Shigionoth! No – its not a swearword in Serbo-Croat. It’s a word that occurs just once in the Bible: at the beginning of the third chapter of Habakkuk to be exact. He’s one of the minor prophets by the way, so you can find his book towards the end of the Old Testament.
You won’t find this strange word in a dictionary or thesaurus or even on Wikipedia. I’m told this Hebrew word is broadly translated as “a highly emotional poetic form”. It is actually a musical term like the equally important word ”selah” that also pops up in Habakkuk. Shigionoth means getting excited and exuberant in singing, jumping about and dancing wildly.
You’d expect to see Shigionoth-type activity at a nightclub (or so I’m told!) where it is quite normal for people to bounce up and down to loud music, flail their arms about and generally get “pumped-up” to contemporary rhythm. What is unusual about this instance in Habakkuk is that this is a response to sad circumstances!
If your roofs leaking or your road’s flooded - and, to be quite honest, whose isn’t these days? - well, try to shun the pity party and the gripe group! If you’re fed up with the economic situation or cheesed off with local politics, don’t get into a downward spiral of despair. If you’re facing illness or injury, sadness or cynicism, don’t be dragged into negativism and complaint.
Find a private place with a bit of space. If you’re really brave – take a like-minded friend. Put on some loud music and let rip! Shigionoth!“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3: 18
Go on! Try a bit of Shigionoth!
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