In this chapter we will review the development of stringed instruments
a) string instruments
1 harp
The biblical harp was of the "harp" type. That is, a vessel with an elongated resonating body, to which it was connected at an angle or laterally rounded, an arm and from which the strings were drawn to the upper surface of the resonating body. It is possible that it was similar to a skin, since in the Bible it was also used as a container. But such a similarity did not agree at all with the forms of the "harp" of the ancient Middle East.
The number of its strings was different - 10 or a dozen - towards the days of the Second Temple and the port was played on the harp with his fingers. The ten-stringed harp is called the "decade harp" (Psalms 2:20). These sources are attributed to the days of the Second Temple, and some believe that the fact that the "harp of ten" was highlighted there teaches us that there were also harps with a different number of strings, as hinted at in apocryphal literature such as the Wisdom of Solomon. And it is possible that the term "in harps on maidens" (XNUMX Chronicles XNUMX:XNUMX) involved the number of strings or their type or a musical instrument from which the Greek name "Aeolus" was derived.
The sounds of the harp were louder and stronger than the sounds of "his relative"
– The violin. This was due to several reasons: the number of strings of the harp were more numerous and thicker, and this was testified by Rabbi Yehoshua in the Mishnah in relation to the lamb or the goat: "... its bowels are for harps (that is, for their strings), the children of its bowels are for violins" (Kinim 6:5) and a skin was stretched over the harp to strengthen the resonance . Therefore, it was not for nothing that the temple's musical instructions stated that the number of harps would be from a pair to six, while in relation to violins it would be from nine "and forever" (from the Arakhin XNUMX:XNUMX) and that they demanded its name - "harp" since it "blends several species Singer" (Yerushalmi Talmud Sukkah Chapter XNUMX, XNUMX, p. XNUMX). "Bleaching", perhaps embarrassing, surpasses... ...
Two types of "liras" were discovered in Ben Khosva's hoard of mutiny coins: a) with a wide and low "sack"-like body. The arms of the vessel symbolized the horns of an animal. The number of strings ranges from 3 to 6 (ten samples). These findings were from the first and second centuries before the revolt. Those found, it should be noted, are members of the second and third years of the Ben Khosva rebellion. That is, the year 135/134 CE; b) A "bucket"-like body with linear arms bent inward and outward. The number of strings was three and in one case four and we are talking about 16 samples. The findings were from the second and third centuries after the rebellion. That is, between 134 and 135 AD.
Some believe that this "lyre" belonged to the first type whose string rest was rounded and stood above the instrument and not in front of it and the number of strings was six, and it was probably the harp, while the second, smaller and more delicate type was probably the violin. And so it is possible that it was not the harp but the extraneous and local "lyre" type, which originated as a type of "lyre" - "violin", one whose body is box-like and made of wood.
And it is possible, as mentioned, that this type did not have an exact counterpart outside the Middle East region. And this is in contrast to the other type that was accepted in the Greco-Roman world, which is the harp that was used, perhaps, in the Second Temple.
We will note here, which may strengthen the above hypothesis, that there was probably a difference, in the light of the sources, between the temple harp and the sand harp. The first was called "Neveli Bnei Levy", and the second "Neveli Sara".
2) Violin
The violin belonged to the "lirot" family. It consisted of a resonant body and two arms connected by a yoke. The Semitic violin was depicted as a square, elongated panel template, the half on the side of the player is sealed and the other half is cut in the middle and formed a square frame. Six capillaries were stretched along its length with the opaque part of the board being slightly concave, which added resonance and pleasantness to the sound of the capillaries. It should be noted that the biblical harp had asymmetrical arms.
Even here there were several different instrument strings. In the sources of the Second Temple we hear about 10 strings and an interesting testimony comes from Rabbi Yehuda: "Seva nimin on the violin at this time... (mid-8nd century CE). Messiah's death - 7 ... for the future to come - in ten" Tosefta Arakhin II 7). Whereas in the same parallel, in the Talmudic Bariata, the same sage Tani reported about "the violin of a temple of seven Nimin was" and this despite the fact that he did not see in his day, from his time, the violin of a temple. From this we can learn, as we showed in relation to the harp, that the temple violin was probably special, and different from other violins according to the number of its strings. And by the way, it seems only natural that in the temple orchestra the sacred number XNUMX would be prominent, as one of the sacred numbers, even though in more sophisticated instruments the number of strings increases.
The matter of the strings is controversial among scholars, and this is because of a verse from the Chronicles, where a number of Levites mentioned: "...with violins on the eighth for ever" (21 Chronicles XNUMX:XNUMX). Some see this box as a kind of eight-stringed violin. Some believe that it is about the nature of the capillaries and not their number. That is, the space of voices between one string and another, when it comes to an instrument that produced tones with octaves, octaves, an instrument that was known to the Greeks as "Magaris". Others see it as a special use of musical scales.
In the previous section we discussed the differences between the strings of the harp and the violin, and the implications of this, and we will only note here that the sources of the Sages insisted on the name "Kinneret", that its fruits are as sweet as the sounds of the violin, according to the words of Rabbi Yochanan of Tiberias. And let's not forget the visual connection between the Sea of Galilee and the shape of the violin.
An important innovation, from the Second Temple period, folded in the way the tool was operated. While in the Biblical period violin leaves were plucked by pinching with the fingers, in the Second Temple period they used a spectre, that is, a short stick made of horn or bone called a plectrum.
It should be noted that for both the violin and the harp, great skill was required to produce Arabic and precise sounds from them, and this skill was the property of the Levites-poets.
In conclusion, it was said that the number of strings that is different in the instruments; The ambiguity in the Chazal sources regarding the description of the instrument and the contribution of archeology in all that is involved in the findings of the "lire" on the Kosovar coins, when some of them lead us to assume, as mentioned, that it is a violin and a harp. All of this may strengthen the hypothesis that there may have been several disturbances in the sources, especially in those after the destruction of the Second Temple, in the distinction between a violin and a harp. For example, there are those who claim, following Rashi, that a violin is an "arpa" and about the sacrifice between a harp and a violin.
3) Various stringed instruments
In the book of Psalms, the expression "minim" appears (such as MH 9) as a general term for stringed instruments, or as an instrument that stands on its own. And with the exception of the "Kithros", the "Sabkha" and the "Psantharin", which were mentioned in the previous chapter and which may lead us to the assumption of the influence of the interaction between the eastern Mediterranean and its west, we will mention the "Batanon" (from the Book of Acts 6:XNUMX), which may be the Kythros", or "like a kind of large violin that is placed in front of the stomach and a chanter (plays) on it" (Aruch Hashem, edit "Batan" XNUMX, p. XNUMX).
a) string instruments
1 harp
The biblical harp was of the "harp" type. That is, a vessel with an elongated resonating body, to which it was connected at an angle or laterally rounded, an arm and from which the strings were drawn to the upper surface of the resonating body. It is possible that it was similar to a skin, since in the Bible it was also used as a container. But such a similarity did not agree at all with the forms of the "harp" of the ancient Middle East.
The number of its strings was different - 10 or a dozen - towards the days of the Second Temple and the port was played on the harp with his fingers. The ten-stringed harp is called the "decade harp" (Psalms 2:20). These sources are attributed to the days of the Second Temple, and some believe that the fact that the "harp of ten" was highlighted there teaches us that there were also harps with a different number of strings, as hinted at in apocryphal literature such as the Wisdom of Solomon. And it is possible that the term "in harps on maidens" (XNUMX Chronicles XNUMX:XNUMX) involved the number of strings or their type or a musical instrument from which the Greek name "Aeolus" was derived.
The sounds of the harp were louder and stronger than the sounds of "his relative"
– The violin. This was due to several reasons: the number of strings of the harp were more numerous and thicker, and this was testified by Rabbi Yehoshua in the Mishnah in relation to the lamb or the goat: "... its bowels are for harps (that is, for their strings), the children of its bowels are for violins" (Kinim 6:5) and a skin was stretched over the harp to strengthen the resonance . Therefore, it was not for nothing that the temple's musical instructions stated that the number of harps would be from a pair to six, while in relation to violins it would be from nine "and forever" (from the Arakhin XNUMX:XNUMX) and that they demanded its name - "harp" since it "blends several species Singer" (Yerushalmi Talmud Sukkah Chapter XNUMX, XNUMX, p. XNUMX). "Bleaching", perhaps embarrassing, surpasses... ...
Two types of "liras" were discovered in Ben Khosva's hoard of mutiny coins: a) with a wide and low "sack"-like body. The arms of the vessel symbolized the horns of an animal. The number of strings ranges from 3 to 6 (ten samples). These findings were from the first and second centuries before the revolt. Those found, it should be noted, are members of the second and third years of the Ben Khosva rebellion. That is, the year 135/134 CE; b) A "bucket"-like body with linear arms bent inward and outward. The number of strings was three and in one case four and we are talking about 16 samples. The findings were from the second and third centuries after the rebellion. That is, between 134 and 135 AD.
Some believe that this "lyre" belonged to the first type whose string rest was rounded and stood above the instrument and not in front of it and the number of strings was six, and it was probably the harp, while the second, smaller and more delicate type was probably the violin. And so it is possible that it was not the harp but the extraneous and local "lyre" type, which originated as a type of "lyre" - "violin", one whose body is box-like and made of wood.
And it is possible, as mentioned, that this type did not have an exact counterpart outside the Middle East region. And this is in contrast to the other type that was accepted in the Greco-Roman world, which is the harp that was used, perhaps, in the Second Temple.
We will note here, which may strengthen the above hypothesis, that there was probably a difference, in the light of the sources, between the temple harp and the sand harp. The first was called "Neveli Bnei Levy", and the second "Neveli Sara".
2) Violin
The violin belonged to the "lirot" family. It consisted of a resonant body and two arms connected by a yoke. The Semitic violin was depicted as a square, elongated panel template, the half on the side of the player is sealed and the other half is cut in the middle and formed a square frame. Six capillaries were stretched along its length with the opaque part of the board being slightly concave, which added resonance and pleasantness to the sound of the capillaries. It should be noted that the biblical harp had asymmetrical arms.
Even here there were several different instrument strings. In the sources of the Second Temple we hear about 10 strings and an interesting testimony comes from Rabbi Yehuda: "Seva nimin on the violin at this time... (mid-8nd century CE). Messiah's death - 7 ... for the future to come - in ten" Tosefta Arakhin II 7). Whereas in the same parallel, in the Talmudic Bariata, the same sage Tani reported about "the violin of a temple of seven Nimin was" and this despite the fact that he did not see in his day, from his time, the violin of a temple. From this we can learn, as we showed in relation to the harp, that the temple violin was probably special, and different from other violins according to the number of its strings. And by the way, it seems only natural that in the temple orchestra the sacred number XNUMX would be prominent, as one of the sacred numbers, even though in more sophisticated instruments the number of strings increases.
The matter of the strings is controversial among scholars, and this is because of a verse from the Chronicles, where a number of Levites mentioned: "...with violins on the eighth for ever" (21 Chronicles XNUMX:XNUMX). Some see this box as a kind of eight-stringed violin. Some believe that it is about the nature of the capillaries and not their number. That is, the space of voices between one string and another, when it comes to an instrument that produced tones with octaves, octaves, an instrument that was known to the Greeks as "Magaris". Others see it as a special use of musical scales.
In the previous section we discussed the differences between the strings of the harp and the violin, and the implications of this, and we will only note here that the sources of the Sages insisted on the name "Kinneret", that its fruits are as sweet as the sounds of the violin, according to the words of Rabbi Yochanan of Tiberias. And let's not forget the visual connection between the Sea of Galilee and the shape of the violin.
An important innovation, from the Second Temple period, folded in the way the tool was operated. While in the Biblical period violin leaves were plucked by pinching with the fingers, in the Second Temple period they used a spectre, that is, a short stick made of horn or bone called a plectrum.
It should be noted that for both the violin and the harp, great skill was required to produce Arabic and precise sounds from them, and this skill was the property of the Levites-poets.
In conclusion, it was said that the number of strings that is different in the instruments; The ambiguity in the Chazal sources regarding the description of the instrument and the contribution of archeology in all that is involved in the findings of the "lire" on the Kosovar coins, when some of them lead us to assume, as mentioned, that it is a violin and a harp. All of this may strengthen the hypothesis that there may have been several disturbances in the sources, especially in those after the destruction of the Second Temple, in the distinction between a violin and a harp. For example, there are those who claim, following Rashi, that a violin is an "arpa" and about the sacrifice between a harp and a violin.
3) Various stringed instruments
In the book of Psalms, the expression "minim" appears (such as MH 9) as a general term for stringed instruments, or as an instrument that stands on its own. And with the exception of the "Kithros", the "Sabkha" and the "Psantharin", which were mentioned in the previous chapter and which may lead us to the assumption of the influence of the interaction between the eastern Mediterranean and its west, we will mention the "Batanon" (from the Book of Acts 6:XNUMX), which may be the Kythros", or "like a kind of large violin that is placed in front of the stomach and so they chant (play) it" (Aruch Hashem, edit "Tatan" XNUMX, p. XNUMX).
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