Reading the Bible in Context, part 4

We are going to discuss two issues regarding the interpretation of a verse of scripture. One we have dealt with somewhat: Interpreting a verse without comparing it to other similar passages. In this case, we will take a careful look at a verse which is both well-known and well-loved, but generally misinterpreted.



The second issue is not interpreting a text according to its ancient context, rather putting a modern interpretation on an ancient text and doing so erroneously. Now errors like this are understandable since the correct interpretation depends on a knowledge of ancient history and culture that not many have. However, we will see that if we had looked at similar passages containing a particular word, then we might have questioned our interpretation. But when something seems crystal clear we tend to assume that we have understood it perfectly.



The passage for study is Psalm 47:1-3. It reads:

Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with the voice of triumph.

For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.
He subdued nations under us,  peoples under our feet.

 I have put the word “clap” in bold because that word is the key to our study. It seems at first glance to be talking about what we call “applause” or a “clap offering”. The “clapping” is in the middle of a praise to God. So, it basically means “clap offering”, right? Case closed?



No, the case is not closed. First of all, there is uncertainty as to the meaning of the Hebrew word translated “clap”. Is it clapping in rhythm, applause or simply putting one’s hands together? We have assumed it means “applause” and have practiced it that way, but the meaning is uncertain.



Moving on, we now will look at passages that contain that same word and see how it is used. Let’s use several.



Job 27:13-23 (with verses skipped for the sake of brevity)


Here is the fate God allots to the wicked, the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty …
However many his children, their fate is the sword; his offspring will never have enough to eat. The plague will bury those who survive him, and their widows will not weep for them ^…  Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest snatches him away in the night. The east wind carries him off, and he is gone; It claps its hands in derision and hisses him out of his place.



Job 34:36-37 [Elihu condemns Job]



Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost
    for answering like a wicked man!
     To his sin he adds rebellion;
    scornfully he claps his hands among us
    and multiplies his words against God.



Lamentations 2:15


All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?


There is something very strange here, isn’t there? Whatever a “clap” was, it was not like the applause we know today. In fact, we can only trace ‘applause’ back to first century Rome. In the contexts in Job and Lamentations, the term “clap” or “clapped their hands” has nothing to do with praising God. It seems to be a custom that is associated with the defeat or overthrow of an enemy, especially as a result of a judgment of God. Job is (falsely) accused of doing this wickedly, but correctly applied it is often a result of God’s righteous judgment. The people of God then may clap over the enemies that God has defeated. 


The word ‘clap’ is put together with speaking words against someone (Job 34), wagging the head (Lam. 2) and hissing (Job 27 and Lam. 2) It all seems to be a way of expressing the downfall of evil people (clapping) followed by a show of contempt for those who are fallen (hissing and head-wagging).

Now we can return to our original text. I am quoting again Psalm 47:1, 3 (sans verse 2) 


Clap your hands, all you peoples;
    shout to God with voice of triumph …
He subdued nations under us,
    peoples under our feet.


Now there is certainly a “shout to God”, which is praise, but a careful examination of the context reveals that the Israelites were to “clap their hands” to indicate the fall of their enemies, but they were not to show contempt for them by hissing. Rather, they were to praise God for “subduing the nations under us.” 

This is a victory psalm that tells God’s people to declare victory over their enemies and then praise God for it. So, praise is present, but it is the shout that is praise, not the clapping. The clapping is the custom that showed the overthrow of one’s enemies. (In my view, if you want to clap, clap over the devil – Jesus defeated him!)


In fairness, there are other OT scriptures that speak of clapping in a positive manner and even in praise. However, they are clearly metaphors from nature. Isaiah and some psalmists speak of trees and waves “clapping their hands”. When the wind blows, both waters and trees move in such a manner that it resembles people clapping their hands over their heads. But we are neither trees nor waves. All of creation gives praise to God but in different ways than humans do. 


I am fairly certain that the clapping of hands in worship began in the 1970’s. It seems to be unknown in the ancient church or the New Testament. I don’t find that practice in the Bible in light of a thorough study of Psalm 47. 


I trust that I have not lost too many of my readers from this. Whenever a person shows that a verse does not mean what they think it means, they sometimes turn you off. But even if you disagree with me, please do pick up on the fact that we must not interpret passages in isolation. We must study the uses of the same word elsewhere or we might miss the meaning altogether. I used to think that "clap" meant "clap offering", but now I have a fuller and richer understanding of the Bible because I found out differently. 


Even more important, we must be aware of the fact that it is very easy to read our modern culture and meanings and impose them onto the Bible when the ancient world would have had no idea what we are talking about. We do this a lot when we read the Bible and it is hard to do otherwise. But as we study and grow and learn, we can rejoice that our minds are being renewed to the Word of God and that we are thinking biblically and not according to this world's wisdom.