Why the Harp? (2024)

by David E. Knauss
Ph.D. in Music Education
Doc. Humane Letters, Honouris Causa

Why the Harp? The earliest known reference to the harp comes from the earliest known civilization, the Sumerians, located between the Tigress and Euphrates rivers.
Only seven generations from Adam and Eve (Adam, Cain, Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Methusael, Lamech, Jubal), we meet two brothers, Jabal and Jubal, whose parents were Lamech and Adah. Jabal grew up to be the father of all those who dwell in tents and tend cattle, and Jubal was the father of all who play the harp and organ. Genesis 4:20-21 (KJV), “And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.” Could one surmise that from Jubal comes the word jubilee? The harp, from the very beginning, seems to have a preeminent position above all other instruments. Why?

[All organists should be glad to know that the organ is mentioned right after the harp. One wonders if it had a keyboard, what did it look like, and how did it produce sound?]

Not Only Proportion Phi, But Also Sound. A previous article, Proportion Phi, discussed the commonalty of the Phi Proportion and how it appears to be the mathematical design of all Creation, from one side of the Universe to the other. But did you know that sound shares the same universal commonalty as the Proportion Phi? The spiritual and scientific explanations are simple. In the beginning, God spoke-sang-intoned-cantored, “Let there be light.” (Genesis 1:3). (The word “said” is probably more accurately translated as spoke-sang-intoned-cantored, but we have no English word for this combination. Speech and singing are basically the same. Both are sounds performed with various durations.) Genesis is the first written account wherein God “sounds” and things happen. What happened? (Follow this carefully!) God used sound to create more sound! How is everything a sound? God created the entire universe of stars, planets, land, sky, plants, animals, and all inherent elements. God not only created these items, but He put them into motion as well. All objects are in motion, and even the materials (atoms) inside every object are in motion. Every motion creates a frequency, and every frequency is a sound. Among the slowest motions are planets, which is a sound approximately 20 octaves below the lowest note on the piano. Among the fastest are atoms, which sound is approximately 20 octaves above the highest note on the piano.

We humans hear the middle of this enormous range from about 12 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz. At the lower end of this range, we feel inaudible vibrations from 4 to 16 Hz. Can you imagine what it would be like to have God’s hearing—to hear and feel the entire symphonic, harmonic range of the universe? I also wonder what are the symphonic, harmonic sounds of one’s body, which is comprised of different organs and functional systems.

God and Sound. What about God and sound? Here are a few simple observations. When “God said, Let there be…,” God used sound to create more sound. As explained previously, everything emits sound. Jesus said that stones could shout (Luke 19:39-40), which means, since they already sound, He would simply enable us to hear them. Plus, Job 38:4-7 reveals that stars and angels sing. It is then no surprise that C.S. Lewis, in The Magician’s Nephew, has Aslan creating Narnia in sequenced circles by singing. Add to this Hebrews 1:3 where God is said to uphold everything with His word. That is, God uses sound to sustain sound. Proverbs 18:21 says that the tongue has the power of life and death, meaning that sound creates an ongoing blessing, or an ongoing negative. So then, sound seems to have a generating-power of its own and perhaps a memory. Plus, Zephaniah 3:17 says that God sings over us. I conclude from this that He sings an ongoing melodic blessing every day. Maybe it sounds like the Numbers 6:22-27 blessing that Moses composed for Aaron to sing over the children of Israel.
Wheeler: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=694AZ4cKMcg

Why the Harp? All of this sets the stage for the harp in particular. This discussion explores some fascinating areas concerning the harp. Why does the harp have such a place of prominence, and why does it seem to be God’s favorite instrument? The following paragraphs explore possible connections between: Harp and Biblical Scriptures; Sound, Light, and the Harp; Harp and Proportion Phi; Harp and King David; Harp and Prophecy; Harp and God’s Voice; Harp and God’s Presence; and the Harp, Healing, and Spiritual Warfare.

Casual Numeric Observations. Numbers three, five, seven, and eight may be connected to the harp. A harp is the simplest geometric shape (triangle) that is required to create a frame over which to stretch strings. A triangle and a harp could represent the Trinity. The harp’s shape may be interpreted as: diagonal meaning the Father, vertical for the Son, and the curve as the Holy Spirit. In the realm of light, there are three primary colors, red, green, and blue. From lowest frequency to highest, red could be the Son (blood sacrifice), green could be the Father (author of life), and blue the Holy Spirit (comforter). [Colton Burpo, in Heaven Is For Real, described the Holy Spirit as bluish.] Where all three intersect, the resulting color is white. A triad is the foundation of harmony, and consists of three notes. The first note is the tonic and establishes the tonal center of the chord. It is the foundational tone, perhaps resembling the Father. The middle note determines the mode of the chord, either major or minor, perhaps resembling the sorrows and joys of the Son. The top note is often where the melody is usually found, perhaps resembling the interaction of the Spirit in the melody of our lives. There are seven days of creation and seven tones in the scale. The eighth scale note and the eighth weekday start the cycle over again.

