CANTICLES, BIBLICAL

Biblical canticles are liturgical hymns taken from the books of the Bible other than the Book of Psalms and resembling the Psalms in form and content. The use of the Biblical canticles in the Christian liturgy began in the East, where it may have been borrowed from a Jewish custom; but it was known in the West as early as the 4th century. In some Biblical manuscripts (e.g., the Codex Alexandrinus) the canticles are inserted immediately after the Book of Psalms. According to the Roman rite, three New Testament canticles are used each day in the Divine Office: the benedictus or Canticle of Zechariah (Lk 1.68–79) at Lauds; the magnificat or Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Lk 1.46–55) at Vespers; and the nunc dimittis or Canticle of Simeon (Lk 2.29–32) at Compline. The pre-1970 Roman Breviary used several Old Testament canticles as the fourth "psalm" at Lauds, two different ones for each day of the week, one for "first" Lauds (on most days) and another for "second" Lauds (on penitential days). These were (in the order of the Bible): the first Canticle of Moses, also known as the Canticle of Miriam (Miriam; Ex 15.1–18), second Lauds of Thursday; the second Canticle of Moses (Dt 32.1–43), second Lauds of Saturday (but since 1960 only Dt 32.1–18); the Canticle of Anna (1 Sm 2.1–10), second Lauds of Wednesday; the Canticle of David (1 Chr 29.10–13), first Lauds of Monday; the Canticle of Tobit (Tobias; Tb 13.1–8), first Lauds of Tuesday; the Canticle of judith (Jdt 16.13–17), first Lauds of Wednesday; the Canticle of Sirach (Sir 1.1–13), first Lauds of Saturday; the first Canticle of Isaiah (Is 20.1–6), second Lauds of Monday; the second Canticle of Isaiah (Is 45.15–25), first Lauds of Friday; the Canticle of Ezekiel (Is 38.10–20), second Lauds of Tuesday; the Canticle of Jeremiah (Jer 31.10–14), first Lauds of Thursday; the Benedicite Dominum or the Canticle of the Three Youths in the Fiery Furnace (Dn 3.52–88), divided into two hymns— Dn 3.52–57, second Lauds of Sunday, and Dn 3.57–88, first Lauds of Sunday; and the Canticle of Habakkuk (Hab 3.2–19), second Lauds of Friday. Many of these canticles have been retained in the 1970 Liturgy of the Hours.

Bibliography: h. schneider, Die altlateinischen biblischen Cantica (Beuron 1938); "Die biblischen Oden im christlichen Altertum," Biblica 30 (1949) 28–65, 239–272, 432–452, 479–500.

[l. f. hartman/eds.]