“In the case of polygamy, there is a universal standard – it is understood to be a sin, therefore polygamists are not admitted to positions of leadership including Holy Orders, nor after acceptance of the Gospel can a convert take another wife, nor, in some areas, are they admitted to Holy Communion.”

In Matthew 19:12, Christ describes three types of people as unfit for marriage, namely those who have been castrated (which all exegetes take as indicating eunuchs); those born incapable (con- genital eunuchs) and those who, by their own free choice and for the glory of God’s Kingdom, abstain from marrying (voluntary …

In Judaism, a concubine is a marital companion of inferior status to a wife. Among the Israelites, men commonly acknowledged their concubines, and such women enjoyed the same rights in the house as legitimate wives.

8 wives

The episode of the Levite’s concubine is a biblical narrative in Judges 19–21. It concerns a Levite from Ephraim and his concubine, who travel through the Benjaminite city of Gibeah and are assailed by a mob, who wish to rape the Levite. He turns his concubine over to the crowd, and they rape her until she collapses.

Ephraim, one of the 12 tribes of Israel that in biblical times comprised the people of Israel who later became the Jewish people. The tribe was named after one of the younger sons of Joseph, himself a son of Jacob.

The standard Chinese term translated as “concubine” was qiè 妾, a term that has been used since ancient times, which means “concubine; I, your servant (deprecating self reference)”. Concubinage resembled marriage in that concubines were recognized sexual partners of a man and were expected to bear children for him.

Levites are the descendants of the Tribe of Levi, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. A Levite (or Levi) (/ˈliːvaɪt/, Hebrew: לֵוִי‎, Modern: Levi, Tiberian: Lēwî) is a Jewish male descended patrilineally from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah.

Conquered by the Assyrian King Shalmaneser V, they were exiled to upper Mesopotamia and Medes, today modern Syria and Iraq. The Ten Tribes of Israel have never been seen since.

When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan the Levites were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners, because “the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, as he said to them” (Book of Joshua, Joshua 13:33).

The Tribe of Levi had no land appropriation but had six Cities of Refuge under their administration as well as the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Bible names the six cities as being cities of refuge: Golan, Ramoth, and Bosor, on the east (left bank) of the Jordan River, and Kedesh, Shechem, and Hebron on the western (right) side.

Balaam’s intention was to curse the Israelites at this moment of wrath, and thus cause God himself to destroy them; but God purposely restrained His anger in order to baffle the wicked prophet and to save the nation from extermination (Talmud, Berachot 7a).

The two talking animals in the Old Testament commanded the attention of several authors of New Testament books, who provide ‘information’ about the Serpent and Balaam’s ass not present in the original Pentateuch: for instance, that the Serpent is an embodiment of Satan or the Devil (Revelation 12:9) and that Balaam’s …

Joshua

On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

Gibeon, modern al-Jīb, important town of ancient Palestine, located northwest of Jerusalem. Its inhabitants submitted voluntarily to Joshua at the time of the Israelite conquest of Canaan (Josh.

Abraham

Michal

Yahweh then told Abraham that Sarah would give to him a son. Sarah, then ninety years old, laughed at this idea. But, as prophesied, she became pregnant with Isaac and she nursed him herself.

When the days of his ministry were complete, he returned to his house (Luke 1:16–23). After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. “The Lord has done this for me,” she said.

Operating through small, child-sized vocal cords, their voices were also extraordinarily flexible, and quite different from the equivalent adult female voice. Their vocal range was higher than that of the uncastrated adult male.

Michael Jackson was chemically castrated as a child by his recently deceased father Joe Jackson, according to the King of Pop’s former doctor, Conrad Murray.

Adam Lopez Costa

By the end of the 18th century, fashions in opera had changed so that the castrati declined except in the Vatican, where the Sistine Chapel continued to employ castrati until 1903.

Most eunuchs underwent castration as a condition of their employment, though others were castrated as punishment or after they had been sold by poor parents.

Castrato, also called Evirato, male soprano or contralto voice of great range, flexibility, and power, produced as a result of castration before puberty. The castrato voice was introduced in the 16th century, when women were banned from church choirs and the stage.

Countertenor, also spelled Contra Tenor, in music, adult male alto voice, either natural or falsetto. In England the word generally refers to a falsetto alto rather than a high tenor. Some writers reserve the term countertenor for a naturally produced voice, terming the falsetto voice a male alto.

In actual practice, it is generally acknowledged that a majority of countertenors sing with a falsetto vocal production for at least the upper half of this range, although most use some form of “chest voice” (akin to the range of their speaking voice) for the lower notes.

Gramophone recommends: outstanding recent countertenor recordings

• Che Puro Ciel: The Rise of Classical Opera. Bejun Mehta counterten Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin / René Jacobs.
• Arise, my muse.
• Arie Napoletane.
• Sacred duets.
• A Royal Trio.
• Vinci Artaserse.
• Songs of Myself.
• Porpora Farinelli Arias.

The difference between a trained countertenor and a falsettist singing in this range is that the countertenor can close and open their vocal folds with each vibration cycle – effectively singing “naturally”, rather than the idiosyncratic straining of falsetto.

A sopranist (also, sopranista or male soprano) is a male singer who is able to sing in the vocal tessitura of a soprano usually through the use of falsetto vocal production. This voice type is a specific kind of countertenor.

COLFER: (As Kurt) (Singing) Kiss me goodbye, I’m defying gravity. He has the quality of a soprano, but he is singing in the range of a normal countertenor.

tenors

2.7 octaves

A male alto is a man who sings in a special way called falsetto. In England male altos sing in church and cathedral choirs. In some countries like Germany it is tradition to have boy altos in cathedral choirs. These will probably be boys whose voices will soon be breaking and are starting to get lower.

Vocal range

In SATB four-part mixed chorus, the alto is the second highest vocal range, above the tenor and bass and below the soprano. The alto range in choral music is approximately from F3 (the F below middle C) to F5 (the F in the second octave above middle C).

Tim Storms

“Knowles is known for her vocal telent. She was voted in 2006 the best voice ever. Her voice is Alto at lowest and a top Soprano. Beyonce voice is #1, Whitney Houst voice was #2, Mariah Carey was #3, Chaka Khan was #4, Patti Labelle was #5, and Christina Agulara was #6.

Five Tips to Keep Your Voice Healthy

1. Train your voice and body just like an athlete: Learn proper singing technique, don’t overuse the voice, get plenty of rest, eat a balanced, healthy diet.
2. Let your voice shine.
3. Pace yourself.
4. Avoid phonotraumatic behaviors such as yelling, screaming, loud talking, singing too loudly.
5. Adequate hydration.