Everyday life
Dancing in the Bible
21 passages of the Berean Standard Bible, line by line, from Nave’s Topical Bible.
- Miriam and the women dance with tambourines after the sea crossingExod 15:20
The verses
Exod 15:20Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.
- Moses sees the calf and the dancingExod 32:19
The verses
Exod 32:19As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.
- Jephthah’s daughter comes out to meet him dancingJudg 11:34
The verses
Judg 11:34And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.
- The daughters of Shiloh dance at the yearly feastJudg 21:19–21
The verses
Judg 21:19–21“But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” So they commanded the Benjamites: “Go, hide in the vineyards and watch. When you see the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, each of you is to come out of the vineyards, catch for himself a wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
- Women dance and sing: “Saul has slain his thousands”1 Sam 18:6–7, 1 Sam 21:11
The verses
1 Sam 18:6–7As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and with tambourines and other instruments. And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
1 Sam 21:11But the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing about him in their dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?”
- David dances with all his might before the ark2 Sam 6:14–16
The verses
2 Sam 6:14–16And David, wearing a linen ephod, danced with all his might before the LORD, while he and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and the sounding of the ram’s horn. As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.
- Michal sees King David dancing and despises him1 Chr 15:29
The verses
1 Chr 15:29As the ark of the covenant of the LORD was entering the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked down from a window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.
- Children skip about to the tambourine and lyreJob 21:11–12
The verses
Job 21:11–12They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about, singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.
- “You turned my mourning into dancing”Ps 30:11
The verses
Ps 30:11You turned my mourning into dancing; You peeled off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
- Praise Him with tambourine and dancingPs 149:3, Ps 150:4
- A time to mourn and a time to danceEccl 3:4
The verses
Eccl 3:4a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
- “The dance of Mahanaim”Song 6:13
The verses
Song 6:13Come back, come back, O Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may gaze upon you. Why do you look at the Shulammite, as on the dance of Mahanaim?
- Maidens rejoice with dancing, young men and old as wellJer 31:4, Jer 31:13
The verses
Jer 31:4Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.
Jer 31:13Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.
- “Our dancing has turned to mourning”Lam 5:15
The verses
Lam 5:15Joy has left our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.
- Children in the market: “We played the flute, and you did not dance”Matt 11:17
The verses
Matt 11:17‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
- Music and dancing for the returning sonLuke 15:25
The verses
Luke 15:25Meanwhile the older son was in the field, and as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
- Herodias’s daughter dances at Herod’s birthday banquetMatt 14:6–7, Mark 6:22
The verses
Matt 14:6–7On Herod’s birthday, however, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give to her whatever she asked.
Mark 6:22When the daughter of Herodias came and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests, and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”
Sources
From Nave’s Topical Bible (Orville J. Nave, 1896; public domain): subjects chosen, lines shortened and put into modern words, lines of interpretation left out; each verse checked.
Berean Standard Bible · Public domain