(Author: Cecil Bloom, Vol 74, #1, Pesach 2019)
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The Bible is full of references to music in the life of the early Israelites. When Laban reproaches Jacob in the Mountain of Gilead after Jacob had f led from him, he tells him he would have sent him away “with celebration and with songs and with tof [drum] and with kinnor [har p]” (Genesis31:27). This indicates the importance of music as a normal accompaniment to an escort of honour in those early days of the Hebrew nation. Moses’ song at the Red Sea (Exodus15:1-18), perhaps the first song of freedom, is an integral part of Orthodox prayer and full of powerful imagery. Almost Moses’ last act is another song that he sang on the banks of the Jordan in sight of the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 32:1- 43).
Joshua, of course, used sound and instrument to startling effect when he destroyed the walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:1-20) and David’s passion for music is well-known. He first used it to sooth Saul’s bad moods when he played his lyre for the king (1 Samuel 16:23). David was always conscious of music’s power, especially when he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem amid scenes of rejoicing: “And David and all the House of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of cypress wood, on lyres and on lutes and timbrels and on rattles and on cymbals” (2 Samuel 6:5).
The 12th Century sage R. Judah Halevi drew attention to the important role played by music in the national life of the ancient Israelites (The Kuzari 2:65). “Music” he wrote, “was the pride of the nation that distributed their songs in such a way that they fell to the lot of the aristocracy of the people [the Levites] who made practical use of them in the holy house and in the holy season”. He went on to comment that it was highly esteemed as an art form as long as people preserved its nobleness and purity. By Halevi’s time, the art had fallen from its glory and was practiced only by “half-crazy” people.
The Psalms and Solomon’s Song of Songsare supreme examples of poetry and song for the uplifting of man’s spirit. We may not have the music but the words with their pathos and sincerity stand out as one of man’s greatest achievements. And the Song of Songs must surely be the greatest of all Hebrew songs. The Book of Psalms concludes with a psalm extolling God that has been called the “greatest symphony of praise to God ever composed”. Eight different kinds of instruments are cited in this final psalm, the 150th.
One of the most famous of passages in the Book of Psalms describes the deep sense of sorrow of those in Babylonian exile when they remembered the Holy City, grief so intense that their harps (kinnorot) would be discarded and hung up on trees:
By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept,
When we remembered Zion,
Upon the willows in the midst thereof
We hanged up our harps (Psalm 137: 1-2)
Prophecy, one of the highest forms of religious achievement attained only by few in history, was also inspired by music. Elisha needed a minstrel to play to him before “the hand of the Lord came upon him” (2 Kings3:15). But music in the Bible is also depicted less gloriously, such as, for example, when Isaiah refers to some musical instruments being used in disgraceful drunken merry-making (5:12) and when Amos deplores the use of the nevel to accompany ribald songs (6:5). But the greatest misuse of music occurs in the story of the Golden Calf, when the Israelites sing before it (Exodus 32:18).
The Bible’s first musical reference is that of Jubal, “the father of all such as the harp and the pipe [uggav]” (Genesis 4:21), so that music must be the most ancient of all the arts; but Hebrew music proper clearly begins with King David, who introduced music into divine worship, and the Levites were appointed as the singers and players of the Temple (1 Chronicles 15: 16-24). The sons of Aaron had, however, already been committed to musical duties when God told Moses they would be responsible for blowing the silver trumpets (Numbers 10:8). Later, professional singers appear in the Temple:
“And these were the singers, chiefs of the fathers’ houses of the Levites, dwelling in the Temple chambers free from other duties for they were employed in that work day and night” (1 Chronicles 9;33).
The Levites’ music accompanied some of the Temple sacrifices but, since sacrifices were not brought at night, this verse must imply that the Levites were busy at night (perhaps also during the day) rehearsing their music as well as carrying out their duties during sacrifices. The musical director of the Temple was Chenaniahu, as 1 Chronicles15:22 records (“And Chenaniahu, chief of the Levites, was over the song; he was master of the song because he was skilful”). There has been much dispute over whether both vocal and instrumental music were obligatory but the Gemara rules that only vocal rendition was compulsory (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sukah 51a). That music must have been a regular feature of religious life is also illustrated by Amos’ denunciation of some of the ritual practices when he exclaimed “Take away from me the noise of the songs and not let me hear the melody of thy lutes” (Amos5:23). It is recorded also that Heman and his children, seventeen sons and daughters, were instructed to provide the musical service for the Temple (1 Chronicles 25:5-6) and an elaborate musical structure for the Temple is described in 1 Chronicles 25:1-6, where many instruments were played.
A careful study of the Bibleteaches us much about the musical instruments of the ancient Israelites that usually accompany singers. Although only a small number appear in the Pentateuch, most are detailed in the later Books. The Book of Daniel (3: 5, 7, 10 and 15) yields much information on instruments and lists those of an orchestra present at the Court of Nebuchadnezzar. Some, but probably not all, these instruments would have been used by Jews. Much research has been carried out on the ancient instruments of the Bible and scholars have brought forward many theories on their construction and make. Wall paintings and pottery and coin inscriptions have helped us to gather knowledge on the subject.
Biblical instruments, like those of a modern symphony orchestra, can be split into three categories – string, wind and percussion.
Strings
The kinnor is the most commonly cited stringed instrument and is closely followed by the nevel. Opinions vary on what these instruments were. Some scholars say thekinnor was a harp, some that it was a lyre, others that it was a lute and yet others a guitar. The nevel was either a lyre or a lute. According to Flavius Josephus, the former had ten and the latter twelve strings but this is contradicted by Psalms 33, 92 and 144, which assigns ten strings to the nevel. While the nevel was played with the fingers, the kinnor was generally plucked with a plectrum but we do know that David plucked the kinnor with his hands or perhaps, more probably, with his fingers. (1 Samuel 16:16, 16:23, 18:10 and 19:9).
The Talmud contains a number of accounts of David and his kinnor. One is that he used to hang it over his bed and, when midnight arrived, a north wind would blow on it, causing it to play on its own (Berachot3b). The kinnor was an instrument of joy and mirth and was used to accompany the voice, as in Ezekiel 26:13 (“And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be heard no more”) attests. It is of interest to note that the word kinnor is the Modern Hebrew word for violin. Other stringed instruments in existence in the Biblical period included the asor,
Nevel, probably the main instrument accompanying Psalms in the Temple (Potsdam Public Museum)
possibly a variant of the nevel. Its etymology suggests it had ten strings because assara is the Hebrew word for ten. The psanterin was one of Nebuchadnezzar’s orchestra and was probably a form of nevel or kinnor. The Modern Hebrew word for piano is psanter, derived from psanterin. A sabka was a kind of harp that had four strings (Daniel, 3:5).
Wind Instruments
The shofar will be the most familiar to the modern reader through its use on Rosh Hashona but it was usually connected to some military activity and it had no musical use whatever. It warned of impending attack or doom but was also used for specific religious purposes. The chatzotzera, a form of trumpet fashioned from silver, similarly was used to give signals and was also used in the Temple. It is referred to in the singular only once (Hosea 5:8) but many times in the plural. Moses was commanded to make two of them (Numbers 10:2).
