Al'amoth (Hebrew Alamoth', עֲלָמוֹת, virgins, as often; Sept. ἀλημώθ v. r. ἀλαιμὠθ and ἀλιμώθ,Vulg. arcana), a musical term used in 1Ch 15:20, apparently to denote that the choristers should sing in the female voice, i.e. our treble, or soprano. So Lafage (Hist. Gen. de la Musique) renders it "chant superieur ou a 'loctave" (comp. Mendelssohn, Introd. to Psalms). The word occurs in the same form and signification in the inscription of Psalm 46 (where the Sept. and Vulg. translate κρύφια, arcana, i.e. secrets, as if indicative of the contents of the Psalm), and twice again in nearly the same form (עִלמוּת), namely, in the inscription of Psalm 9 (where it has the same sense, but is differently rendered by our translators "upon Muth-," Sept. again ὑπὲρ τῶν κρυφίων, Vulg. occultis), and in Ps 48:14 (where the context requires the meaning forever, but our version has "unto death," Sept. correctly εἰς τοὺς αἰώνας, Vulg. in soecula). SEE MUTH-LABBEN.
Forkel (Gesch. der Musik, 1, 142) understands virgin measures (Germ. Jungfernweise), i e. in maidenly style, but against the propriety of the usage. SEE PSALMS.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More