EXHIBIT OF BIBLICAL ANTIQUITIES. 973 



Cast of a bead. — The original, a reddish perforated yellow stone, 

 was obtained by Prof. T. F. Wright, in Jerusalem. It weighs 134 

 grains, and is inscribed with the word ne^eg in the same characters as 

 those of the Siloam inscription. It was probably used as a weight, 

 and the inscription may mean " standard weight." ' 



MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 



As of great general interest for the history of culture there was 

 shown a collection of musical instruments mentioned in the Bible, sup- 

 plemented by photographs and casts of representations of musical 

 instruments on ancient monuments. Scarcely any authentic informa- 

 tion is preserved concerning the shape or the manner of playing on 

 the musical instruments named in the Bible. The instruments exhibited 

 were such as are now in use in the Oriental countries. But it may be 

 assumed that the musical instruments of the Hebrews resembled those 

 of the nations with which they came in contact, and that, considering 

 the stability and conservatism of the East, the instruments still used 

 in Palestine, Syria, and Egypt differ but little, if at all, from those 

 employed in ancient times. 



It is well known that music occupies an important place in the Bible. 

 Its invention is recorded in the opening chapters of the Scriptures, 

 where Jubal is named as the "father (i. e., founder) of all such as handle 

 the harp and pipe."* From the earliest times music was of high impor- 

 tance among the Israelites, accompanying all the great national events 

 and adorning the festal occasions. The hymn of thanksgiving after the 

 deliverance from the bondage of Egypt and the passing through the 

 Bed Sea^ was accom])anied by the sound of timbrels and by dances of 

 a choir of women led by the prophetess Miriam.^ The solemnity of the 

 giving of the law on Sinai was enhanced by the sound of the horn or 

 shofar,^ and the same instrument is mentioned at the capture of Jericho, 

 the first conquest made in the Promised Land.*" The sound of trumpets 

 and of the horn announced and inaugurated the great festivals and the 

 year of ^' Jubilee.""^ 



But music also permeated the common daily life in Israel, and the 

 absence of the "mirth of tabrets" and the "joy of the harj)" was one of 

 the signs of a national calamity.'' It was the pastime of the shepherd 5" 

 it formed the principal attraction of the social gatherings of youth at 

 the city gatesj '" it heightened the mirth at the festivals of the harvest 



1 Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly Statement, 1893, pp. 32, 257. 



2 Hebrew, Kinnor and ' Ugab, Genesis iv, 21. 

 3 Exodus XV. 



•« Verse 20. 

 fi Exodus xix, 16,19. 

 ^Joshua vi, 5. 



■^ Numbers X, 10; xxix, 1; Leviticus xxv, 8,9. 

 * Isaiah xxiv, 8; Lamentation v, 14. 

 ^I Samuel xvi, 18. 

 1"^ Lamentation v, 14. 



