God-sanctioned and God-ordained dancing can be seen in the two Hebrew words used for dancing: raqad and machowl. Strong’s defines machowl as, “a (round) dance” like those holding hands and bouncing around in a circle. Little kids do this all the time with each other for fun. Strong’s Exhaustive defines raqad as, “to stamp, i.e. to spring about (wildly or for joy)”. Raqad is seen in the KJV as skip, dance, leap, and jumping.

Referring to when David danced before the Lord with all his might during the return of the ark of the Lord, God used the Hebrew word “karar” (whirl) for David’s dancing in II Sam. 6:14, 16 and “raqad” (leap, skip, jump) for his dancing in I Chron. 15:29.

So, when God refers to dancing in a good way in Scripture, it is simply normal physical exuberance seen all the time in children and animals.

• Job 21:11 “They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.”
• Ps. 29:6 “He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.”
• Ps. 114:4 “The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.”
• Is. 13:21 “But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.”
•  

And this type of “dancing” is what God commands for worship to him:

• Ps. 149:3 “Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.”
• Ps. 150:4 “Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.”
•  

Note: Of course, as with all worship to God, it must be done in holiness. (i.e. holy hands I Tim. 2:8 and “beauty of holiness” I Chron. 16:29; II Chron. 20:21; Ps. 29:2; Ps. 96:9)

However, there is also sinful dancing mentioned in Scripture.

• Mt. 14:6 “But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.”
• Mk. 6:22 “And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.”
•  

Most dancing throughout time is wrong dancing. This dancing is self-serving for the improper pleasure of others (as seen in the above 2 examples of Herod), often immodest attire (ballerinas included), and quite frequently with syncopation and sinful music.

Secularist Rick Snoman in his 2004 book, “Dance Music Manual: Toys, Tools, and Techniques”, talking about modern dance, on p. 44 states “All dance music makes use of syncopation, and it’s often a vital element that helps tie the whole track together”.

Wrong examples of dance, then, would be dance clubs, dance involving contact with members of the opposite gender to whom you are not married, dancing to sinful music (i.e. syncopation, unresolved chords, etc…), dancing for personal glory and gain, dance competitions, dance classes, etc….

More study notes: 8x’s as dance; 6x’s as dances; 6x’s as danced; 7x’s as dancing

There is also the Greek word, “choregeo”, which is used twice in the NT (II Cor. 9:10 as “minister” and I Pt. 4:11 as “giveth”). Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines it, “to be a dance-leader”. This is where we get our English, “choreography”. And there is also the similar Greek word, “choros”, that Strong’s defines, “a ring, i.e. round dance” from which we get our English “choir”.

(This article is from the “Are You ‘More Noble’?” series.)