HARP
Hebrew KINNOR, the most ancient and common stringed instrument of the Jews, more properly translated lyre. It was light and portable, and was used on joyful occasions, whether sacred or not. It was invented by Jubal, Gen 4:21 31:27 1Ch 16:5 25:1-5 Ps 81:2. David was a proficient in its use, 1Sa 16:16,23 18:10. The instrument most nearly resembling our harp was the Hebrew NEBEL, translated, psaltery in the Old Testament, Psa 57:8 81:2 92:3 108:2. It had a general triangular shape, and seven to twelve strings, Psa 33:2 144:9. It was played with the hand or with a short iron rod or plectrum according to its size. The Jews had other stringed instruments, like the guitar and lute, but little can be accurately determined respecting their form, etc. See MUSIC.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Harp
(, also , to harp, and [ + ] a harper)
The word and its two derivatives occur only in 1 Corinthians and Revelation. In 1Co 14:7 : Even things without life, giving a voice, whether pipe or harp, if they give not a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? St. Paul by this musical illustration criticizes a prevalent and unedifying speaking with tongues, though, in the light of the phrase eandem cantilenam recinere, his figure of harping has come in colloquial use to represent rather monotonous persistency. In Rev 5:8 the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders who abased themselves before the Lamb have each of them a harp; and the voice which was heard, as the Lamb and the hundred and forty and four thousand stood on Mount Zion, is described as that of harpers harping with their harps (Rev 14:2). The victors over the beast, his image, and his mark, who stand by the glassy sea mingled with fire and sing the the song of Moses, have harps of God to sing His praise (Rev 15:2). In Rev 18:22 the angel who doomed the great city of Babylon declared that it would hear no more the voice of harpers (cf. Isa 23:16).
When we attempt to describe exactly the design and manipulation of musical instruments in use throughout the Apostolic Age, we are met with almost insuperable difficulties. The apocalyptic character of the book, which, as we have seen, contains, with but one exception, the references to harps, turns one to Jewish music; but, though there is much relevant information in Chronicles and other OT writings, it is lacking in precision. It is easier to describe the instruments of ancient Egypt and Assyria, for we are helped by sculptures and pictures, the like of which have not been found in Palestine. We must rely, therefore, on analogy guided by our inexact OT descriptions.
To accompany singing, or at all events sacred singing, stringed instruments only were used, and never wind instruments (Appendix to Wellhausens Psalms [Haupts PB [Note: B Polychrome Bible.] , 1898]). It may be too much to say that they were the only accompanying instruments, but they were certainly the principal. In the OT there is mention of only two stringed instruments (if we except the curious list which appears in Daniel), and these are the and . The former is the older, and tradition points to Jubal as its inventor (Gen 4:21); while the second does not appear before 1Sa 10:5. These are translated in the English Version as harp and psaltery respectively. From 1Ki 10:12 we learn that their framework was made of almug or algum; from 2Ch 20:28 that both were portable, and from many OT passages that they were much used at religious and festive gatherings. It is difficult to determine with exactness the difference between these stringed instruments; but, although later tradition confused them, they were certainly not identical, nor were their names used indifferently to denote the same instrument. There are several reasons, however, for the belief that the resembled a lyre, and that the was a form of harp (the question is discussed in Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) iii. 458f.). Amongst these are (1) the fact that in the Septuagint , or its equivalent , is the almost invariable translation of ; (2) the evidence of Jewish coins pointing to a decided similarity of and (see F. W. Madden, Coins of the Jews2, 1885, pp. 231, 243); and (3) the distinction emphasized by early Christian writers between instruments which had a resonance-frame beneath the strings and those which had it above (see St. Augustine on Psalms 42). Josephus, who has a description of the frame-work and strings of these instruments is Ant. viii. iii. 8, distinguished the as ten-stringed and struck with a plectrum from the as twelve-stringed and played with the hand.* [Note: See S. R. Driver, Joel and Amos (Cambridge Bible, 1898), p. 234 ff.]
