Smyrna times., 1882-06-28
Musical instruments of the Bible.

Musical instruments of the Bible.
The references to musical instruments
scattered throughout the Holy Scrip
lures are very numerous, and the
description of the services in the great
Temple of Solomon shows us that in
the ritual of the ancient Jews music
both vocal and instrumeutal-fOrm
a very important part of the worship.
In ii. Chronicles, vii, the dedication of
Temple is related. We read there
that " the priests waited on their
offices; the Levites also with instru-
ments of music of the Lord, which
David the King had made to praise the
Lord, because His mercy endureth for
ever, when David praised by their
ministry; and the priests sounded their
trumpets before them, and all Israel
stood" Verse g..
When the ark was inducted to the
Temple, the ceremonies were also mag
niticent. Verses y, l3 and IA Of the
| fifth chapter of Second Chronicles tell
us. Also the Levites which were the
singers, all of them Of Asaph, of Heman
of Jeduthun, with their sons and theil
brethren, being arrayed in white linen
having cymbals, and psalteries and
harps, stood at the east end of the altar
and with them q hundred and twenty
priests sounding with trumpets. II
came even to pass, as the trumpett /.
and singers were as one, to make ont
sound to be heard in praising anC
thanking the Lord and when they
lifted up their voice with the trumpet'
and cymbals and instruments of music
and praised the Lord saying, For he i
good; for his mercy endureth for ever
that then the house was filled with
cloud, even the house Of the Lord 81
that the priests could not stand t,
minister by reason of the cloud, for tn
glory of the Lord had filled the hOus
of God"
From these passages, as well a
others, we learn that instrumental
music of the grandest kind was no
considered out of place in religious sci
vices, and although there are nov
Christians who will not permit eve
an organ to be heard in thei
places of worship, David and SOlomo
employed for their services every know
musical instrument of the time.
The first mention of musical instru
ments in the Bible is i'll the fourt
chapter of Genesis, where we are tol
that Jubal was the father of all sue
as handle the harp and organ" (vers
21). Jubal was the seVepte from Adam
being descended from Cain the eldei
son of our first father.
The Hebrew word translated harp,
kinaOr; and that translated organ,
ugd6. Whether the kinnor was haT
or Tyre has never been authoritative
decided. Specimens of a three-corne
ed harp have been found sculpture
on some Egyptian bas-reliefs. If "
may reason from the develOpemel
theory, we might consider that IL
Tyre was an improvement on the har
which is undoubtedly the simpler for
of the two, but here we are m
with the old story of the discovery
the Tyre by Mercury. According
the Hymn to Hermes"-at one tin
attributed to HOmer-the god, $500
after his birth found mountain tOrtOi
4 grazing near his grottO on MOu
Kyllene. He disemboWeled it, too
its shell, and out of the back of Il
\ shell he formed the Tyre. He cut tv
- stalks of reed of equal length, al
boring the shell, he employed them
arms or sides to the Tyre. 1t was, pc
haps, the inner skin, to cover the OPP
part, and thus to give it q sort Of leath
or parchment front. Then he ii,
- cross-bafs of reed to the arms al
2 attached seven strings of sheepgut
. the cross-bars. After that, he tied t
strings with a plectrum.' (Chappel
History of Music.)
' The ugdb, or organ, was prObah
4. nothing more than a pipe-perha
two or more pipes of unequal lengt
giving forth different s6tipAs' VII
81. blown into; in fact, the Pandean pip
as we know them. The passage allU
ed to concerning Jubal is translated
Martin l4uther's version of the Bib
s And his brother was named Iub
y from whom descended tiddlers a
pipers."
The kinnOr is the only stringed inst
ment mentioned in the PentateuC
IA. the Ugdb, being wind instrument, a
- the tabret (tOph-see Gen. XXI,
ed. a small hand-drum.
0 Already, in this very early age,
see q sort of Iudimentary orohest
these three instruments giving tn
gat distinct varieties Of tone, and being
At rude progenitOrs of the three 81
branches of the modern grand orct
tra-stringed Instruments, wind inst
ments and instruments of percuss
And if the kinnOr, ugdb and tOph W
NC used in the religious services Of
= Jews, there can be- no 9hlection to
A. employment of the fullest and CRANE
w modern orchestra in Christian Wors
A. the difference being simply in deg
NJ and not in kind.-Alfreton Heruey
WV Frank Leslie's Sunday Magazine
fcI Ss July.
mai
int' A righteous bill passed the Haus
inns Representatives on Monday in Tt
ara srs ence to the protection Of immigr
less landed In this country. The bill
IL vides for the imposition of a head
a@ of fifty cents on each immigrant Il
PA ing on our shores. the proceed
which are to form fund for furnisl
- | tho ctro =, nra,.e, xx,sfk fba do 1