Does the Bible support the idea of dancing as an element of worship? There are three verses in Psalms that seem to talk about dancing in connection with worship:
Psa 30:11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
Psa 149:3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
Psa 150:4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.
However, in each case it is questionable what the word means and it may mean "pipe" or "piping." In KJV days the word "dance" had a great variety of meanings, so it is not clear what the KJV translators meant by these verses. In Old Testament days, worship was connected with the offering of a sacrifice, which was a very solemn occasion. In New Testament times, there is little mention of music or dancing in connection with worship except in Revelation, with singing. There is, however, one verse in the New Testament about dancing:
Luk 15:25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
Here is one commentary on this verse:
Dancing - Χορων. But Le Clerc denies that the word means dancing at all, as it properly means a choir of singers. The symphony mentioned before may mean the musical instruments which accompanied the choirs of singers. [From Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible]
Le Clerc, being French, probably got his understanding from the Huguenots, who got theirs from the Waldenses. One source describes the standards of the Waldenses as follows:
They forbad their people the use of oaths, dancings, and all kinds of sports, except practicing with the bow or other weapons: also of foolish and wanton songs; and of the studied ornaments of dress. [Scott, John, The History of the Church of Christ …, 1826-31]
In fact, in Greek the word Choros means a ring, round dance, choir, dancing. Here is another commentary on this verse:
He heard music and dancing. The Syriac; Persic, and Ethiopic versions, leave out "dancing": the former only reads, "the voice of the singing of many", and the next, "the voice of singing"; and the last, "pipes and songs" [from Gill’s exposition of the entire Bible]
Also, here is how the ECB version renders this verse:
And his elder son is in the field: and as he comes and approaches the house he hears symphony and chorus.
Thus there is little support for dancing in worship in the Bible. For general comments about dancing in worship and related issues, see this web link: