The Hebrew noun mizmor is the technical term for a musical psalm — a lyrical composition intended to be accompanied by instrumental music. Derived from the verb zamar (to make music, pluck strings), mizmor appears 57 times in the Old Testament, exclusively in the book of Psalms, where it titles 57 of the 150 psalms.
Mizmor represents the highest form of Israelite worship: disciplined, artistic, embodied praise. Unlike spontaneous shouts, a mizmor is crafted — words and melody woven together to express the full range of human experience before God. The Psalter (the 'book of mizmorim') is the church's worship manual, containing lament, praise, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession. Colossians 3:16 instructs the church to teach with 'psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs' — the tradition of the mizmor continuing into Christian worship.