Old Testament

Strings comprise the majority of instruments used for corporate worship and sociopolitical events in the Old Testament. Examples include the following:

• עָשׂוֹר (asor); “ten-stringed harp”—an instrument whose name comes from a root meaning “ten”; appears in the Old Testament three times (Pss 33:2; 92:4; 144:9). It may have been a kind of נֵבֵל (nevel) that has 10 strings (Braun, Music in Ancient Israel, 24). Sachs and Sellers believe it was a stringed instrument of some other class, based on Psa 92:3, which lists the two instruments together (History of Musical Instruments, 117; “Musical Instruments of Israel,” 39). However, this could just be an example of Hebrew parallelism.

• קַתְרוֹס (qathros); “lyre” or “harp”—an instrument played in Nebuchadnezzar’s orchestra. It likely belonged to the lyre family (Dan 3:5; Monagu, Musical Instruments, 98).

• כִּנּור (kinwr); “lyre” or “harp”—a trapezoid-shaped instrument made of wood with strings of equal length; used to accompany singing. The word כִּנּור (kinwr) may be a generic term describing stringed instruments, as in Gen 4:21. In its more specific sense, it was a portable lyre (1 Sam 10:5). Sachs concludes this from the fact that the Septuagint translates the term with the Greek κιψαρα (kipsara), an ancient Greek stringed instrument similar to a lyre (History of Musical Instruments, 107). Montagu cites archaeological evidence indicating that, “while harps were used in Egypt and in Mesopotamia, no evidence for them has been found in the Holy Land” and that ancient lyres have been found in Ur dating from Jubal’s period (Musical Instruments of the Bible, 13; see also Stainer, Music of the Bible, 25–26 and Braun, Music in Ancient Israel, 18). This instrument of choice for David was used often in praise of Yahweh (1 Sam 16:23; 2 Sam 6:5; 1 Chr 13:8; 2 Chr 5:12; Neh 12:27). David appointed Levites to play the כִּנּור (kinwr) when the ark returned to Jerusalem and in temple worship (1 Chr 15:16; 2 Chr 29:25).

• נֵבֵל (nevel); translated as “harp,” “psaltery,” “viol,” or “lute” (the literal meaning is “skin bottle”)—an angular lyre; probably a larger form of the כִּנּור (kinwr) (Stainer, Music of the Bible, 28). This instrument is always mentioned alongside the כִּנּור (kinwr), and its uses are almost identical. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus writes that it “had twelve musical notes and was played upon by the fingers” (Antiquities 7.12.3). In 1 Chronicles 15:20, David appoints eight Levites to play this instrument in celebration as the ark was brought back to Jerusalem. Several Psalms also mention its use in the temple orchestra (Pss 57:8; 81:2; 92:3; 150:3).

• פְּסַנְתֵּרִין (pesanterin); “harp” or “psaltery”—an instrument played in Nebuchadnezzar’s orchestra; possibly some kind of lyre (Dan 3:5).

• שַׂבְּכָא (sabbekha'); “trigon” or “sackbut”—an arched harp used in Nebuchadnezzar’s orchestra (Dan 3:5). The translation “sackbut” likely comes from the phonetic similarity with sabbeka, but has no actual connection to the original instrument (Stainer, Music of the Bible, 48; Montagu, Musical Instruments, 98).