From the Standard of Ur
British Museum
Photo: Wikimedia
And Lamech took two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have cattle. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron.
Genesis 4:19-21
In my world, people fall generally into the categories of “Math and Science” and “Humanities.” In Genesis 4 people were differentiated too, though the categories are not academic. There is Abel, a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. In subsequent generations came Jabal, the father of those who dwell in tents and have cattle, Tubal-cain, the forger of instruments of bronze and iron, and Jubal, the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.
I’m thankful that God’s people were thinking about music from early days, so this morning I’ll share this air from George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Joshua (1748).
Oh, had I Jubal’s lyre,
Or Miriam’s tuneful voice!
To sounds like his I would aspire,
In songs like hers rejoice.
My humble strains but faintly show,
How much to Heav’n and thee I owe.
