Very interesting question, Larry.
William and George have both given us their particular slants on this.
The Babylonian orchestra listed in Daniel 5:5, 7, 10, 15 comprised the
following instruments:
1. KaRNa' Horn SALPIGX
2. MaShRoWQiYTha' Pan-pipes, mouth-organ SURINX
3. QiYThaRoWS Lyre KIQARA
4. SaBBeKha' Triangular harp SAMBUKH
5. PeSaNTeRiYN Psaltery YALTHRION
6. SuWMPoNYaH Bagpipe SUMFWNIA
Reminds me of the Cornish Floral Dance.
"I danced to the band with the curious tone,
of the cornet, clarinet and big trombone:
fiddle, cello, big bass drum,
bassoon, flute and euphonium:
each one making the best of his chance,
all together in the Floral Dance".
It must have been a curious tone!
No 5, YALTHRION (LXX) concerns us here. The Aramaic word is reckoned to be
Greek-derived or transcribed; Vulgate /Psalterium/; English /Psaltery/ or
Dulcimer. This is a flat-bed horizontal table harp, plucked or strummed
with the fingers or a plectrum. The verb YALLW signifies "to play upon a
harp or lyre". A YALTHS is a male harpist, and a YALTRIA a female harpist.
YALLW is a derivative of YAW, "to touch upon the surface, to stroke".
In the Babylonian orchestra, the dulcimer would not have made much noise.
Maybe like the harpsichord in baroque ensembles, it is the "continuo"
instrument from which the conductor conducts the noisier instruments.
/Psallere/ in Latin means "to sing [the Psalms of David]". The very title
of the Psalter in the LXX is YALMOI. When David played the harp [KiNNoWR]
to King Saul, he "played with his hand" (1 Samuel 16:23). It is not
unreasonable to assume that he did not just play, but that he "sang along"
some of his own lyrics, YALMOI (Hebrew TeHiLLiYM, "praise songs").
In the Principality of Wales, where the harp /telyn/ is the national
instrument, the harp is seldom played as an instrumental solo; true harp
music is the *accompaniment* to the singing of words. "Sing praise upon the
harp [KiNNoWR]" (Psalm 147:7). A NeGhiNaH is is at once a stringed
instrument, and a song (Isaiah 38:20; META YALTHRIOU in LXX).
In 1 Corinthians 14:15 Paul writes PROSEUXOMAI TWi PNEUMATI, PROSEUXOMAI DE
KAI TWi NOI: *YALW TWi PNEUMATI, YALW DE KAI TWi NOI*. Once again, singing
(music making) and *praying* go together. The whole point here is that the
*words* are paramount, not the tune! How often do we hear the complaint
against pop music, that we cannot hear the words, or "lyrics" as they call
them. Which only proves my point: the *words* are called *lyrics*, because
they are *sung to the lyre*!
What do you think, Larry?
Ben
-- Revd Ben Crick, BA CF <ben.crick@argonet.co.uk> 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK) http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm