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Music and instruments
Lyre
Hebrew kinnor · Greek kithara · about 42 mentions · “David’s harp”
The kinnor, named in about 42 places, was most likely a lyre, not a harp: a wooden sound box at the bottom, two arms joined by a crossbar, and strings of sheep gut stretched between them. How many strings it had is not known. Many English Bibles, the BSB among them, often call it a “harp”, so “David’s harp” was most likely a lyre. Genesis names Jubal as “the father of all who play the harp and flute” (Genesis 4:21), and an Egyptian tomb painting at Beni Hasan, from about 1900 BC, shows a traveling Semite carrying a lyre.
The lyre was light enough to carry anywhere. Young David was already known as a skilled player, and he played it for King Saul to ease his distress (1 Samuel 16:23); whether players plucked with a plectrum or with bare fingers is not certain. Psalm 81:2 speaks of the “sweet-sounding harp and lyre”. It was played at farewells, banquets and processions as well as in the temple, and in exile, Psalm 137 says, the singers hung their harps on the willows. Lyres still appear on Jewish coins of the Bar Kokhba revolt (AD 132–135).
Key verses
And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps.And whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would pick up his harp and play, and Saul would become well, and the spirit of distress would depart from him.Lift up a song, strike the tambourine, play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.Sources
Adapted and shortened from the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers · CC BY-SA 4.0 — Musical Instruments: Stringed Instruments; Lyre; Music: Music in the Old Testament
Adapted from Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary: articles chosen, shortened and retold in our own words (history, nature and daily life only) and, in languages other than English, machine-translated. The original work by Tyndale House Publishers is available for free at tyndaleopenresources.com.
