Dance is a regular feature of Israel’s festive worship and is viewed as an act of obedience to the Lord, for his praise and glory.
References to dancing abound in the Old Testament. Actual accounts of dancing reflect thoughtful, deliberate acts of offering praise to God. Several obvious references to dancing occur in the English versions of the Bible. Psalm 150:4 commands us to praise God in dance (Hebrew maḥol). In this same verse, we find justification for using organs and stringed instruments. The word ‘ugav, translated as “organ” (kjv) or “pipe” (nasb), is used only four times in the Bible, whereas there are many references to dance. If one cannot use Psalm 150 to advocate deliberately dancing before God, perhaps the church should also remove organs and other musical instruments from its corporate worship. The fact is that the musical instruments listed in Psalm 150, including organs or pipes, are not mentioned at all in the New Testament. Thus, if dance is forbidden because it is an Old Testament phenomenon, the use of musical instruments, being in the same category, should be forbidden as well. Psalm 150 advocates dancing, along with the use of instruments, as an act of obedience in regular corporate worship, rather than out of a spontaneous response prompted by extraordinary events.
The Hebrew Old Testament uses a number of words for dancing. These include gil, “circle in joy, dance”; maḥol and the related term mḥolah, “dancing”; pazaz, “leap”; raqad, “dance, skip about”; ḥagag, “celebrate, dance”; ‘alatz, “rejoice, exult, leap”; karar, “whirl, rotate.” Although the word gil actually indicates twirling, rotating, or dancing in a circle, it is usually translated as “rejoice” in the English versions. The psalmist uses this word in the phrase, “Let the earth rejoice” (Ps. 97:1 nasb). If even the earth as it spins on its axis is obeying the Old Testament command in this New Testament era, God’s redeemed creation should also honor the Creator by spinning in worship.
The verb ḥul can mean travailing in childbirth, which involves a twisting or writhing motion, or “to dance in a circle of joy.” The translators of the King James Version of the Bible chose the first usage for Psalm 96:9: “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; fear before him, all the earth,” and the New American Standard Bible renders the verse, “tremble before Him.” The context of Psalm 96:9 clearly requires the second usage; the verse should read, “O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; dance with joy before him, all the earth.” The psalmist is inviting the people of the whole earth to come before God in holy worship, demonstrating their joy through dance.
A final Old Testament term to be considered here is samaḥ. The word appears 150 times in the Old Testament as “rejoice.” According to Nelson’s Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament (Merrill F. Unger and William White, Jr., eds. [Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1980]), samaḥ “usually refers to a spontaneous emotion of extreme happiness which is expressed in some visible and/or external manner.… The emotion represented in the verb … is sometimes accompanied by dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments.”
Some teachers contend that since dancing was performed outdoors in the worship of Israel, it is not proper to engage in it within the church building. Old Testament believers worshiped outside because only the priests had access to the tabernacle and temple. Now, however, the veil of the temple has been torn from top to bottom, and all Christians are members of the kingdom of priests who can worship “inside” the Holy of Holies, offering the incense of praise and worship to God. Worshiping indoors would have been physically impossible in ancient Israel since the community numbered some three million and could not have been accommodated in any building. (In addition, the climate in the eastern Mediterranean region makes it possible for many activities to take place outdoors that, in colder and wetter climates, are not usually convenient.) Many churches are now building edifices that accommodate the growing crowds, with areas specifically designed for praise and dance. As a biblical basis for doing so, they cite Psalm 150: “Praise God in his sanctuary; … Praise him with tambourine and dancing” (Ps. 150:1, 4).