on Carmel. We have no need to answer for the frantic leaping of the pagan prophets! Eaton does not clarify the position either by referring to this case of Saul among the prophets and concluding, “In such passages dancing as such is not expressly described, the phenomenon being too well known to be detailed.” 22 A statement like this concedes the weakness of the whole case. Where, in the Old Testament, is it so well known? We are not told. Are we to assume that Elijah on Carmel began a frantic jig before calling on the name of the Lord?

The only point at which Oesterley seems sure-footed is when he refers to dance in celebration of victory . Here we do have a few passages to support us (e.g., Exodus 15:20). Evidence for dancing at the vintage and harvest festivals Oesterley admits is “from the scanty references,” and the only reference he does give, without any mention of dance in it, is Amos' condemnation of the Jews' “irreverent worship”! This would prove to be a counter-productive argument if the “irreverent worship” included dance, because God says, “Away with it” (Amos 5:23). Oesterley's reference to dance at the rite of circumcision, the wedding ceremony and at the burial, he does not even try to support from the Old Testament, only by the “evidence of late Jewish literature and the analogous practice among other people.”

One of the chief exponents of the sacred dance in the Old Testament has destroyed the case for want of reliable evidence. We are still waiting for a more convincing exposition than that of Oesterley.

What then is our conclusion? This study of the scriptural roots of dance is not intended to be a case for the abolition of dance! We only appeal that people should not try to prove too much from too little. Whatever our personal preferences, the evidence hardly bears out the conclusion of John Eaton that “The advocates of dance in worship have a weighty ally in the Old Testament, and in particular in the Psalms.” 23 If dance is legitimate at all, and particularly if it is legitimate in worship, we must admit that the New Testament evidence is nil and the Old Testament evidence is sparse. If a congregation wishes to dance in worship, then on the biblical basis alone (and there are other considerations) the most we can conclude is that it is their own affair. Let them not ransack or manipulate the Bible to support their cause, and thus let them not conclude that it is evidence either of scriptural obedience or spiritual life. If the Word of God does not specifically condemn dance in worship, it certainly does not command or encourage it either.

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References:

Chapter 4, Biblical Roots for Dance

• Martha Keys Barker and the Fisherfolk, Building Worship Together , 1981, p.15.
• Encyclopedia for Religious Knowledge , Schaff-Herzog, 1891, vol. 1, p. 601.
• The Jewish Encyclopedia , p. 1262. W.O. E. Oesterley also lists eleven words in The Sacred Dance, A Study in Comparative Folklore, Cambridge U.P., 1923, p. 44.

• Enclyclopedia Biblica , 1899, vol I, pp. 998-9, “Dance.”
• Prof. J.G. Davies, ed., Worship and Dance , Institute for the Study of Worship and Religious Architecture, University of Birmingham, 1975, p. 9.
• Brown, Driver and Briggs in A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament , 1907, translate it as “merry making” in 2 Samuel 6:5 and “making sport and play” at 1 Chronicles 15:29.
• Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros , Koehler/Baumgartner, 1958.
• Worship and Dance , p. 9.
• The NIV is misleading by the translation: “They danced around the altar.” Literally they simply “leapt about.”
• W.O.E. Oesterley, quoting from Robertson-Smith in Encyclopedia Britannica , vol. 18, p. 343 (9 th ed.).
• Koehler/Baumgartner (see note 7) make no reference to dance as a meaning of pasah, but admit the origin and meaning of the word are not yet fully understood.
• S.R. Driver D.D., Notes on the Hebrew Text ¼ of the Book of Samuel , Oxford at Clarendon Press, 1913, p. 223: “Whether, however, the sense of dancing is really expressed by the word is very doubtful. Modern lexicographers only defend it by means of a questionable assumption ¼ ” Driver concludes that the meaning of 1 Samuel 30:16 is that the Amalekites were “behaving as at a gathering of pilgrims; i.e., enjoying themselves merrily.” In fact in A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Gesenius, hagag at Psalm 107:27, the drunken sailor!)
• The Sacred Dance , p. 50, quoting from Encyclopedia Biblica , vol. I, p. 999.
• See note 1.
• See note 2.
• Worship and Dance , p. 8.
• Psalm 87:7 is often used to support dance in worship, but this is an uncertain claim. Certainly the RSV reads, “Singers and dancers alike say, ‘All my springs are in you,'” and this follows Keil and Delitzsch in taking the noun used here to be from the word mahol . However, Bagster believes that it comes from halal , “to play the pipe or flute.” Thus the NIV translates, “As they make music they will sing, ‘All my fountains are in you.'”
• Worship and Dance , p. 11.
• See footnote 3.
• The Sacred Dance, p. 9. Interestingly, J.H. Eaton in Worship and Dance speaks highly of Oesterley's work and yet is at variance with him in this important respect. A more popular presentation by John Eaton of dance in Jewish worship will be found in his book The Psalms Come Alive, Mowbray 1984, ch. 5.
• The Sacred Dance , pp. 35-43.
• Worship and Dance , p.12. This statement comes in the section headed: “Situations in which dancing is attested.” But how can it be attested if it is admitted dancing “is not expressly described”? Again, we expect evidence, not wishful imagination. Similarly, on page 4 of his study Eaton maintains, “In many Old Testament passages alluding to cultic rejoicing, but without explicit mention of dancing, we can safely assume that dancing is implied.” Assumptions are not evidence.
• The Psalms Come Alive , p. 102.

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