The psaltery was an instrument something like our zither, with thirteen strings on a flat wooden sounding board, rectangular in shape. The sistrum was a metal rattle which made a very sweet sound. It isn’t easy to describe the instruments used thousands of years ago, for the names have become changed through the ages, and we find the same type of instruments called by different names in different countries and periods. For example, the psaltery is much the same instrument as the _dulcimer_, the Arab’s _kanoun_ and the Persian _santir_. We find the same psaltery in Chaucer’s “Miller’s Tale” as _sautrie_. By the addition of a keyboard this Biblical instrument became the _spinet_, which you will meet again in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 13th century, in Italy, we find a kind of psaltery hung around the neck and called “Istroménto di porco” because it looked like the head of a pig. Not all the songs of the Bible are religious. The Song of Solomon, a most beautiful poem of marriage, gives us a vivid picture of luxury and magnificence, as well as showing us that music was used for other than religious ceremonies. After the death of Solomon, the music in the temple lost its splendor and again the Children of Israel were made captive. When one hundred years later Nebuchadnezzar (586 B.C.) the King of Babylon, destroyed their temple, the song of the Hebrews became sad and mournful, as you can read in the Book of Lamentations and in this beautiful song of grief, the 137th Psalm: SORROWS OF THE EXILES IN BABYLON By the rivers of Babylon There we sat down, yea, we wept, When we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst thereof We hanged up our harps. For there they that led us captive required of us songs, And our tormentors required of us mirth, saying: “Sing for us one of the songs of Zion.” How shall we sing Jehovah’s song In a foreign land? If I forget thee, Oh Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her skill. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth If I remember thee not; If I prefer not Jerusalem, Above my chief joy. During the next few centuries the Hebrews became scattered over the world, carrying with them their reverence for God, their love of poetry and song, and their religious customs. These qualities have persisted throughout the centuries, and some of the greatest musicians in the world have been of Hebrew origin. Although most of the old music has passed away, there is still enough of its spirit left in their temple services to give some idea of the ancient Hebrew music. [Illustration: _From a panel in a Museum (delle Terme) in Rome._ _Greek Girl Playing a Double Flute (auloi)._ ] [Illustration: _From a frieze in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts._ _Greek Boy Playing the Lyre._ ]