Music in Ancient Israel/Palestine

Braun, Joachim. Music in Ancient Israel/Palestine: Archaeological, Written, and Comparative Sources. Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002.

First time the music has been studied from an archaeological perspective, i.e. based on the archaeological record. So says the dust jacket.

A preface with five dense chapters: Introduction; The Stone Age (12th Millenium – 3200 B.C.); The Bronze Age (3200 – 1200 B.C.); The Iron Age (1200 – 587 B.C.); and The Hellenistic-Roman Period (Fourthe Century B.C. – Fourth Century A.D.)

The introduction gives parameters of geography, chonology, and culture. Sources are included. Musical instruments in the Bible with Hebrew terms for the instruments along with line drawings of the instruments. Each instrument is given a detailed treatment as to where it is mentioned, in what context, and how it might have been used. Instruments in Daniel, collective expressions, terminology in the psalms with unresolved questions, and finally instruments in the New Testament make up the 8 sections of the introduction.

The Stone Age chapter covers a long period from (the authors says) 700,000 years ago up to the Bronze Age. Natufians to 8,000 years ago. The Chalcolithic Period (4,000 – 3,200).

The Bronze Age chapter covers Canaanite musical culture, lyres and drums accompanying dances, drawings of lyre shapes from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Cannaan, the lute, gods and musicians, symposia, clay rattles and mass music/cults/culture, priests’ bronze cymbals, and finally the Megiddo flute.

The Iron Age chapter covers among much else something of interest for my research, that of music playing “a significant part in a wide variety of situations (115)” including “victory celebrations . . . and mourning or grief.” These could be in relation to war making. Music is told about in detail in the Old Testament, “not only how music functioned in society, but also how it was understood or perceived (115).” Function for war making? Understanding and perception in terms of the psychological effects?

Else covered = female drummers in the Israelite-Judean kingdom and surroundings; double-pipe blowers (female to male); lyres solo and ensemble; drawings on pottery; seals; musicians and dancers of the Philistine and Phoenician coast; conch trumpets; “The Mystery of Absence” . . .

The Hellenistic-Roman Period chapter covers apotropaic bells; Idumean hunting and mourning music and the Jewish temple trumpets; instruments of avant-garde professionals and conventional folk-musicians; the Cult of Dionysus; Musical instruments in Samaritan areas;

Out of time right now, but this book is meticulously illustrated with beautiful photographs of the archaeological artifacts, drawings. It is clearly written with exacting prose. Well documented as well. Not much for music as used in war, but a few tidbits.