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כִּנּוֹר

𐤊𐤍𐤅𐤓

kinnôwr

H3658 noun

SILEX Entry

Root כּ־נ־ר to twang, to strum (proposed; root meaning uncertain)

Definition

A stringed musical instrument, typically translated as 'lyre' or 'harp,' played by plucking or strumming. In the biblical context, the kinnôr was commonly used in both secular and cultic music, including royal courts, worship, and celebration. Its form and size are uncertain, but ancient depictions suggest a portable, wooden frame instrument with multiple strings.

Semantic Range

lyre, harp (as a general stringed instrument), musical instrument, accompaniment to song or worship

Root / Etymology

Hebrew root כנר (k-n-r) is proposed to be related to playing or twanging a stringed instrument, though no direct verbal root occurs in biblical Hebrew; etymology uncertain. The noun kinnôr refers specifically to a stringed instrument.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The kinnôr appears as the principal stringed instrument in the Hebrew Bible, mentioned in narratives involving music, worship, and celebration, such as those describing David's musical skill. In Israelite society, it was associated with both sacred and secular contexts, used to accompany singing, rejoice at feasts, or calm royal figures. While older English translations render kinnôr as 'harp,' archaeological evidence from the ancient Near East and iconographic studies suggest it more closely resembles what modern classification calls a 'lyre'—a small, hand-held instrument with a box or soundboard and arms supporting a crossbar for several strings. Differentiation from the 'nevel' (H5035), which was likely a different type of stringed instrument (often thought a frame or box lyre, or even a harp in a technical sense), is important, as both occur together in musical texts. The term continued into post-biblical Hebrew, but by the Greco-Roman period, musical terminology and instrument forms had shifted substantially. Later English use of 'harp' for kinnôr is anachronistic with respect to ancient instrument families.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from a unused root meaning to twang; a harp; harp.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

כנר (k-n-r) — to twang, to strum (proposed)

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3672 כִּנְּרוֹת Kinneroth-districts

Word Forms

14 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3658-13 וְ/כִנּ֔וֹר vekhinor HC/Ncmsa and harp lyre 9
H3658-12 וּ/בְ/כִנֹּר֤וֹת uvekhinorot HC/R/Ncmpa and with harps and with lyres 7
H3658-14 וְ/כִנֹּר֥וֹת vekhinorot HC/Ncmpa and lyres and lyres 6
H3658-02 בְּ/כִנּ֑וֹר bekhinor HR/Ncmsa with the harp with a lyre 5
H3658-07 כִּנּ֖וֹר kinor HNcmsa of the harp lyre 3
H3658-03 בְּ/כִנֹּר֥וֹת bekhinorot HR/Ncmpa with harps with lyres 2
H3658-01 בַּ/כִּנּ֑וֹר bakinor HRd/Ncmsa on the harp with the lyre 2
H3658-06 כִנּ֜וֹר khinor HNcmsa a harp lyre 2
H3658-11 וּ/בְ/כִנּֽוֹר uvekhinor HC/R/Ncmsa and with harp and with a lyre 1
H3658-08 כִּנּוֹרַ֔יִ/ךְ kinorayikhe HNcmpc/Sp2fs of your harps your lyres 1

Occurrences in Scripture

42 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3658-07 Genesis 4:21 כִּנּ֖וֹר kinor HNcmsa the harp lyre
H3658-11 Genesis 31:27 וּ/בְ/כִנּֽוֹר uvekhinor HC/R/Ncmsa and with harp and with a lyre
H3658-13 1 Samuel 10:5 וְ/כִנּ֔וֹר vekhinor HC/Ncmsa and lyre lyre
H3658-01 1 Samuel 16:16 בַּ/כִּנּ֑וֹר bakinor HRd/Ncmsa on the harp with the lyre
H3658-04 1 Samuel 16:23 הַ/כִּנּ֖וֹר hakinor HTd/Ncmsa harp the lyre
H3658-12 2 Samuel 6:5 וּ/בְ/כִנֹּר֤וֹת uvekhinorot HC/R/Ncmpa and lyres and with lyres
H3658-14 1 Kings 10:12 וְ/כִנֹּר֥וֹת vekhinorot HC/Ncmpa and harps and lyres
H3658-06 Isaiah 5:12 כִנּ֜וֹר khinor HNcmsa harp lyre
H3658-05 Isaiah 16:11 כַּ/כִּנּ֖וֹר kakinor HRd/Ncmsa like a harp like a lyre
H3658-06 Isaiah 23:16 כִנּ֛וֹר khinor HNcmsa a harp lyre
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