Genesis 4:21

21 His brother's name was Jubal. He was the first person to play the harp and the flute.

Genesis 4:21 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 4:21

And his brother's name was Jubal
This was another son of Lamech by Adah, and his name differs only in one letter from his brother's;

he was the father of all such that handle the harp and organ:
he was the inventor of instrumental music, both of stringed instruments, such as were touched by the fingers, or struck with a quill, as the "harp"; and of wind instruments, such as were blown, as the "organ", which seems not to be the same we call so, being a late invention; but however a pleasant instrument, as its name signifies. Jubal is thought by some to be the same with Apollo, to whom with the Greeks the invention of the harp is ascribed; and some have been of opinion, that the jubilee trumpet was so called from Jubal, ( Leviticus 25:9 ) . Sanchoniatho

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 makes Chrysor or Vulcan, the same with Tubalcain, the brother of Jubal, to exercise himself in eloquence, songs and divination, confounding or mistaking the employment of the two brothers. The Arabs have such a notion of the Cainites being the inventors of music, that they commonly call a singing girl "Cainah" ^F19; and the Arabic writers
F20 make Jubal to be the first inventor of music, and that the beasts and birds gathered together to hear him; the same that is said of Orpheus.

F18 Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. p. 35.
F19 Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 9.
F20 Elmacinus, p. 8. apud Hottinger. Smegma, p. 232.

Genesis 4:21 In-Context

19 Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.

20 Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the first person to live in tents and have livestock.

21 His brother's name was Jubal. He was the first person to play the harp and the flute.

22 Zillah also had a son, Tubalcain, who made bronze and iron tools. Tubalcain's sister was Naamah.

23 Lamech said to his wives, "Adah and Zillah, listen to me! Wives of Lamech, hear what I say! I killed a man for bruising me, a young man for wounding me.