Jubal And Biblical Music History

Jubal and Biblical Music History

There are many non-Biblical theories and thoughts concerning the true beginning of music. For example, it has been said that music derives from the Ancient Greek muses, who were the nine goddesses of art and science. Also historians state that music originated around 500 B.C. when Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher and mathematician, experimented with acoustics and how mathematics related to tones formed from plucking strings.

According to Moses, and recorded in the first book of the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament), a man by the name of Jubal was the father of all those who played the harp and organ (Gen 4:21).

According to Enoch Hutchinson, the period at which Jubal began to cultivate music

Finally the great Bible commentator Matthew Henry states that “Jubal was a famous musician...and the first that gave rules for the noble art or science of music”. According to Clarke, Jubal is the inventor of the following two musical instruments. The first being the כנור kinnor also known as the harp, which incorporated all stringed instruments, and the second is the עוגב ugab also known as the

Professor Theodore Burgh, a lecturer at the University of North Carolina, raised an interesting point that "if we were able to step into the . . . biblical period, we would find a culture filled with music . . . where people used music in their daily lives”. Hence, in a time before modern TV, concerts, and electric musical instruments, music was an integral part of life. In fact, Burgh details how if one could step back into this time one might see women with frame drums dancing and serenading victorious soldiers returning from war, or masses of people blowing ram’s horns, shaking clay rattles, singing and chanting at the coronation of a new king. Additionally, music would have been heard coming from the Temple as people were gathering or in the act of worship - such was the influence of music in this period as they worshipped