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Shepherd's Instruments SHEPHERD’S INSTRUMENTS JONATHAN L. FRIEDMANN Shepherds and shepherding appear frequently in the Hebrew Bible. As a pastoral-agricultural people, the Israelites not only depended on shepherds, but also developed metaphors associated with their role. God is likened to a shepherd who cares for his flock (e.g. Gen. 48:15; 49:24; Isa. 40:11; Ps. 23), while a failed king is a worthless shepherd who abandons his flock (Zech. 11:17; see also Ezek. 34). Shepherds are found among both commoners (e.g. Gen. 13:7–8; 26:20) and celebrated leaders, such as Abraham, Moses, and David. II Samuel ties David’s kingship to his shepherd beginnings: You shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be ruler of Israel (5:2); I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be ruler of My people Israel (7:8). Using Moses as an exemplar, Philo viewed shepherding as a prerequi- site for leadership: “Moses took his father-in-law’s herds and tended them, being thus instructed in the lessons proper to qualify him for becoming the leader of a people, for the business of a shepherd is a preparation for the of- fice of a king to anyone who is destined to preside over that most manageable of all flocks, mankind.”1 The prophesied ruler of a future united kingdom is likewise compared to a shepherd (Ezek. 34:23; 37:24). The presence of shepherds may partly account for the prevalence of musi- cal instruments in the Hebrew Bible. Instruments appear in over 250 biblical verses and are implied in hundreds more where singing takes place.2 Since ancient times, shepherds have made music to calm their flocks, scare off predators, communicate with other shepherds, and pass the time. Three standard shepherd’s instruments are attested in the Bible: lyre (kinnor), flute (ugav), and Bovidae horn (shofar). Like most instruments, these were not monofunctional or limited to a single setting. As a theologically focused text, the Bible most often mentions music-making in connection with cultic wor- ship and divine manifestations, but overlooks everyday uses, including by shepherds.3 Such omissions are consistent with the notion that biblical au- thors took musical matters for granted: the people were thoroughly acquaint- ed with their own soundscape, making certain details unnecessary.4 Cantor Jonathan L. Friedmann, Ph.D., is professor of Jewish music history and associate dean of the master of Jewish studies program at the Academy for Jewish Religion California. SHEPHERD’S INSTRUMENTS 119 Even so, the text preserves some faint, indirect references to shepherd’s instruments. This paper examines the evidence in four categories: general, kinnor, ugav, and shofar. GENERAL Genesis 4 presents Jubal as the ancestor of all who play the kinnor and ugav (v. 21). This verse appears in a compressed passage involving founders of human civilization. Jubal’s half-brother, Tubal-cain, is the first forger of metal tools and implements (v. 22), and his half-sister, Naamah, may have been the first singer, although her role (whatever it was) is absent from the text.5 Jubal’s brother, Jabal, is described as the ancestor of those who dwell in tents and amidst herds (v. 20). The pairing of string and wind instruments was conventional in the region.6 However, it seems appropriate that Jubal, presumably inventor of all musical instruments, is specifically linked to the kinnor and ugav, shepherd’s instruments, immediately after his brother is introduced as the archetypical herdsman/shepherd. The combination of musi- cal and shepherding skills would have been familiar to the story’s original audience. Additionally, shepherds were known to fashion their own instruments, per- haps not unlike Jubal.7 This practice may be reflected in depictions of King David as an instrument-maker. Introduced as a shepherd boy (I Sam. 16:11), David is later celebrated as the inventor of instruments for the Lord’s music (II Chron 7:6; see also Neh. 12:36). This image underscores the Davidic ori- gins of Temple music: according to the Chronicler, David instituted the Le- vitical musical apparatus that was later brought into Solomon’s Temple (I Chron. 15:16). Yet, David’s instruments also recall his modest beginnings as a musically inventive shepherd and, perhaps, reinforce shepherding as a met- aphor (or prerequisite) for effective leadership. Shepherds were equipped with various tools to steer and protect their flocks. These included a staff (Lev. 27:32; Zech. 11:7; Ps. 23:4), a sling to fend off robbers and predators (I Sam. 17:40, 50), and a sheepdog (Job 30:1). Some musical instruments helped calm the flocks (flutes and lyres), while others were sounded to alert fellow shepherds and frighten off human or ani- mal intruders (horns). Moreover, shepherds likely developed particular musi- cal styles to accompany shepherding and sheepshearing.8 Vol. 49, No. 2, 2021 120 JONATHAN L. FRIEDMANN Cross-cultural and cross-historical examples round out the picture of shep- herd’s instruments. For example, depictions from Sumer and Assyria have shepherds carrying both wind and string instruments to entertain themselves.9 The Greek god Hermes is portrayed as the inventor of the shepherd’s lyre, made from a tortoise shell and cow intestines.10 European instrumental music seems to be rooted in shepherd practices: flutes and bagpipes to break up monotony, natural horns for signaling, and bells for identifying animals.11 To this day, Abyssinian shepherds in Ethiopia soothe their animals with a lyre (masonquo) and flute (shambukaw).12 KINNOR The kinnor occurs forty-two times in the Hebrew Bible, mostly in the con- text of joyous rituals and celebrations relevant to the text’s theological fo- cus.13 However, as Jeremy Montagu, the late authority on biblical instruments and organology (scientific study of musical instruments and their classifica- tions), wrote: “Ordinary people, not only the Levites in the Temple orchestra, also played the lyre and many other instruments for their own enjoyment and for entertainment in the biblical period and later.”14 The musical skills that young David honed in humble pastures would later bring him to Saul’s attention and set him on the path to kingship. Shortly after Samuel finds David tending to his flock and anoints him as Israel’s fu- ture monarch, the spirit of the Lord [departs] from Saul, and an evil spirit [begins] to terrify him (I Sam. 16:14). Saul’s courtiers recommend that Saul enlist a talented lyrist to help lift his mood. One of them had observed David playing the kinnor, apparently with his sheep. Saul sends messengers to the boy’s father, Jesse, saying: “Send me your son David who is with his flock” (I Sam. 16:19). While David was no doubt an exceptional player, the ability of shepherds to play instruments, and even play them well, was not unique. According to Montagu, “David had been a shepherd, and like all animal herdsmen he played music, not just to pass the time while alone on the hills, but because playing music soothes herds of animals and keeps them calm and contented.”15 The shepherd’s lyre is strongly suggested in the text’s portrayal of David as both a shepherd and a musician. David’s ability to soothe his flock and calm the anguished king seem to be connected. Greek legends simi- larly depict Orpheus as a musical healer and a charmer of animals.16 JEWISH BIBLE QUARTERLY SHEPHERD’S INSTRUMENTS 121 UGAV The ugav is mentioned four times in the Hebrew Bible: once with Jubal (Gen. 4:21); once in Psalms (150:4); and twice in the Book of Job (21:12; 30:31). Unlike the kinnor, the ugav was evidently limited to non-cultic uses; Psalm 150 includes it in a spiritual (but not ritual) context, but it is missing from lists of Temple instruments.17 There is ambiguity surrounding the in- strument’s shape and size, but several sources agree it was a shepherd’s flute.18 Many names of flute-like instruments contain the onomatopoeic sound “oo.” This is true of both the English “flute” and the Hebrew “ugav.” Others postulate that the flute’s association with “love, desire, ardor, and the like”19 indicates an etymological link to agav, implying “to be charming,”20 “was in love,”21 or “love-charm.”22 These worldly connotations may explain its absence from the Temple, as well as its ties to shepherds who charmed their flocks. Such flutes were generally long, wide, and vertical, and were common among shepherds of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Semitic tribes.23 A suggestion of the shepherd’s ugav is found in Judges 5:16: you stay among the sheepfold and listen as they pipe for the flocks. The Hebrew here is ambiguous: it could refer to shepherds piping or whistling, or to the bleat- ing of sheep. Thus, depending on the interpretation, there is at least the possi- bility of shepherds piping on flutes. Saadia Gaon likewise relates Zechariah 10:8, I will whistle to them and gather them, to shepherd metaphors earlier in the chapter (vv. 2, 3), intimating a shepherd’s whistles or, as some scholars prefer, flute playing.24 SHOFAR The Hebrew Bible contains over seventy references to the shofar, most of which accompany significant episodes or events: announcing the divine pres- ence (e.g. Exod. 19:16; Zech. 9:14); adorning sacred ceremonies (e.g. Lev. 23:24; II Sam. 6:15); proclaiming kingship (I Kgs. 1:34; II Kgs. 9:13); and signaling on the battlefield (e.g. Judg. 3:27; II Sam. 2:28). Although its func- tion as a shepherd’s horn is not cited, a few verses show commoners, such as soldiers (Jdgs.
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