There were a number of musical wind instruments. The uggav was probably a shepherd f lute. It has only a brief mention in the Bible but it was the second to be named – Jubal used it (Genesis 4:21). It is mentioned in the Book of Job and in Psalm150, this latter suggesting it had wide usage. Its sound must have been joyful because Job(21:12) complains that the wicked “rejoice at [its] sound”. There are not too many references to the halil, a woodwind pipe, and it appears in the Bible only from the time of Saul. It first appeared with the prophets who met Saul (1 Samuel 10:5) and it was present when Solomon was anointed (1 Kings 1:40) but it seems usually to be considered as an instrument of joy with no special religious significance. Talmudic sources, however, in describing the ceremony of the drawing of water on the festival of Sukkot, refer to this as the halil because this instrument was the main one used in the ceremony. It was also involved in bringing the first fruits to Jerusalem. The Mishnah tells us (Bikurim 3:3) that, as a sign of joy, the procession to Jerusalem was headed by a musician playing the halil and this continued until the Temple Mount was reached. Isaiah (30:29) hints at this procession: “And gladness of heart, as when one goeth with the pipe to come unto the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel”. The halilwas very popular in secular life and was one of the instruments derided by Isaiah when he deplored drunken activities (5:12). Jeremiah mentions it in comparing its sound with the moaning in his heart for the people of Moab and Kir-heres (48:36), suggesting that it was not always perceived as having a joyful sound. The Modern Hebrew word for f lute is halil but the Biblical version was probably a double reed of the oboe family. The other wind instruments are all mentioned in the Book of Daniel previously referred to. These are the keren, a horn or
Chatsotserot (trumpets) from the Second Temple, shown on the Arch of Titus, Rome
trumpet which Heman’s sons were ordered to play (1 Chronicles 25:5), the mashrokita, a type of pipe (perhaps a Pan’s pipe), and the sumponiah. This latter may, however, not be an instrument because the word can mean a ‘combination of sounds’ or an ‘orchestra’. It could well be the origin of the word ‘symphony’. There are, however, suggestions from the Mishnah (Keilim, 11:6 ) that it was a musical instrument somewhat akin to a bagpipe.
Percussions
Percussive instruments feature prominently in the Bible. They include the tof, a small drum that may have had jingles and the timbrel or a tambourine. Miriam used the tof in her dance of joy after the Red Sea crossing (Exodus 15:20); it was often played by women (Judges 11:34, I Samuel 18:6) but also by men. It is mentioned three times in the Book of Psalms in connection with the praising of God (81:3, 149:3 and 150:4). It was with King David when he brought the Ark to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:5). The Modern Hebrew word for ‘drum’ is tof.
Tof, or frame drum (Potsdam Public Museum)
The tzilzal, a cymbal, was made of copper and had sound penetration “as far as Jericho” (Mishnah Tamid 3:8). An instrument of the Temple, it too was first referred to as one of those in David’s procession when he brought the Ark to Jerusalem. The paamon was a bell or jingle that was attached to the high priests’ skirts: “And the sound thereof shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord and when he cometh out” (Exodus 28:35).
Musical instruments were forbidden on holy days except in the Temple. The reason for this is believed to be to prevent musicians from being tempted to carry out any makeshift repairs to an instrument that required it – such work clearly being prohibited on these days. In the Temple, however, the Priests and the Levites could be relied upon to ensure that Biblical law was not transgressed (Beitzah36b and Tosfot S u k ah, 50a).
And what of women’s role in the musical life of Israel? That their voices were accepted in secular society is evidenced from the comments of Barzillai the Gileadite when he declined David’s invitation to accompany him to Jerusalem. At eighty years of age, he said, he was, too old for the journey because he could not “hear any more the voices of singing men and women” (2 Samuel 19:36). Female voices are often mentioned in the Bible. Miriam’s response to the Song of Moses was to take a timbrel and lead the women in song (Exodus 15:20 -21). Jephthah’s daughter’s use of music ended in tragedy. She comes out to welcome her father with timbrels (Judges 11:34) only to be condemned because of his foolish vow. The women of Israel greeted Saul with song after David’s slaying of Goliath; they came from their homes with timbrels and lutes (1 Samuel 18:6). And finally, there is the report in the Book of Ezra (2:65) that of the 7337 servants of the rich who returned from Babylon, 200 were male and female singers, although Nehemiah (7:67) puts the number at 245. Nowhere in the Bible, however, is there any indication that the two sexes sang in unison and, in fact, the Talmud (Berachot 24a) derives from the passage “for sweet is thy voice” (Song of Songs 2:14) that a man may not listen to a woman singing except his wife because praise of a female voice could lead to unwanted desire. Thus the two sexes singing in unison would not be allowed.
Cecil Bloom, a veteran contributor to Jewish Affairs, is a former technical director of a multinational pharmaceutical firm in the UK. His essays on Jewish themes relating to music, literature, history and Bible have also appeared in Midstream and Jewish Quarterly
