Kinnor

Classification
string instrument
Related instruments
Lyre Kithara Harp Simsimiyya

Kinnor is the Hebrew name for an ancient lyre, the first mentioned in the Bible (Gen. iv. 21), where it is now commonly translated harp. In Modern Hebrew, It means a violin. The identification of the instrument has been much discussed, but, from the standpoint of the history of musical instruments, the weight of evidence is in favor of the view that the Semitic kinnor is the Greek cithara. This instrument was already in use before 2000 s.c. among the Semitic races. It is unlikely that an instrument (which also appears on Hebrew coins) so widely known and used in various parts of Asia Minor in remote times, and occurring among the Hittite sculptures, should pass unmentioned in the Bible, with the exception of the verses in Dan. iii.

It is also sometimes called David's harp in English, and has been called the national instrument of Israel.^[1]

Symbolic model of King David's harp (or lyre) displayed in the City of David, Jerusalem, Israel

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Levy, Michael "King David's Lyre; Echoes of Ancient Israel"; restoring the sound of the ancient Jewish Temple Lyre of the Levites - http://www.myspace.com/jubalslyre
• http://cdbaby.com/cd/mlevy
• http://www.rakkav.com/biblemusic/index2.htm
• http://www.rakkav.com/biblemusic/pages/instruments.htm
• http://www.chelseashul.org/Music/Skarbova.htm
• http://links.jstor.org/sici-sici=0003-097X(199802)309%3C41%3ADACPAI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C
• http://www.jubilee-harps.com/history.htm
• http://www.klezmershack.com/articles/horowitz/horowitz.klezmodes.html

Note

1. ^ "David's Harp". Dolmetsch Online. Retrieved on December 21, 2007. "In Hebrew kinnor, also known as David's harp, is the national instrument of Israel."

See also

Nevel (instrument)