Harp and Biblical Scriptures. Did you know harp music causes God to show up on the scene (2 Kings 3:15)? Did you know God wants music made to Him on the harp (Psalm 33:2)? Did you know God’s voice is like the sound of many harps (Revelation 14:2)? Did you know there is a Heavenly Tabernacle of David and the harp is the sole instrument (Revelation 5:5-10)? Did you know the harp is the only instrument in the Bible said to produce healing and deliverance (1 Samuel 16:23)? Did you know the harp is a weapon for warfare (Psalm 144:1)? Did you know God gives harps as gifts (Revelation 15:2)? Did you hear about an upcoming huge stringed ensemble in Heaven comprised of 144,000 harpists (Revelation 14:2-3)?

Sound, Light, and the Harp. Sound and light seem to be spiritually and scientifically related. On day one, God makes a simple statement that starts with sound and ends with light (Genesis 1:3-5). Are sound and light connected? With this light, He differentiated day from night. Then on day four, God “sounds” and more light appears, further dividing light and darkness and day and night, with the sun, moon, and stars for signs, seasons, days, and years (Genesis 1:14-19). God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5), and everything He created is light and sound. Light, because we can see a lot, and sound, because He can hear it all. We could too if we had His hearing. Estes contended that sound and light share an equivalency and explained it through the harp’s sound waves.

The “resounding body” [of the harp] is used to acoustically amplify the sound of a string by producing its own overtones according to the resonant frequencies of its structure. The body of the acoustic harp has a lower resonance than most instruments and its flat surface produces a wider directional field. In addition, the pure waves of the strings are less affected because they are longer and further removed from the sounding board. Without the body, the vibrations along the vibrating string will produce a pure single frequency longitudinal wave that begins to stack up on itself (piggyback) when it reaches the ends of the string. These perfect harmonies switch modes to traverse (like light) and change the smooth curve of the sine wave into a complex waveform representing infinite just overtones until the string begins to return to its rest position. This would be the sound equivalent of white light, which has a special waveshape that has not bee well researched. These perfect harmonies could surely be the elements of divine communication (Estes, p. 7).

Harp and Proportion Phi. The Proportion Phi creates the structure and sound of the harp, ancient as well modern. Concerning structure, the ancient harp was shaped as a bow resembling a half-circumference with a diameter (Figure 1). How is this connected to the Proportion Phi? A circle with a radius as the hypotenuse of a Golden Triangle utilizes the Proportion Phi. The Golden Triangle is created with a Phi (1.6180339…) to 1 relationship of the base and sides of the triangle (Figure 2). From a circle shape, the harp evolved into a right triangle shape. The previous article, The Proportion Phi, shows how a right triangle is the Pythagorean Theorem and Proportion Phi (Figure 3). The modern harp is an inversion of the Egyptian harp. The diameter of the circle has become the hypotenuse of the triangle, and still the Pythagorean Theorem and Proportion Phi is the basis (Figure 4). Rudhyar concluded that the bow-like structure was superior to the triangular because it “had a much more beautiful tone and a much greater tone-power range than the triangular little harp we see reproduced on old medieval manuscripts or carved on the walls of the churches” (p. 6).

Concerning sound, the harp is built on the Proportion Phi. Refer back to the previous article, The Proportion Phi that presented how Fibonacci calculated the Proportion Phi among the frequencies of the scale.

Prophesying Connected to Performing Music. It may be that singing about Jesus and extolling Him (worshipping God) is prophesying. David did this with Psalms. The Psalms describe Jesus in all His divinity, attributes, characteristics, deeds, and beauty. Revelation 19:10 (NIV), may be an explanation of this. “At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.’”

Harp and God’s Voice. In Revelation 14:2, John says, “And I heard a sound [voice] from heaven, like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound [voice] I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.” God’s voice is specifically said to contain the sound of rushing waters, thunder, and harps. In Revelation 1:10-11, John says he heard Alpha and Omega’s voice as a great trumpet. Estes concluded from Revelation 14:2 the following concerning God’s voice.

The “rushing waters” is the white noise of higher frequencies like a fax signal…the “peal of thunder” is the beat frequencies of lower octaves…and the “harp sounds” are the frequencies within human hearing range (Estes, p. 6).

Harp and God’s Presence. God is attracted to the sound of a harp worshipping Him. In 2 Kings 3:15, it says that the playing of a harp brought God’s Presence and that His hand came upon Elisha. An interesting study may be made in the Bible about God’s Presence. Take Moses and the burning bush for instance, and the Day of Pentecost for another, when God shows up, people and circ*mstances are radically changed.

Harp, Healing, and Spiritual Warfare. When David became a court musician and performed healing music for King Saul, he revealed his therapeutic skills (1 Samuel 16:23 & 1 Samuel 18:10). In spiritual terms, this may be considered spiritual warfare, as David drove away the evil spirit with harp music. Today this is accepted as music therapy. Modern music therapy is an expressive and artistic art form, consisting of an interpersonal process in which a certified music therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or maintain their health. The Lord must have taught David the whole range of praise, worship, and therapeutic skills during those precious years of tending his father’s sheep.

