M U S I C I N TH E O LD TE S TA M EN T . U S I C belongs to the inalienable rights of m a n It is the e ffort to make one s self intelligible to his fellow men by means of the stimulation of sounds of all kinds M usic exists wherever men are found upon the earth and everywhere they show a genuine refinement in the discovery of means by which to originate sounds There is hardly anything which can not be brought into use for its purposes We do not intend to lose ourselves here in speculation upon the psychological reasons for this demoniac impulse ; we will be content simply to establish the fact and will not enter into it with regard to humanity in general but only in so far a s the ancient people of I srael i s concerned E ven with relation to the Old Testament we will limit ourselves to what the Old Testament itself can tell us about music and musical things M any pas sages have proved very puz zling to B ible readers For instance when we read in the heading of “ P salm lxxx To the chief M usician upon S h osh a n n i m ” Ed u th A P salm of Asaph ; or in the heading of P s lx “ To the chief M usician upon S hushan e d u th M i ch tam ” of David to teach ; or in the heading of P s lvi To the chief M usician upon jon ath ele m rech ok i m M i ch ta m of ” David ; or when Psalms viii lxxxi and lxxxiv bear the “ inscription To the chief M u sician upon Gittith ; or the “ ” three xxx 1x lxii and lxx v ii to Jeduthun ; we m ay cer . ’ . . . , . . . , . , - , , . - , - , , , , ' , , , . , 2 " M USI C I N TH E OLD T ES T AM E N T . ta i n ly assume that we have an explanation for these hiero in considering that they possess some kind of a i l h s c g yp m usical character Accordingly it will be our task to gather together and to s ift out the information given by the Old Testament itself upon music and musical m atters and then to see whether we can unite and combine these scattered and isolated features into one co m prehensive pic ture or at least into a comparatively clear idea I t i s only scattered and isolated features which th e Old Testament o ffers us and not very much of them nor very abundan t ly N ot perhaps because music had p layed a subordinate and — inconspicuous part in the life of ancient I srael on the contrary they must have been a people of an unusually musical temperament whose daily nourishment was song and sound On this point the Old Testament itself le a ve s l ittle room for doubt E verywhere and at all times were song and music to be found in Ancient I srael Every festival occasion every climax of public or private life was celebrated with music and song Just a s Homer called singing and string music “ ”3 the consecration of the meal so also in ancient I srael no ceremonial meal could be thought of without its a o c om pan i m en t of either vocal or instrumental music M ar ri a g e ceremonies took place amid festive choruses with music and dancing and at the bier of the dead sounded the wail of dirge and flute The sheep were sheared and the vintage gathered to songs of joy and dancing and tam bouri me playing The same was true in public life The 2 . . . , . . . , . , . , . . . uth e r i hi s t r a slat i o mak es attem p t to t r a slate th ese hi e r o b t t h e above q oted mean i n gless com bi nat i ons o f lette r fr om t h e gl y ph i K i g J ames e r s i o h a r dl y conve y less s i g i fi a ce to th e r eade r of to da y th an hi s sentences E P l m A ph o d S p o o z i g i g od D o Ei g ii l d Kl id i m gii l d o Ro ( lxxx ) l h p ( 1x ) etc P r o f e o r Co ill co s i de r s t h e E n g l i s h t r ansl t i o To t h e c h i ef M s i c i an as p r e fe r able to L ut h e r s o z T h e Pol y g c h rome B i ble t r an l tes th i s w o r d ! o t h e L i tu rgy and i te r pr ets t h e suc ses as t h e catc h w o r d of olde r so g to t h e tu e wh e r eof thi s d i g cl Tr P salm w as to be sun g ’ L n n c s, u n an zu e s n n “ : s ’ ssa sa zn en n re n e zn av ” s v en n rz us n en , v rn n ” an r s en , v “ “ - ” . “ d ra flfi ua r a aa tHi s , n e ne r us n en . ' v ” r an e n en ” s en a ’ s a au s, v ss . u n - c n ' “ c ee n u v “ an n “ , n , r usi n en n n . n M U SI C I N TH E OLD TE S TA M E N T 3 . election of a king or his coronation or betroth a l were cele b ra ted with music ; the victorious warriors and generals were met upon their return home by choruses of m atrons and maidens with dance and song S o M iria m s poke from among the chorus of women who after the successful p as “ sage through the Re d S ea went out with timbrels and ” with dances ( E x xv in the s a me w a y t oo David wa s received by matrons and maidens after h i s successful battle with the Philistines ( 1 S a m xviii 6) a nd u p on thi s custom i s founded the frightful tragedy o f the story of Jephthah whose daughter hastened in the joy of her heart to o ffer greeting and praise to her victoriou s father only to be m et by death a s the fulfil m ent o f his vow ( Judges xi ) How great a place music occupied in the worship of ancient Israel is universally known The entire P salter i s nothing else than a collection of religi o us songs which were sung in the temple worship where the priests with their trumpets and the choruses of mu sic m aking Levites st a nd before the eye of our imagination E speci a lly by typ ic a l expressions do we learn what a sign ificance music h a d for the life of the I sraelitish nation There i s in Hebrew a saying which characterizes what we would call being c om ” ” “ ” m on talk the obj ect of gossip on everybody s tongue in such a way as to indicate ditties sung in ridicule The “ ” H ebrew expression n eg i n ah means string m usic being ” “ ” 5 derived from the word n a gan to beat to touch with special r eference to instruments as in stri king the chords In Psalm lxix 1 2 this word n eg i n a h is used in a pass a ge ” which literally reads : I am the lute song of drunkards “ The Polychrome B ible translates the passage : I am the ” subj ect of wine bibbers ballads In the same sense the word is used in Job xxx 9 with reference to the frightful fate that had befallen him : And now am I their song ye a . . , . . . , , . . - ‘ . . “ “ ’ , , , . “ , “ , , , , . . , “ . ’ . . , “ , 4 fl i ‘ JJ M U S I C I N TH E OLD T ES T AM E N T 4 . And in L a ment a tions we find ( iii I 4 I wa s a derision to all my people ; and their song all the day B ehold their sitting down and their rising ” “ up ; I a m their music Here the word translated song ” and music is the same in both instances When Job s fortune changes to evil he says ( xxx M y harp als o is turned to mourning and my organ into the voice of ” them that weep The dreadful desolation of Jerusalem a fter its destruction i s described in Lamentations with the words : The elders have ceased fro m the g a te the young ” m e n from their music ( v I 4 ) Ancient I srael must have been recognized among out s ide nations a s well as a particularly musical people whose accomplishments in the art comprised a definite profession For this view we have two extremely characteristic sources of evidence one from Assyrian monuments and one from the Old Testament I n his account of the unsuccessful siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians in the year 70 1 B C S a n h e ri b tells us according to the translation of Hugo Winckler that Hezekiah king of Judah besides all kinds of valuable articles sent also his daughters and the women o f his palace together with men and women singers to the great king at N ineveh while in the touching Psalm cxxxvii we learn that the B abylonian tyrant demanded s on g s of the Jewish exiles to cheer them up : S ing to us your beautiful ” songs of ! ion Jewish tradition has given expression to the fact that music belongs to the earliest benefits and gifts of the cul ture of mankind by establishing Jubal as the inventor of music and father of musicians as early a s the seventh gen e ra ti on after the creation ( Gen iv An important influence on the human heart was ascribed to music and it was employed to drive away the evil spirit o f m elancholy when David played before the sick King S a ul ( 1 S am xvi I t was also used a s a spiritual stimulus by which to I am their byword . . , “ , . . ’ . . , . “ , . . , . , . . . , , , , , ' “ , . . . . . M U S I C I N TH E OLD T ES T AM E N T 5 . acquire prophetic inspiration In S amuel s ti m e co mpanies of prophets traversed the land to the music of psalter and harp ( 1 S am x and so t he Prophet E lisha to whom the Kings Jehoshaph at and Jehoram applied for an oracle from God sent for a lute player saying ( 2 Kings iii 1 5 ) But now bring me a minstrel And it came to pass when the minstrel played that the hand of the Lord came upon ” him An art to which such a powerful influence was attrib s te rs the greatest king u te d and to whose most famous maof I srael belonged must have been z ealou sly practised and we will now undertake to gai n some idea of the cultivation of music in ancient I srael To this end it will be mos t useful if we will begin our investigation with what the Old Testament says about musical instruments of course with express exception of the book of Daniel which in its third chapter mentions a large number of in struments 6 using their Greek names as naturalized words ; for these prove absolutely nothing with regard to ancient Hebrew music which at presen t i s our only consideration We may with equal propriety exclude singing from our investigation S ong i s such an especially instinctive and spontaneous expres sion of the human soul that its pres ence l s established a pri ori In this connection the question might be raised with regard to the construction of the tone system but this can not be answered without knowl edge of the instruments employed Only I will not neglect to mention that a s early as in the time of David profe s s i on a l male and female singers provided music during mealtime David wished to take with him to Jerusalem as a reward for fidelity the faithful old B arzillai who had protected him at the time of Absalom s rebellion There he would be the daily guest of the king ; but B arzillai a n s w e re d ( 2 S am xix I am this day fourscore ye ars m7p y£ 0p ufi fi m u¢ w l wx fip ’ . . . . , , “ . , , . , , . , , . . . , . . ’ . . ° v , oa l . ' , Kt a ts , a ' r cov , av v a , M U S I C I N TH E OLD TE S TA M ENT 6 . ? old ; a nd c a n I discern between good and e v il C a n thy servant taste wh a t I eat or what I drink ? Can I hear any ? more the voice of singing men and singing women Where fore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord ” the king ? S olomon the P reacher also delighted in m en singers and women S ingers and the delights of the sons of ” men as musical instruments and that of all sorts ( E ccl ii , , . , . M usic a l instruments a re usually divided into t hree clas ses perc u ssw e i nstruments stringed instruments and wind instruments and we shall also follow this division Of these three classes t he percussive instruments are t he most primitive They can not be said to posses s any properly articulated tones but sounds only and their single artistic element is rhythm which however is certainly the foun da t ion and essen t ial characteristic of music according to “ the witty utterance of Hans von B ii l ow In the beginning ” was the rhythm Among percussive instruments the one most frequently ” mentioned is the timbrel or tabret ( in Hebrew toph ) which corresponds exactly to our tambourine Often they were richly ornamented so that they were frequently referred to a s decorations In one of the most splendid passages “ of th e prophet Jeremiah we read : Again I will build thee and thou shalt be built O virgin of I srael ; thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets and shalt go forth in the ” dances of them that make merry ( Jer xxxi Thi s passage i s particularly characteristic of the n a ture of the tabret in two r espects ; first it u sually appears in the hands of women ( in all passages where tabret players are ex pressly mentioned they are matrons and maidens ) ; and sec ondly it al mo st a lways appears in c o nnection with the , , , . , . , , , . . . , , , , . , . M U S I C I N TH E OLD TE S TA M ENT 7 . dance a s being swung in the dance and m arking its rhythm We can suppose it to have been undoubtedly played by men only in connection with the music of the companies of prophets in S amuel s time for if we read t hat these prophets came down from the sacred high place with a psaltery and a tabre t and a pipe and a harp before them I S am x we would hardly think of the mu si c i a n s who accompanied thes e wild men and played th e tabrets before them as women The second percussive instrument is the fa m il i a r cym bal which comes next to our mind in thinking of the music of the Old Testament With regard to the nature and character of this instrument we can gather all that i s e s In the first place the cymbal se n ti a l from the B ible itself must have been constructed of brass for in the familiar passage I Cor xiii I the Apostle Paul writes according to the Greek text Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity I am become as ” sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal The Hebrew root 8 ts a l al from which both words for cymbal are derived means clatter to give forth a S harp penetrating sound ; " and the word most frequently u sed m e ts il tayi m i s in th e dual form which is never used in the H ebrew language in its purely grammatical sense but only in the logical sense of things which occur in nature only in pairs N ow since a penetrating and loud tone is repeatedly attributed to the cymbals we may consider them a s two metal plates to be struck together ( Fig 4 ) that is to say t hey are the i n s tru m en ts which we know a s cymbals and which ar e known in German as B ec ke n and in I t alian as Ma tti and which are most familiar to us in military music in combination with a bass drum Two other percussive instru m ents are m entioned of which o ne is still doub t ful The one which is undoubt e dly , . ’ , , , , . . . , , . . , , . . , “ , , , . ‘ , , , , . . , , . . 8 9 x vi M U S I C I N TH E OLD TE S TA M E N T 8 . certain men a an zm ( 2 S am vi 5 ) evidently c o mes fro m ” 11 the root n u a to shake and corresponds exactly with 2 the Greek sistrum which consists of m etal crossbars upon which hang metal rings that are made to produce their Accordingly in cur rent lan tones by shaking ( Fig guage it is the Turkish bell tree the c i n ell i with which we are familiar also through German military music 3 Then too an instrument called the s ha l i s h i s men ti on ed in the hands of women together with the tabret at the t riumphant reception of David upon his return from the conquest of th e giant Golia t h I S am xviii The word s h a l i s h being derived from the same root as s h a l os h the number three we have been accustomed to identify it with our modern triangle but it is a question whether we are justified i n so doing With this instrument we have exhausted the number of percussive instruments men ti on e d in the Old Testament It might perhaps be more logical for us to follow the percussive instruments at once with the wind instruments inasmuch as they are the most primitive next to the per c u s s i v e instruments because horns of animals and reeds are nature s own gifts to men while strings made from catgut are a purely artificial product But as far a s an cient I srael was concerned the stringed instruments were by far the most important I will remind my readers once more of the proverbial application of the word string m usic above mentioned Accordingly I will next consider the stringed i n stru ments of which th e Old Testament mentions two the “ 15 ki n n or and n e bel That both were composed of strings dr a wn across wood ( Fig 8) may be proved in so far a s it needs proof by the fact that according to I Kings x 1 2 S olomon ordered certain instruments of this clas s intended for the temple service to be made out of sand a l wood ‘ ‘ ’ . . , “ ‘ , 1 . - , , . 1 . . , “ , , . . , ’ , . . . , , . , , . , . , , 10 D J’J l l i n ‘ ‘2 e arpov ‘ BW 13 W‘ 1‘ “1 133 M U S I C I N TH E OLD T ES TAM E N T 9 . which he had obtained during his famous visits to Ophir Of these two instruments the kinnor is the most important but I will begin with the nebel because we have the m ore definite tradition with regard to it When Jerome tells 16 us that the nebel whose name became n a bl a and n a bl i u m in Greek and Latin possessed the form of a Greek Delta A we thus have the triangular pointed harp indicated a s plainly a s possible ( Fig I ) The only obj ection that can be brou ght against thi s view namely that we repeatedly meet this instrument in the hands of dancers and pilgrims i s not sound In representations of Ancient E gypt we also have harps so small th at they could easily be carried and the best commentaries have lately S hown u s ( Fig As syrian representations where pointed harp s with th e points at the top and fastened with a band were likewise carried in the hands of dancing processions ( Fig If the points of these Assyrian harps were regularly at the top this will explain to u s better S t Jerome s comparison with the Greek Delta which of course has the point a t th e top E specially noteworthy among others i s an Assyrian represent ation ( Fig 1 5 ) in which three prisoners are b e ing led into exile by an Assyrian king and all three are pl a ying four stringed harps on the march but the harps are so turned that th e broad side i s on top I t i s v ery pos sible that thes e figures may represent captive I sraelites There must have been several varieties of nebel ( e g A harp of ten strings ( d ek a c h ord ) i s repeatedly Fig 17 m entioned in clear distinction from the u sual ones which accordingly must have h a d fewer than ten strings p erh a ps four a s in that Assyrian sketch An instrument of six strings i s the interpretation of many exegetists of the 8 word s h us h a n which Luther translates by R os en in the headings to Psalms xl v lx lxix and lxxx When we re a d ‘ “ Ps xxx iii 2 ; xc 4 ; c l i g 2 21W . , . , , , . . , , , . . . ’ . , . . , - , . . . . , . 1 , . , . . n . v v 3 . . . , ’ in Luther s B ible in the headings to Psalms vi and x i i to ” 9 be rendered on eight strings this i s hardly an accurate translation of a musical term with which we shall occupy ourselves later By far the m ost important stringed instru m ent on the other hand is th e kinnor Its invention is ascribed to Jubal and we meet with it on every hand in the most varied occasions The exiles hung them on the willows by the waters of B abylon ( P S cxxxvii 2 ) and according to a passage in the book of I saiah which to be sure comes from a much later date probably the Greek period they are used by harlots for the public allurement of men ( I s xxiii For us the kinnor has indeed a conspicuous interest and a p a rticular significance in that it was the instrument of King David by which the son of Jesse subdued the mel an c h ol y of King S a n ] and which he played when dancing before the ark We ar e particul arly fortun a te in posses s ing a n authentic copy of this instrument on an E gyptian monument On the tomb of Ch n u m h ote p the Prince of M iddle E gypt at B eni Hassan in the time of Pharaoh U sur te sen II of the 1 2 th dyn asty which can not be placed later th a n 2 300 B C a procession of S emitic nomads i s re pre sented which Ch n u m h ote p is leading into the presence of Pharaoh in order to obtain th e royal permission for a d w elling place in E gypt In this procession a man who comes immediately behind the women and children is carry ing by a leather thong an instrument which we can not fail to recogn ize a s the kinnor ( Fig 3 cf also Fig It is a board w ith four rounded corners and with a sounding hol e in the upper part over which eight strings are stretched The m an picks the strings with the fingers of his left hand while he strikes them with a so called plec 1 , . . , , . . . , , , . . , , . . , , . . , . . , . . . - Th e Pol yc h rome B b le h e r e unde r stan ds i n t h e e i gh t h !mode ] o r ke y Th e au th o r i zed ve r s i on aga i n r e o r ts to a t r ansc ri pt i on of t h e H e b r e w On D r Corn i l l s v i e w i s g i ven on p a g es 2 5 7 f Tr N e gi n ot h upon Sh em i n i t h . . “ s ” . , ’ . . . M U S I C I N TH E OLD TE S T AM E N T II . tru m a s mall stick held in hi s right hand That the I sraelites also played their stringed instruments partly with their fingers and partly by means of s uch a plectrum we might conclude from t he two characteristically di fferent ” 2 expressions for playing on strings : z a m a r to pluck ” 22 “ and n ag an to strike All antiquity was unacquainted with the use of bows to produce sound from stringed i n s tru m e n ts of any kind Hence t he kinnor may first of all be compared to our z ither except tha t it apparently had no hollow space under neath and no special sounding board The stringed i n s tru m e n ts a s they are represented in countless di fferent varieties on Je w i sh coins ( Figs I 3 and 1 4 ) do not corre spon d either with the nebel or the kinnor but much more 23 closely resemble the G reek lyre and therefore have little value with reference to the Old Testament We might also consider the g i tti th a stringed i n stru ment where the he a dings to P s viii lxxxi and lxxxiv read “ ”2 upon Gittith But it is very doubtful whether the word ” i t t i t h translates a musical instrument and not rather a g particular kind of song or melody In either case it will be better not to confuse the old I sraelitish temple orchestra with the gittith We have still to consider the wind instruments One of these whose invention is likewise ascribed to Jubal is called the B esides in Gen iv 2 1 it is mentioned twice in the book of Job and once in P S cl in which all instruments and everything that hath breath are sum m on ed to give praise and thanksgiving to God ( P s cl 4 ; Job xxi 1 2 ; xxx This a ga b is most probably the . , 1 “ , , . , . , . . ‘ . . , , , 4 . . . . . . , , . , . . ‘ . . 9° n l fi 21 1 73? xrpov ‘ 22 23 133 Mpa Th e Polyc hr ome B ible commen ts : W e do n ot kn o w wh eth e r G i tti th means be l on g mg to th e c i t y of G ath whi ch p r obabl y h ad b een d est r oyed b e fo r e th e B abylon i a n E x i le o r be l on gm g to a w i ne p re s s ( S on g fo”r th e o r w h et h e r i t denotes a mode o r ke y o r a mus i cal i n st r ume n t Tr “ ’ ‘ , ‘ - ’ , z , . ‘“ 25 1 1 s ) i s t r anslated i n th e auth o ri zed e r s i o b y or ga th e ma rgi n as p i pe Tr 9° 4 , in It v ” “ , . . n n, but i n P5 . . cl . M U S I C I N TH E OLD T ES T AM E N T 12 . s a me as the bag pipe which i s of cours e a very primitive a nd widely spread instrument familiar to us a s the national instrument of the S cotch an d best known in continental E urope a s the pi fi era ri of Italy It has been customary ” ! to translate n ga b by shawm ; Luther calls it p ipes ( P fei fen ) The most important reed instrument the flute we find 27 referred to a s kh a l i l only in five passages : with the thundering m usic of the prophets ( 1 S am x at th e proclamation of S olomon a s the successor of David ( 1 Kings i twice in the book of I saiah in connection with the dinner music of the rich gluttons and winebibbers at Jeru salem ( v and als o when one goeth with the ” pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord ( xxx and finally once in the book of Jeremiah as th e instrument of m ourning and lamentation where we read ( xlviii ” Therefore mine heart shall sound for M oab like pipes In thi s connection we are reminded to some extent of th e awakening of Ja i ru s s little daughter When Jesu s reached the house of mourning h e found there before him flute 28 players and wee p ing women ( M att ix 2 3 ; M ark v Of the construction of these flutes th e Old Testament tells us nothing and leaves nothing to be inferred and yet we imagine that the khalil wa s not a transverse flute but probably a sort of beaked flute thus corresponding much more closely to our clarinet We find the transverse flutes only in v ery isolated cases on Egyp tian monuments while on the other hand we find the beaked flutes regularly in an overwhelming m a jority with the Assyrians and indeed - , . “ “ ‘ . , , , . . , . . . . , “ . ’ . . . . , , . , , i e thi s a rt i cle a p pea r ed m Th M o t M Ph i ll i ps B a rry m a ve ry r eadable a r t i cle ( M om s t ! I ! J ul y 1909 pp 4 5 9 4 61 ) h po i nted out t h at th e t rad i t i o al r en d e r i n g of ug b b gp i pe i s ot w ell fou ded but r ests upo e rr o r J ust wh at th e g b i s h o w ev e r B a rry hi msel f i s ot able to sa y Tr a slated i n t h e aut h o r i zed v e r s i o by p i p e Tr Th e E n gl i s h e r s i o s p eaks s i mpl y of m i nst r els d t h e peop le mak in g wi th out t r a slat i g th e k i d of i st r ument used Tr a n o i se S nc n zs e r . ' - , , ‘ n a ‘ n an u . as a , “ as . a n , , n , n , . n n 3’ n v ’ , ‘‘ n n n n “ . . an . . M U S I C I N TH E OLD TE S T AM E N T I 3 . often composed of two tubes as was the comm o n for m among the Greeks ( Fig But nearer than this w e c a n not a ffirm any t hing with regard t o t heir use in ancient . I s rae L We find animal horns men t ioned twice among wind instrumen t s as ram s horns once indeed in connecti o n with the t heophany of S inai ( E xodu s xix I 3) and once ” The term horn a t the cap t ure of Jericho ( Josh vi 2 i n for a musical instrument comes under Greek ren e q On the other hand in fl u en c e again in the book of Daniel 3 Old Testament times on l v the two forms s h ofar and 1 h a ts ots era h were in common use On the triumphal arch of Titus ( Figs 1 6 and I 7 ) and on two Jewish coins t h a t s o Fig we have esthetic representa t ions of the 1 8 ( ) serah which was peculiarly the instrument of worship and wa s blown by the priests According to N um x two hat s otse rot h ( the word always occurs in the plural in the Hebrew with one exception ) were to be fashioned out of s ilver by skilful handiwork and t here the priests made use of them to call together the people and to announce th e fe a sts and new moons That these instruments in the ancient temple were indeed of silver we learn als o from an incidental notice in 2 Kings xii I 3 in the reign of Ki n g Joash According to many pictures they are rather long and slender and perfectly straight widening gradually in front into a bell mouth hence the very instruments which the pictures of ancient art used to place in the hands of angels and which may b est be compared with the s o called clarion of ancient music a kind of cl a rinet made of metal The wind instrument which i s second in importance the s h ofa r still plays a part in the worship of the syn agogue but in the Old T e stament a s far a s religious u se i s concerned it i s far behind the h a tsotse ra h According to Jerome the horn of the shofar i s bent backward in c on ’ , , . “ , . . 9 , . 0 3 ‘ . . . . . , . , . . , ’ , - , , . , , , , . 99 m 30 15 1W 3! m ama 41 M U S I C I N TH E OLD T ES T AME N T 4 . trast to the straight horn of the h a tsotse rah I t is es p e for c i a l ly the instrument for sounding signals of al a rm which purpose it was widely used According to law this trumpet was to be sounded on the day of atonement e very forty ninth year the year of jubilee ( Lev xxv There i s a noteworthy passage in the book of I saiah where it says that on that day a t the sounding of the great trum pet ( s h ofa r ) all the Jews scattered and exiled throughout the whole world shall come back to worship in t he holy m ount at Jerusalem ( I s xxvii I 3) and thi s eschatological and a p ocalyptical passage has also become significant with regard to the N ew Testament for from it the Apostle Paul takes the trump of the last judgment by whose sound the dead will arise according to I Cor xv 5 2 and I Thess iv 1 6 ( Cf also M att xxiv According to the p rophet ! echariah the Lord of S abaoth himself shall blow the trumpet ( s h ofa r) at the last j udgment ( ! ech ix Whether the ancient I sraelites really played melodies or signals in the natural tones of the bugle or the signal trumpet we do not know We have only two c h a ra c te ri s tically di fferent expressions for the blowing on the shofar ”3 2 and h a tsotse rah viz blow on the instruments and ” 33 how 1 on them By the first word is meant to make a noise by short sharp blasts and by the last by long drawn out ringing notes This i s what we learn from the Old T estament about musical instruments of ancient I srael and their u se . , . - , . . . . , . . . . . . . , . . . . “ . , , “ . , . . 1 >< The char acter of the music of ancient I srael we must consider in general as merry and gay almost boisterous so that it seemed advisable to refrain from music in the presence of men who were ill tempered or moody In the P roverbs of S olomon xxv 2 0 we have the expressive as vinegar upon nitre so is he that singeth songs s i m ile ppmt k a Ir an h e r i a , , - . . , “ , 32 a ‘ 33 ' M U S I C I N TH E OLD TE S T A M ENT I 6 . the hall was much too small for the number of the members of the Congress which seemed to be the chronic state of things in Algiers Hence with my particular gift always and everywhere t o get t he worst place I was pressed against the far t hes t wall where it was necessary in this instance to stand for two good hours wedged in a fearfully crowded corner and so greatly to my sorrow many occurrences escaped me S t ill the impression of the whole was decidedly strik ing presumably because of t he di fference between male and female singing N ever did both groups perform together in a mixed chorus ( just as Oriental s do not recogniz e a dance between men and women ) but each group sang by itself The song and music of the men was very solemn and dignified in slow time without a distinct rhythm or melodious cadence but in a sort of recitative ( S preen n which is now in vogue in t he la t est music The e s a g g) music of the women was very di fferen t In their perform ance all was fire and life They sang in a pronounced melody with sharply accentuated rh v th m in a passionate te mpo and t hey treated the instruments upon which they accompanied their singing with incredible expression N ot only throat and fingers but the whole person in all its mem bers was engaged in making music I f we may imagine the women who sang in ancien t I srael entirely or a pprox i mately like t heir modern feminine counterparts it i s easy to unders t and how a man like the prophet Amos at the outbreak of such a band in the temple at B ethel might have ” received t he impression of a variety show in church And ano t her thing occurred to me in connection with the songs of t h ose women that according to the language of music they are all composed in minor and indeed only in the two scales of D M inor and A M inor which with their characteri stic intervals in the case of the so called ” “ church keys have been named Doric and Aeolic — so an d , . , , , , , . , . . , , . . . , . . , “ . , , , - , M U S I C I N TH E OLD TE S T AM E N T I 7 . then we see tha t just a s a deep meaning of t en lies in the games of children the familiar German pun that the trum pe ts of t he Israeli t es before the walls of Jericho were blown in the key of D M inor ( D m al l ) because t hey d e m a l i sh e d those walls was no t made entirely out of whole cloth This brings us quite na t urally to the question whether or not t he m usic of ancient I srael had a t one system and a defini t e scale When even on the earlies t E gyp t ian and Assyrian monuments t he pointed harps have s t rings of constan t ly diminishing length and the flutes have sound holes where the players manipulate their fingers it i s ab s ol u te l y necessary for us to investiga t e this question for t hese pictorial illus t rations testify to definite tones of vary ing pitch and in that case a fixed scale must have previously exis t ed To be sure I must at the outset abandon one means of determining this scale a n d that is accent B esides the vowel S igns our Hebrew texts have also so called accents which perform a threefold function ; first as accent in its proper signification to indicate the s t ress of voice then as punctuation marks and finally as musical notation This accent also denotes a definite m e l i s m a or a definite cadence according to which the emphasized word in t he intoned “ — discourse of the synagogue ( the so called n i gg u n ) was to be recited The learned bishop of the M oravian B reth ren and counsellor of the B randenburg consistory Daniel E rnst Jablonski in the preface to the Berlin edition of 1 699 of the Old Testament made under his patronage under took to rewrite these accen t s according to the cus t om of t he S efa rd zm ( that is of the S panish Portuguese Jews ) in modern notes and has thus rewritten in notes one longer coherent passage in Genesis ( xlviii I 5 which I sometimes have occasion to sing to my students at col , , . . , , . . , - , , . , . , , , ' - , , . 34 11: , M U S I C I N TH E OLD TE S TA M ENT 18 . lege But this n i ggu n as evidence has lately been found to prove i s of Christian origin an imitation of the so called n an ni es u sed in the Greco S yrian communities of the Orient in reciting the Gospels and accordingly has been handed down from the church to the syn agogue and so — for ancient I srael and its music has no meaning a t least directly for the Church was es sentially under Greek in fl u e n c e and Greek mu sic must not be identified with that of ancient I srael nor must the latter be constructed accord ing to the former The only trace although an uncertain one in the Old Testament itself appears in the expressio n which I have however already mentioned and which Lu ” ther transla tes on eight strings ( a uf a c h t S a i ten ) But 36 in Hebrew the word i s s h emi n i th meaning ordinal num ” ” ber so that we must no t t ranslate on eight but on ( or ” after ) the e i gh th Accordingly a musician can hardly do ” otherwise than insert this eighth in the familiar oc tav e t he foundation of our tone system and assume that the ancient I sraelites also had a scale of seven intervals so that the eighth becomes the same scale but placed an octave higher And thi s interpretation has also a support in the Old Tes t ament Our principal so urce for the music of ancient I srael i s the B iblical book of Chronicles which has e vidently been written by a specialist a Levitical musicia n of the temple who o ffers u s a complete series of technical statements with regard to ancient musical culture S o we read in one of the most important passages ( 1 Chron xv 2 0 2 1 ) that a circle of temple musicians played upon the 7 h f literally translated after the n e be l the harp a l a l a m a t ” manner of maidens and another on the ki n n or the lute ” 3 h literally after th e eighth By the a l h as l l s h e m i n i t ” designation af t er th e manner of maidens can only be meant the high clear voices of women that i s t o say so ” and then it is of course natural to see in t he eighth r n a o p . , , , - , , , , , , . , , , “ . “ , “ “ . “ , , . . , , . . . , “ ' , , , “ 8 f , , , , . “ , “ , 35 vevu a ra . -mv 36 n 5 1 by 37 1 111 7 : 38 m ama 51: M U S I C I N TH E OLD T E S T AM E N T 19 . the deeper voices of the men an octave lower I f this com bination i s correct and it is at least very promising we see clearly proven in it the existence of a scale of seven intervals even if we know nothing about the particular intervals and their relation to each other Another characteristic of the music of ancient I srael i s that it does not take into account pure instru m ental music the s o called absolute music but on the contrary regards instruments simply as accompaniment for S inging The usage of the language i s significant with regard to 39 this point The Hebrew calls instruments ke l e h as h s hi r ” “ instruments of song and calls musicians simply sing ” ers ; for it has long been observed that in the passages which treat of s ingers in the proper sense a particular form 4 of the participle i s always found the so called K a l while another participial form of the same root the so called P ol e l designates musicians in general Accordingly I S rael considers the essential nature and the foundation of all music to be in song in M e l as And what an ingeniou s instinct what an artistic delicacy of feeling i s given utter ance in this designation ! The end pursued by modern music is to compres s the living human voice into a dead instrument while the great musicians of all times have considered it their task rather to let th e instruments sing t o put a living human soul into the dead wood metal or S h ee pgu t S uch was the case with t he people of I srael Likewise the music of ancient I srael knew nothing of polyphony which is an abomination to Orientals in gen eral And to be sure must not polyphony be designated as ? a two edged sword For counterpoint i s commonly under stood to come in exactly at the point when the musician lacks melody and conception And what is even the most artistic polyphony of a R ichard S trauss or a M ax R eger compared to the heavenly melody of the larghetto in M O . , , , . - , , . . , “ 0 - , , - , 4 1 . , . , , , , , . , . . - . 39 T an “ 7: 40 41 m m: M U S I C I N TH E OLD TE S T A M E N T 20 . clarinet quintet ! What the chronicler considers an idea l performance is stated in a characteristic passage : I t came even to pas s as the trumpeters and S ingers were as one to m ake one sound to be heard in prai sing and ” thanking the Lord ( 2 Chron v Hence a single powerful n n i s an a is the ideal of the music of ancient I srael The passage of Chronicles above quoted leads us to the dedication of S olomon s temple And since I srael i s the nation of religion and a s w e are moreover best informed by the chronicler just about temple music we shall in con elusion make an a ttempt to sketch a picture of the temple music of ancient I srael With regard to the orchestra of the temple the lack of wooden wind instruments is noteworthy E ven the flute is mentioned only once in connection with a procession of pilgrims ( I s xxx but never in connection with th e worship proper S ince the trumpets were reserved for the use of the priests in giving signals at certain definite places in the ritual the temple orchestra consisted only of stringed i n ru m en ts harps and lutes so that the music of the temple st “ ” 43 i s repeatedly called S imply stringed music n eg i n a h And to these stringed instruments cymbal s also may be added These three instruments cymbals harps and lutes are a lways mentioned in this order as played by the Levites The Levites were again divided into three groups after David s three singing masters Asaph Heman and Jedu thun ( sometimes E than ) S ince these three names always occur in the same order we are led to combine the corres ponding systems and to give to Asaph the cymbals to ’ z a rt s “ , , . . . , ’ . , , . , - . . . . , , , . , , . , . ’ , , . , T h e P ol ychrome B i ble r eads J oy o f h ea r t l i ke hi s w h o et fo r th to th e fl ute to go to th e mount i n o f ! a h ve h but m t h e a t h o ri zed ve r s i on th e i st r ument i called p i pe and not fl te T I n t h e h ead i n g s om l m i v v i l i v l lx i lx ii and lxx i Cf also I s xxx i i i ; and H b 9 s ” a “ s n ” “ s sa . v . 20 a . 111 . 1 . u , u ” r . . , s , , v, , v , v . . M U S I C I N TH E OLD T ES T AM E N T 21 . H eman the harp and to Jeduthun the lute ; and for the first and third of thes e combinations we have corroborative quota t ions : Once in 1 Chron xvi 5 it i s expressly men ti on e d a s a function of Asaph that he made a sound wi t h ” c ymbals ; and again in 1 Chron xxv 3 Jedu t hun is men This shows ti on e d as he who prophesied with a u s how to understand the heading of the three Psalms ” 5 To Jeduthun These evidently x xxix lxii and lxxvii are to be accompanied only by Jeduthun with the lute and this agrees wi t h t he grave and somber character of those three psalms This indicates that even in the most primitiv e beginnings there was an art of instrumentation which took into con s ideration the timbre of the instruments and a s a modern analogy we might point out certain priestly passages in the M agic Flute The wonderful e ffect of these passages rests on the fact that M ozart neglected the common u sage which would have combined two violins with a tenor and ( bass viol in the string quartette ) and left out the violins a ssigning the quartette exclu sively to the viols But just here in this division of instruments is a point expressly handed down by tradition which must appear strange to u s : to Asaph who is always mentioned in the first place and apparently acts as the first orchestra leader is assigned But these cymbals only the ringing brass of the cymbals a pparently served the purpose of a baton in the hand of a modern orchestra leader marking the rhythm with their s harp penetrating tone and so holding together the whole The trumpets of the priests were to serve the people as a ” memorial before God ( N um x 9 1 0 ) Hence they are Th e E gl i s h e r s i o t r a slates t hi s also as h a rp Tr W l lh i n hi s N otes to t h e Pol y h r ome E d i t i o of Th B ook of P l m t h s expl i ns t h e w o r d whi c h h e t r a slates as fo r ( o r f r om ) J edu th n l i ke K o h d A ph w as t h e ame of a p ost E x i l i c gu i ld J d th of temple mu i c i a s H e ce th e P salms ma y h ave bee att r i buted to t h em o ri gi n ll y i just t h e s me w a y th at man y G e r ma hym s a r e att rib uted to th e M o r v i n B r et hr en t h e y belon g ed o rigi all y to a p ri ate collect i o and sub se q entl y f ound th e ir w y i to t h e commo hym book T r , . . , “ , . , . “ “ , 4 . , , , . , . , . , , . . “ - . n u s ” “ . u e - a u a n . a u s . c u n, n n ra . an sa - n , n . n a n n n : a n e “ n n a n “ ause n e sa v . v n n n, ” - . . M USI C 22 I N TH E OLD T ES T AME N T . in some measure a knocking at the door of God and a p pa ren tl y have the same func ti o n a s the bell at a Catholic mas s in giving the people the si gn al to fall upon their knees The supposition has been ex ( 2 Chron xxix 2 7 pressed that the puzzling s el ah in the P salms which u n doubtedly had a musical liturgical sense and indicated an interruption of the singing by instruments marked t he places where the priests blew their trumpets— a n a ssu m p tion which can be neither proved nor disproved What now i s the case with regard to the temple song ? which of course was the singing of psalms We learn from Chronicles that the later usage removed women s voices from the service and recognized only Levitical sing ers In a remarkable passage ( Psalms lxviii 2 5 ) which describes a procession of the second temple the women s t ill come into prominence a s damsels playing with timbrels but ordinarily only male singers and l ute players are m en But if P salm xlvi for instance were sung accord ti on e d ” 6 ing to its inscription after the manner of maidens we must assume that the men sang in a falsetto just a s not so v ery long ago when women s voices were in the sam e manner excluded from the service of th e E vangelical Church falsetto was regularly practised and belonged t o the art of Church music With regard to the melodies to which the Psalms were sung here again a s it seems we have th e same process a s in the German Church songs When we find ascribed to the Psalms as melodies the words To the Tune of the ”4 7 Winepress Psalms viii lxxxi lxxxiv ; To the Tune ”4 8 “ of Lilies P salms xlv lx lxix lxxx ; To the Tune of The H ind of the Psalm xxii ; To the Tune of , . . , , . ’ ! . . “ . , , ‘‘ 4 , , ’ . , . , , , . “ , , , , , , , T hi s pa rt of th e h ead i n g to P salm xlv i Luth e r t r anslates ! a n d e r th e a u t h o ri zed E n gl i s h v e r s i on g i ves a son g u pon J u ge n d v orz u si n g en wi t h E l a m i te i nst r umen t s T r a n d t h e P ol y c h r ome B ib le sa y s A la m ot h 48 w e r 47 11 a e by 51: i f d e r i ve d from m w i ne p r e s , ” , ” “ “ , ’ . 1 s 49 . arm 1 115 11 51? M U S I C I N TH E OLD T ES T AM E N T 24 . and all that were present with him bowed them sel v es and worshipped M oreover Hezekiah the king and the princes com m an d ed the Levites to sing praise unto the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer And they sang praises with gladness and they bowed their heads and worshipped And Jesus S irach says in describing the installation of S imon a contemporary as high priest ( E cclesiasticus 1 15 2 1 ) He stretched out his h a nd to the cup and poured of the blood of the grape he poured out at the foot of the altar a s w ee tsm e l l i n g savour unto the most high King of all Then shouted the sons of Aaron and sounded the silver trumpets and made a great noise to be heard for a remembrance before the most High Then all the people together hasted and fell down to the earth upon their faces to worship their Lord God A l mighty the most High The singers also sang praises with their voices with great variety of sounds was there made sweet melody And the people besought the Lord the most High by prayer bef ore him that is merciful till the solemnity of the Lord was ended and they had finished the service Then h e went down and lifted up his hands over the whole congregation of th e children of I srael to give the blessing of the Lord with his lips and to rejoice in his name And they bowed themselves down to worship the sec ond time that they might receive a blessing from the most ” High Here we see art inserted organically in the whole of the service ; music too like the swallow had found a nest on the altar of the Lord of Hosts ( P salm lxxxiv From such descriptions we comprehend t he enthusiastic , . “ , . , . , . , , - “ , , , , , . “ , . , “ , . “ , , , . , “ , , , . “ , . , , , M USI C I N TH E OLD T ES T AM E N T 25 . love and devotion Of the I sraelite for his te mple where everything that was beautiful in his eyes was consecrated and illumined by religion where he m ight behold the ” beautiful worship of the Lord as Luther translates P s 2 xxvii 4 incorrectly t o be sure but most comfortingly ; and music has contributed the richest share in m aking ” this beautiful worship of the Lord Both the secular and temple music of ancient I srael have long since died out in silence N ot one tone has re mained alive not one note of her melodies do we hear but not in vain did it resound in days Of old Wi t hout temple music there would be no temple song ; without temple song no psalms The psalms belong to the most precious treas ures among the spiritual possessions of mankind ; these we owe to the music of ancient I srael and in them the temple music Of ancient I srael continues to live to day and will endure for all time “ , . , 5 . , , “ . . , , . , . , - . “ T h e aut h o r i zed v e r s i on h as s i m p l y t h e beaut y of th e Lo r d . Tr . PLA FI G FI G . . TE I E G ! PTI . AN H A RPS . A N H A R P CA RR I E D P R OC E S S I O N E G ! PTI . FI G 3 . A N P I C T UR E O F B E D O U I N W I T H K I NN O R E G ! PTI . . ! IG . 5 . A S SYR IA N L U T E PLA FI G 6 . . S I S T RU M R A N C I E N T I N S T RU M E N T S ( B r i ti h M e m AND OT H E s FI G 7 . R E LI E! TE II us . u F R O M S E N D S C H I R L I I N N O R T H E R N SYR IA . PLA FI G . I O . . 12 . I I . A S SYR I A N ! U A R T E T T E . . A N CI E N T E L E ! E N S T R I N G E D H A R P - . . A S SYR I A N H A R P A N D F L U T E P L A Y E RS FI G FI G TE I ! B AB YLO N . YR E S O N A N C I E N T C O I N S ( Af t e r M dd en ’ ! IG 13 . . L . a FI G . 14 . O N A N CI E N T COI N S (A f t e r M dd en LU TE S a . PLA TE ! I . FI G 1 6 R E L I E F O N T H E A R C H O F T T U S T e m pl e S h w i g th e Tr m pe t (l m t ot t/ ) t k en fr o m H e r o d o i . . u n ! IG ! IG 18 . s s . T 17 . s er o D ET ' z s a AI L F ROM ! I G . 16 . RU M P E T S ON A N CI E N T J E I S H COI N (Af t e r M dd en ) W a . .
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