The was the traditional instrument of psalmody, and the , along with the , performed at the festive seasons of Hebrew life (cf. H. B. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John2, 1907, pp. 80, 239). Being lighter in weight than the , the lyre was much played in processions, and, as we learn from Psa 137:2, it could be hung on the poplar trees of Babylon when the Hebrew exiles were in no mood for songs of rejoicing. The was of Asiatic origin, and was probably introduced into Egypt by Semites. The earliest representation of a stringed instrument is that excavated at Telloh in South Babylonia, which in size resembles a harp but is shaped like a lyre, i.e. it has a resonance-body on which are set two almost perpendicular posts between which are the strings, upright and fastened to a cross-bar. A picture which better illustrates the ordinary lyre is that of three Semitic captives guarded by an Assyrian warrior while they played; but perhaps the best illustration is that on the Jewish coins mentioned above.
Archibald Main.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
harp
(Latin: harpa)
A musical instrument, roughly triangular in form, whose strings of various lengths are plucked by the fingers in order to produce sound. Drawings of the harp appear on early Egyptian , Assyrian , Hebrew, and Celtic monuments; it is mentioned in the Bible, e.g., Genesis 4; 2 Paralipomenon, 9; Psalms 70; Apocalypse 5; and was used by the minstrels of the Middle Ages. The modern pedal harp was perfected by Sebastian Erard, 1810 . As an emblem in art it is associated with Saint Cecilia as a musician and patroness of music, and of Saint Patrick due to his association with Ireland.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Harp
is the rendering in the Auth. Vers. of the following terms in the original: usually , kinnor’ (whence the Greek ), the lyre or cythara (invariably rendered harp), N. Test. (1Co 14:7; Rev 5:8; Rev 14:2; Rev 15:2), whence the verb (1Co 14:7; Rev 14:2), and the compound noun (harper, Rev 14:2; Rev 18:22); elsewhere only of the Chald. , kitharos’ (text of Dan 3:5; Dan 3:7; Dan 3:10; Dan 3:15), or ,kathros’ (margin), from the latter Greek term. See Music.
The harp was David’s favorite instrument, on which he was a proficient (see Dreschler, De cithara David, Lips. 1712; also in Ugolino, 32). It probably did not essentially differ from the modern Arabic cithere (Niebuhr, Tramv. 1, 177, pl. 26; Descript. de l’Egypte, 17:365, pl. BB, fig. 12, 13). SEE DAVID.
Gesenius inclines to the opinion that is derived from , kanar’, an unused onomatopoetic root which means to give forth a tremulous and stridulous sound, like that of a string when touched. The kimnor was the national instrument of the Hebrews, and was well known throughout Asia. There can be little doubt that it was the earliest instrument with which man was acquainted, as the writer of the Pentateuch assigns its invention, together with that of the , ugab’, incorrectly translated organ in the A.V., to the antediluvian period (Gen 4:21). Kalisch (Hist. and Crit. Com. on the Old Test.) considers kinnor to stand for the whole class of stringed instruments (neginoth), as ugab, says he, is the type of all wind instruments. Writers who connect the with (wailing), (to lament), conjecture that this instrument was only employed by the Greeks on occasions of sorrow and distress. If this were the case with the Greeks, it was far different with the Hebrews, amongst whom the kinnor served as an accompaniment to songs of cheerfulness and mirth, as well as of praise and thanksgiving to the supreme Being (Gen 31:27; 1Sa 16:23; 2Ch 20:28; Psa 33:2), and was very rarely used, if ever, in times of private or national affliction. The Jewish bard finds no employment for the kinnor during the Babylonian captivity, but describes it as put aside or suspended on the willows (Psa 137:2); and in like manner Job’s harp is changed into mourning(Job 30:31) while the hand of grief pressed heavily upon him. The passage my bowels shall sound like a harp for Moab(Isa 16:11) has impressed some Biblical critics with the idea that the kinnor had a lugubrious sound; but this is art error, since refers to the vibration of the chords, and not to the sound of the instrument (Gesen.. and Hitzig, in Comment.).
Touching the shape of the kinnor, a great difference of opinion prevails. The author of Shilte Haggibborimn (c. 6) describes it as resembling the modern harp; Pfeiffer gives it the form of a guitar; and St. Jerome declares that it resembled in shape the Greek letter delta (quoted. by Joel Brill in the preface to Mendelssohn’s Psalms). Josephus records (Ant. 7:12, 3) that the kinnor had ten strings (compare Theodoret, Quaest. 34 on 1 Kings), and that it was played on with the plectrum; others assign to it twenty-four; and in the Shilte Haggibborim it is said to have had forty-seven. Josephus’s statement, however, ought not to be received as conclusive, as it is in open contradiction to what is set forth in the 1st book of Samuel (16:23; 18:10), that David played on the kinnor with his hand. As it is reasonable to suppose that there was a smaller and a larger kinnor, inasmuch as it was sometimes played by the Israelites whilst walking (1Sa 10:5), the opinion of Munk. On jouait peutetre des deux manieres, suivant les dimensions de l’instrument is well entitled to consideration. The Talmud (Berachoth) has preserved a curious tradition, to the effect that over the bed of David, facing the north, a kinnor was suspended, and that when at midnight the north wind touched the chords they vibrated, and produced musical sounds.
The harp on the Sheminith (1Ch 15:21) was so called from its eight strings. Many learned writers, including the author of Shilte Haggibborim, identify the word. sheminith with the octave; but it would indeed be rash to conclude that the ancient Hebrews understood the octave in precisely the sense in which it is employed in modern times. SEE SHEMINITH. The skill of the Jews on the kinnor appears to have reached its highest point of perfection in the age of David, the effect of whose performances, as well as of those by the members of the schools of the prophets, are described as truly marvelous (compare 1Sa 10:5; 1Sa 16:23; 1Sa 19:20).
Two instruments of the lyre species are delineated on a bass-relief of the Assyrian monuments, representing the return of a monarch celebrated by a procession of musicians (Layard, Nineveh and Bab. p. 388 sq.). The ancient Babylonian instrument is probably that represented in a single instance on the Assyrian monuments at Khorsabad, depicting three short- bearded performers on the lyre ushered into the great chamber by two eunuchs. The musicians are clad in a short tunic held fast by a girdle, and their hair is drawn back, and terminates above the shoulders in a single row of curls. They proceed with measured step, singing and twanging their lyres, which are suspended by a broad band passing over the right shoulder. The instrument itself somewhat resembles the Greek lyre: it has a square body and upright sides, the latter being connected by a crossbar, to which are fixed strings that seem to have been rather numerous, for we can count eight at least, and in the part that is corroded away there is room for three or four more. Exactly similar instruments are now seen in Nubia and Dongola; and the mode of playing is that the right hand holds a short plectrum to strike the intervals, while the left is used to stop and twang the cords (Bonomi’s Nineveh, p. 187).
Harps or guitars are constantly, in the Holy Scriptures, instruments of joy. They are mentioned in very ancient times as musical instruments, used both by Jews and Gentiles, and their employment in the Temple worship frequently occurs. Moses has named their original inventor in Gen 4:21, viz. Jubal; and in Gen 31:27, Laban says to Jacob, Why did you not tell me, that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tabret and with harp?Even in that very ancient writing, the book of Job (Gen 21:12), that patriarch, speaking of the prosperity of the wicked, says, They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. So, when complaining of his own condition (Gen 30:31), he says, My harp also is turned into mourning, and my organ to the voice of them that weep. Isaiah speaks of the harp under the same character, as an instrument of joy (Gen 24:8). Divine subjects used to be brought forward with the accompaniments of the harp (Psa 59:5), and the high praises of God were so celebrated (Psa 33:2; Psa 53:4; Psa 57:8; see also Psa 71:22-23; Psa 92:4-6; Psa 98:5; Psa 147:7; Psa 150:3). That harps are used to celebrate the praises of heroes is well known. Harps, in Solomon’s day, were made of the almug-tree, as our translators have it (1Ki 10:11-12). They were often gilded, and hence called golden harps (Rev 5:8). A harp of eight strings is mentioned (1Ch 15:21), called in our version harp on the Sheminith.
But amongst the Greeks it had, for the most part, seven strings. Josephus (Ant. 7, 12) describes a harp of ten strings. The distinct sounds uttered by these strings or chords are alluded to by Paul in 1Co 14:7. Its soothing effect was exemplified in 1 calming down the furious spirit of Saul (1Sa 16:17; 1Sa 17:24; 1Sa 18:9; 1Sa 19:9). The spirit of prophecy appears to have been excited by instrumental music of this kind (2Ki 3:15). Harpers held the instrument in the hand, or placed it on a pillar, or sat down by a riverside (Ovid, Fasti, 2, 115). Sometimes they suspended them from trees, to which there is an allusion in Psa 137:1-2. The harp was used in processions and public triumphs, in worship and the offices of religion, and was sometimes accompanied with dancing (Psa 149:3). They were also used after successful battles. (see 2Ch 20:28; 1Ma 13:51). Isaiah alludes to this custom (Isa 30:32). So in the victory of the Lamb. (Rev 14:1-2): I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps; the Church in heaven being represented as composing a grand chorus, in celebration of the triumphs of the Redeemer. At solemn feasts, and especially of the nuptial kind, harps were employed. To this the prophet Isaiah alludes (Isa 5:11-12). The use of harps in worship has already been adverted to, and that the heathen employed them on such occasions appears from Dan 3:5; Dan 3:7; Dan 3:15. Harps of God(Rev 15:2) are either a Hebraism to show their excellence,. as the addition of God often signifies (the most excel-lent things in their kind being in the Scriptures said to be of God), as a prince of God (Gen 23:6, in the original), the mountains of God (Psa 36:6, in the. original), cedars of God (Psa 80:11, in the original), and the like; or else they mean harps given as from God; or harps of God may be harps used in the service of God, in opposition to harps common and profane (1Ch 16:42; 2Ch 7:6).
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Harp
(Heb. kinnor), the national instrument of the Hebrews. It was invented by Jubal (Gen. 4:21). Some think the word _kinnor_ denotes the whole class of stringed instruments. It was used as an accompaniment to songs of cheerfulness as well as of praise to God (Gen. 31:27; 1 Sam. 16:23; 2 Chr. 20:28; Ps. 33:2; 137:2).
In Solomon’s time harps were made of almug-trees (1 Kings 10:11, 12). In 1 Chr. 15:21 mention is made of “harps on the Sheminith;” Revised Version, “harps set to the Sheminith;” better perhaps “harps of eight strings.” The soothing effect of the music of the harp is referred to 1 Sam. 16:16, 23; 18:10; 19:9. The church in heaven is represented as celebrating the triumphs of the Redeemer “harping with their harps” (Rev. 14:2).
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Harp
kinnor With ten strings, played on with a plectrum (quill), according to Josephus; but also with the hand by David (1Sa 16:23; 1Sa 18:10; 1Sa 19:9). Jubal invented it, the simplest kind of stringed instrument, and the” organ” (ugab), rather the “pipe,” the simplest kind of wind instrument; his brother Jabal was” father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle.” The brotherhood accords with the fact that the leisure of a nomad life was well suited to the production and appreciation of music (Gen 4:20-21). The harp was the earliest of all musical instruments, and the national instrument of the Hebrew.
They used it, not as the Greeks, for expressing sorrow, but on occasions of joy and praise (Gen 31:27; 2Ch 20:28; Psa 33:2); therefore, it was hung on the willows in the Babylonian captivity (Psa 137:2; Job 30:31). The words “My bowels shall sound like an harp” (Isa 16:11) do not allude to the sound as lugubrious, but to the strings vibrating when struck. There was a smaller harp played with the hand, as by the walking prophets (1Sa 10:5), besides the larger, with more strings, played with the plectrum. Its music, as that of other instruments, was raised to its highest perfection under David (Amo 6:5). It was an important adjunct to the “schools of the prophets.”
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Harp
HARP.See Music and Musical Instruments.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Harp
harp. See MUSIC.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Harp
Harp [MUSIC]
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Harp
Musical instrument, probably somewhat like those now bearing the name, for such are seen depicted on the Egyptian monuments. The harp is mentioned as early as Gen 4:21. It was one of the instruments used in the temple service. 1Ki 10:12; 1Ch 13:8, etc. The harp is remarkable for its soft, soothing sounds. It was used by David to drive away the evil spirit from Saul, 1Sa 16:23 and it is the only musical instrument referred to symbolically as being in heaven. Rev 5:8; Rev 14:2: called ‘the harps of God’ in Rev 15:2.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Harp
A stringed instrument of music.
General references
Isa 38:20; Eze 33:32; Hab 3:19
With three strings
1Sa 18:6
With ten strings
Psa 33:2; Psa 92:3; Psa 144:9; Psa 150:4
Originated with Jubal
Gen 4:21
Made of almug wood
1Ki 10:12
David skillful in manipulating
1Sa 16:16; 1Sa 16:23
Used:
– In worship
1Sa 10:5; 1Ch 16:5; 1Ch 25:1-7; 2Ch 5:12-13; 2Ch 29:25; Psa 33:2; Psa 43:4; Psa 49:4; Psa 57:8; Psa 71:22; Psa 81:2; Psa 92:3; Psa 98:5; Psa 108:2; Psa 147:7; Psa 149:3; Psa 150:3
– In national jubilees:
b After the triumph over Goliath
1Sa 18:6
b After the triumph over the armies of Ammon and Moab
2Ch 20:20-29
b When the new walls of Jerusalem were dedicated
Neh 12:27; Neh 12:36
– In festivities
Gen 31:27; Job 21:11-12; Isa 5:12; Isa 23:16; Isa 24:8; Isa 30:32; Eze 26:13; Rev 18:22
– In mourning
Job 30:31
Discordant
1Co 14:7
Hung on the willows by the captive Jews
Psa 137:2
Heard in heaven, in John’s apocalyptic vision
Rev 5:8; Rev 14:2; Rev 15:2
The symbol used in the psalmody to indicate when the harp was to be introduced in the music was Neginoth, see selected titles
Psa 4:1; Psa 6:1; Psa 54:1; Psa 55:1; Psa 61:1; Psa 67:1; Psa 76:1 Music, Instruments of
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Harp
Harp. The national musical instrument of the Hebrews. Its invention is credited to Jubal before the flood. Gen 4:21. Josephus records that the harp had ten strings and that it was played on with the plectrum. Sometimes it was smaller, having only eight strings, and was usually played with the fingers.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Harp
Harp. The harp was the national instrument of the Hebrews, and was well known throughout Asia. Moses assigns its invention to Jubal during the antediluvian period. Gen 4:21. Josephus records that the harp had ten strings, and that it was played on with the plectrum. Sometimes it was smaller having only eight strings, and was usually played with the fingers.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Harp
whence Eng., “guitar,” denotes “a lyre” or “harp;” it is described by Josephus as an instrument of ten strings, played by a plectrum (a smaller instrument was played by the hand); it is mentioned in 1Co 14:7; Rev 5:8; Rev 14:2; Rev 15:2.
signifies “to play on the harp,” 1Co 14:7; Rev 14:2. In the Sept., Isa 23:16.
Fuente: Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words
Harp
a stringed musical instrument. The Hebrew word kinaor, which is translated harp in our English version, very probably denoted all stringed instruments. By the Hebrew, the harp was called the pleasant harp; and it was employed by them, not only in their devotions, but also at their entertainments and pleasures. It is probable, that the harp was nearly the earliest, if not the earliest instrument of music. David danced when he played on the harp: the Levites did the same. Hence it appears, that it was light and portable, and that its size was restricted within limits which admitted of that service, and of that manner of using it.
Fuente: Biblical and Theological Dictionary
Harp
Isa 5:12 (b) This is a symbol of joy, praise and worship. When Israel was captive in a foreign land, their song ceased, and the musical instruments were laid aside. (See Psa 137:2). In this passage the musical instruments are mentioned to describe the hilarity and riotous music that comes from those who follow wine and strong drink. They are full of joy, praise and worship for their false gods.