What are the harp’s secret qualities that make this instrument, above all others, a means of healing? It may be the result of some distinct parallels between the harp and a human, and the harp and God’s voice. The harp is a harmonic instrument and so is the human body (Estes). The harp has the same range of frequencies as the human body. The wide pitch range (low C—32.703 Hz to high C—3136.0 Hz) can vibrate the entire body. Music therapists who have studied the realm of psychoacoustics are well acquainted with the healing capabilities of the harp. This is purely conjecture, but since our bodies are a set of frequencies, is a disease, malady, or an emotional negative a frequency misalignment, and when the harp vibrates those frequencies, it readjusts our misalignments?

Conclusion. God speaks with the sound of the harp (Revelation 14:2), and everything God created is a sound. May we conclude that the playing of the harp initiates God’s Presence and is as the voice of God speaking? God’s voice is the voice of creation, life, and perfection. Is this why healing happens with the playing of a harp? Is the sum of these considerations why the harp is pre-eminent above all other instruments? If not here on this earth before arriving in Heaven or perhaps one day in Heaven, God may gather His multitudes of musicians and start His teaching. “Let me tell you all the things about the harp that you were guessing about on earth.”

Global Spiritual View. Let’s step back a moment and consider a global, spiritual view. In my heart of hearts, I think God gave His children the harp to perform spiritual warfare through praise, worship, and intercessory prayers. Being the first instrument mentioned seven generations from Adam, the main instrument of the Tabernacle of David, the main instrument in Heaven, the only instrument for spiritual healing, and God’s voice itself, the harp is for God’s children, through spiritual warfare, to cover the world with His Kingdom!

References

Burpo, Todd (2010). Heaven is for real: A little boy’s astounding story of his trip to Heaven and back. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publisher.

Estes, D. (Fall, 1998). The harp as a divine communication tool. The Harp Therapy Journal, 3(3), 6-8,11.

1 Chronicles 6:31 (KJV), “And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after that the ark had rest.”

1 Chronicles 15:16 (KJV), “And David spoke to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy.”

1 Chronicles 25:1-2 (KJV), “1. Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals: and the number of the workmen according to their service was: 2. Of the sons of Asaph; Zaccur, and Joseph, and Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph under the hands of Asaph, which prophesied according to the order of the king.”

1 John 1:5 (KJV), “This then is the message which we have heard of him [Jesus], and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”

1 Samuel 16:23 (KJV), “And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”

1 Samuel 18:10 (New Living Translation), “The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day.”

Genesis 1:3-5 (KJV), “3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

Genesis 1:14-19 (KJV), “14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”

Genesis 4:20-21 (KJV), “And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.”

Hebrews 1:3 (KJV), “Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:”

Job 38:4-7 (KJV), “4. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. 5. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line upon it? 6. Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7. when the morning stars sang together, and all the angels [Hebrew sons of God] shouted for joy?”

Lewis, C. S. (1955). The magician’s nephew. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.

Luke 19:39-40 (KJV), “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”

Numbers 6:22-27 (KJV), “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 23. Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, 24. The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: 25. The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 27. And they shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Proverbs 18:21 (God’s Word Translation), “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love to talk will have to eat their own words.”

Psalm 144:1 (KJV), “Blessed be the Lord my strength who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:”

Psalm 33:2 (NIV), “Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to Him on the ten-stringed lyre.”

Revelation 1:10-11 (KJV), “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”

Revelation 5:5-10 (KJV), “5 And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7 And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. 8 And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou was slain, and has redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

Revelation 14:2 (NIV & KJV), “And I heard a sound [voice] from heaven, like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound [voice] I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.”

Revelation 14:2-3 (KJV), “2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.”

Revelation 15:2 (New Living Translation), “I saw before me what seemed to be a glass sea mixed with fire. And on it stood all the people who had been victorious over the beast and his statue and the number representing his name. They were all holding harps that God had given them.”

Revelation 19:10 (NIV), “At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.’”

Rudhyar, D. (a.k.a. Chennevière, Daniel). (March, 1923). The harp as a cosmic symbol. Aeolian Review, 2(2). Reprinted: http://www.khaldea.com/rudhyar/harpsymbol.html. Accessed 10/21/2013, 1:09 PM EST.

2 Kings 3:15 (KJV & Reformation Study Bible), “But now bring me a minstrel [harpist]. And it came to pass, when the minstrel [harpist] played, that the hand [power and prophetic inspiration] of the Lord came upon him [Elisha].”

Wheeler, J. & San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble (SAVAE). (2013, June 20). The music of the Bible revealed: Numbers 6:22-27: A millenary notation deciphered. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=694AZ4cKMcg.

Wikipedia. Music therapy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_therapy. Accessed 11/5/2013, 4:13 PM EST.

Wikipedia. Psychoacoustics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoacoustics. Accessed 11/5/2013, 4:15 PM EST.

Zephaniah 3:17 (KJV), “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.”

Dr. Knauss mentors student teachers and regular teachers into teaching excellence. He taught for 3 decades in inner-city public schools, winning over street kids into being like family, became one of the principle curriculum writers for an award-winning, internationally-recognized music department. He retired from public schools, completed a Ph.D. in Music Education, and presently is an adjunct music education professor at Baptist Bible College.