What are the four biblical Canticles (Hymns or Hosat) chanted during the Coptic Midnight Praises (Tasbeha)?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-30

Liturgical Framework and Structure of the Hosat

As Liturgy_as_Ethicizer_Cultivating_Ecologi explains, the Coptic Midnight Praise follows a liturgical structure in which an array of hymns and praises surround four central canticles, designated by the Coptic term hos (ϩⲱⲥ), signifying praise. In Tadros Emile R. 2015Apr Masters., it is detailed that the core of every nightly praise within the Book of Psalmody is the singing of these Four Praises. This Midnight Praise is recited daily between 4 A.M. and 7 A.M., and it is immediately followed by the Morning Praise just prior to the Morning Offering of Incense. The collection of praises constitutes a foundational component of the Coptic cycle of continuous daily adoration.

Liturgical services outside the full nocturnal vigil also incorporate elements of this canticle sequence. As HG Bishop Mettaous describes in HOW TO BENEFIT FROM THE HOLY LITURGY, the Tasbeha associated with the Vesper prayers commences with the Fourth Hoas, which is subsequently followed by the Psali (Epsalia) of the day, the Theotokia (Tazakia), the Lobsh, the Tarh, and the final liturgical conclusion. Bishop Mettaous notes that this communal praise is traditionally offered in one voice in Coptic, reflecting the apostolic injunction to glorify God with one mind and mouth, just as the heavenly hosts worship before the divine throne.

The First and Second Canticles: Deliverance and Todah

The First Canticle (Hos One) opens the biblical narrative of salvation within the Midnight Office. According to An Introduction to Coptic Music, Hos One comprises the biblical Song of Moses found in Exodus 15:1–21, opening with the words 'Then sang Moses.' In Tadros Emile R. 2015Apr Masters., this canticle is also designated as the Song of Mariam from Exodus 15, which commemorates the miracle where the Creator established a path through the Red Sea and delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.

The Second Canticle (Hos Two) transitions the vigil into a prolonged litany of thanksgiving. As An Introduction to Coptic Music outlines, Hos Two consists of Psalm 136, opening with 'Give thanks unto the Lord,' and is distinguished by an Alleluia refrain repeated across each strophe. Tadros Emile R. 2015Apr Masters. characterizes this psalm—numbered Psalm 135 in the Septuagint reckoning—as a Todah offered to God. It praises God for having created heaven, earth, the sun, moon, and stars through divine intelligence and knowledge (verse 5), while also celebrating the deliverance of the Israelites from the yoke of the Egyptians in verses 10 through 15.

The Third Canticle: The Cosmic Doxology of the Three Youths

The Third Canticle (Hos Three) is taken from the Greek biblical expansion to the book of Daniel. As Liturgy_as_Ethicizer_Cultivating_Ecologi records, this hymn of the three saintly youth calls upon all possible forms of creation to join humanity in praise of God. An Introduction to Coptic Music identifies this canticle as the Song of the Three Holy Children (Dn. 1–67), which begins with the phrase 'Blessed art Thou, O Lord.' Tadros Emile R. 2015Apr Masters. describes it as the praise of the Three Hebrew Children following their miraculous deliverance from the fiery furnace, observing that in each quatrain of the canticle the created order is summoned to worship the Lord.

The liturgical performance of Hos Three includes extensive musical elaboration. In Coptic Hymnody, it is noted that the solemn hymn 'Hos Erof' ('Praise Him, Exalt Him high Forever') is chanted at the conclusion of the Third Hos, right before the Batos Song for the Three Saintly Young Men. This text is accompanied by profound melismatic melodies where a two-word phrase such as 'Hos Erof' can span approximately fifteen minutes, preceded immediately by the hymn 'Ezmoo Epshois.' Tadros Emile R. 2015Apr Masters. notes that the text is related to the Second Temple 'Prayer of Azariah' and 'Hymn of the Three Young Men,' which exhibit antiphonal structures and repetitive refrains that directly parallel the refrain style of the preceding Second Hos.

The Fourth Canticle and Accompanying Hymnody

The Fourth Canticle (Hos Four) provides the grand finale of the Old Testament praises through the concluding Laudate psalms. According to An Introduction to Coptic Music, Hos Four consists of Psalms 148, 149, and 150, all of which translate with the opening proclamation 'Praise ye the Lord.' As Liturgy_as_Ethicizer_Cultivating_Ecologi notes, the first part of this canticle, Psalm 148, issues a commanding invocation to the whole created realm to join mankind in this divine rite. The source includes commentary from Matthew Massoud stating that because of the ancestral sin of Adam and Eve, their descendants invite creation to unite with humanity in prayer.

Within the Coptic liturgical tradition, the hosat are closely intertwined with specific genres of secondary hymnody. As An Introduction to Coptic Music describes, a nonbiblical explanatory text called a lobsh (derived from the Arabic tafasir, meaning explanation or interpretation) immediately follows a hos or a Theotokia. Consisting of unrhymed four-line strophes, the lobsh provides thematic commentary on the canticle and is assigned to either the Adam or Batos musical tone. Additionally, metrical hymns called Psalis, consisting of rhymed quatrains, accompany both the canticles and the Theotokias.

Musical Characteristics, Canonical Views, and Historical Context

The musical and textual structure of the canticles reflects ancient liturgical traditions. In An Introduction to Coptic Music, it is observed that the hosat derive from ancient synagogal rites and are very old. They are strophic in design, with their strophes adhering directly to the versification preserved in the Coptic biblical manuscripts; they remain unrhymed and are chanted to an established rhythmic pattern in duple meter. Burmester refers to these canticles as odes. Beyond the four standard daily canticles, An Introduction to Coptic Music records that two additional hos compositions, each formed as a cento of Psalm verses, are chanted specifically on the feasts of the Nativity and the Resurrection.

The sources also address varying perspectives regarding the canonical standing and textual provenance of these texts. With respect to Hos Three, Liturgy_as_Ethicizer_Cultivating_Ecologi highlights that the extension to the book of Daniel is regarded as apocryphal by some communities and deuterocanonical by others, whereas Copts regard it as fully canonical. Tadros Emile R. 2015Apr Masters. identifies Hos Three as the Azariah Prayer from the Hellenistic Jewish context of the late Second Temple era, noting that the Coptic text is derived from Greek Jewish texts and that both versions share distinct antiphonal and repetitive characteristics. Furthermore, Tadros Emile R. 2015Apr Masters. notes that this hymn is also chanted on the night preceding Bright Saturday as well as in the Midnight Praise on Saturdays.

Sources

• Liturgy_as_Ethicizer_Cultivating_Ecologi
• An Introduction to Coptic Music | Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles
• HOW TO BENEFIT FROM THE HOLY LITURGY - HG Bishop Mettaous
• Tadros Emile R. 2015Apr Masters.
• Tadros Emile R. 2015Apr Masters.
• Coptic Hymnody
• An Introduction to Coptic Music | Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles