Bible Commentary

Job 21:12

Job 21:12

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public Domain

They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. The "timbrel" ( תף) is probably the tambourine, an instrument used from a remote antiquity by the Orientals. It consisted of a round hoop of wood, into which were sometimes inserted jingling rings of metal, and upon which was stretched at one end a sheet of parchment.

It is represented on the monuments both of Egypt and Phoenicia. The harp ( כִנּוֹר) was, in the early times, a very simple instrument, consisting of a framework of wood, across which were stretched from four to seven strings, which were of catgut and of different lengths, and were sounded either with the hand or with a plectrum.

The "organ" ( עוּנָב) was, of course, not an organ in the modem sense of the word. It was either a pan's pipe, which is a very primitive instrument, or more probably a double reed blown from the end, like a flageolet, examples of which are found in the remains both of Egypt and Phoenicia.

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