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Psalms and Song of Songs

  1. Lesson One
    Overview of Poetry
    31 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  2. Lesson Two
    Poetic Structures
    22 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  3. Lesson Three
    Praise and Lament
    24 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  4. Lesson Four
    The Diversity of Psalms
    28 Activities
  5. Lesson Five
    Song of Songs
    20 Activities
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

Participants 19

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Psalms and Song of Songs Poetic Structures Behind | Musical Instruments in the Psalms
Lesson 2, Activity 16

Behind | Musical Instruments in the Psalms

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We might group these ancient instruments into categories: percussion (tambourine, cymbals), wind instruments (pipe, trumpet) and strings (lute, harp, strings). While we don’t have elaborate descriptions of different types of lyre in Psalms, many existed and were undoubtedly in use in Israel. Other horns and percussive instruments were used by the Israelites as well. 

We might be inclined to think of the Psalms as spoken poems, but we can see in the texts above, along with other books of the Bible, that the Israelites would have used a variety of instruments and a wide range of sounds to complement these hymns. 

Reference: C. Hassell Bullock, Encountering the Book of Psalms, 2001, pp. 30-33.