Biblical Frequencies: Sound and Spirituality in Scripture

Of late, I have been questioned on my belief of the use of frequencies being Biblical and not “new age”. Yes, the Bible does mention “frequencies” in a literal, numerical sense quite often—though almost always in a musical or vibrational context rather than modern New Age “energy frequency” ideas. Here are the main places where the concept of frequency (repeated sounds, vibrations, or regular occurrences) appears:

1. Musical frequencies / pitch in the Old Testament (Hebrew)

The Hebrew word תֹּךְ (tōk) and especially the noun תְּקוּעָה (tequʿah) and verb תָּקַע (taqaʿ) are repeatedly used for trumpet blasts and their specific rhythmic or frequency patterns:

• Numbers 10:3–10 describes different “frequencies” of trumpet sounds (long steady blasts vs. short rapid blasts) that had distinct meanings:
  • One long blast = assemble the whole congregation
  • Multiple short, rapid blasts = signal the camps to march
  • These are literally different acoustic frequencies and cadences that the priests had to produce precisely.
• Joshua 6 (fall of Jericho): the priests marched seven days, and on the seventh day they circled seven times and gave a “long blast” followed by a great shout. Again, very specific sound frequencies and timing.
• Psalm 150 mentions many instruments with specific pitches and timbres (cymbals that are “loud” vs. “high-sounding,” etc.).

2. The “voice” of God as a frequency or resonance

• Exodus 19:16–19 at Mount Sinai: thunder, lightning, a “very loud trumpet blast” that grew louder and louder—an increasing frequency/intensity of sound that made the people tremble.
• Ezekiel 1 and 10, Revelation 1 and 4: the “sound of many waters,” wings of the living creatures making a sound “like the roar of rushing waters” or “like a mighty army”—ancient way of describing very high-amplitude, multi-frequency sound.

3. New Testament: the Greek word for “frequency” in worship

• Hebrews 10:25 uses the phrase μὴ ἐγκαταλείποντες τὴν ἐπισυναγωγὴν ἑαυτῶν (“not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together”). While not musical, some modern charismatic teachers stretch this into a “frequency of gathering” idea.
• Revelation 14:2: John hears a sound from heaven “like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder… like that of harpists playing their harps”—again, layered acoustic frequencies.

4. Modern “vibrational frequency” interpretation (not in the text itself)

Many New Age or Word-of-Faith teachers claim the Bible teaches that everything vibrates at certain spiritual frequencies (citing verses about praise, joy, or the “sound” of heaven). While the Bible does connect sound, music, and spiritual power (walls of Jericho falling, David’s harp driving out evil spirits in 1 Samuel 16:23, Paul and Silas’s singing opening prison doors in Acts 16), the original texts are talking about literal audible sound and its emotional/spiritual effects—not quantum vibration or Hertz measurements.

Summary

Yes, the Bible repeatedly mentions specific sound frequencies:

• Trumpet blast patterns (different cadences/frequencies for different commands)
• Increasing intensity of divine sound (Sinai, Ezekiel, Revelation)
• Music and harmonic resonance as a spiritual weapon

But no, it never uses the modern concept of everything in creation having a measurable Hertz frequency that you can “raise” through thoughts or words. That idea comes from 20th-century New Thought and New Age teaching, not the biblical text itself. It can be easy to get lost in translation and step beyond the boundary of God’s intention.