Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

HARP

A stringed musical instrument primarily used in worship (Heb. nēḇel). Although the precise identification of this instrument is uncertain, examples and drawings of similar instruments are known from Egypt, Assyria, and Babylonia. Harps most likely consisted of 10-20 strings (cf. Ps. 144:9) stretched on an open frame perpendicular to a sound board, and were played without a plectrum. These instruments could have been a variety of sizes, judging from the known examples in the ancient Near East.

As instruments of the aristocracy, harps were made of precious woods and metals (1 Kgs. 10:12 = 2 Chr. 9:11). The instrument plays a part in the visions of Revelation (Rev. 5:8; 14:2; 15:2. Only rarely does the Bible depict the harp in secular usage (Isa. 5:12; 14:11; Amos 5:23). Along with the lyre and the shophar, the harp was part of the group of instruments used in worship by the Jerusalem priesthood (e.g., 2 Chr. 29:25; Ps. 33:2; 81:2[MT 3]).

See Lyre.

Jennie R. Ebeling

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

HARP

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)