Asor

See also: American Schools of Oriental Research

The asore' (Hebrew: עָשׂוֹר‎; Hebrew for "ten" eśer [ayin shin resh עשר) was a musical instrument "of ten strings" mentioned in the Bible. There is little agreement on what sort of instrument it was.

Biblical references

The word occurs only three times in the Bible, and has not been traced elsewhere. In Psalm xxxiii. 2 the reference is to "kinnor, nebel and asor" (Hebrew: הוֹדוּ לַיהוָה בְּכִנּוֹר; בְּנֵבֶל עָשׂוֹר, זַמְּרוּ-לוֹ׃‎); in Psalm xcii. 3, to "nebel and asor"; in Psalm cxliv. to "nebel-asor".

In the English version asor is translated "an instrument of ten strings", with a marginal note "omit" applied to "instrument". In the Septuagint, the word being derived from a root signifying "ten", the Greek is ἐν δεκαχορδῷ or ψαλτήριον δεκάχορδον, in the Vulgate in decachordo psalterio. Each time the word asor is used it follows the word nebel, and probably merely indicates a variant of the nebel, having ten strings instead of the customary twelve assigned to it by Josephus.

Bibliography

• Hermann Mendel and August Reissmann, Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon, vol. i. (Berlin, 1881)
• Sir John Stainer, The Music of the Bible, pp. 35–37
• Forkel, Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik, Bd. i. p. 133 (Leipzig, 1788).

See also

• Psaltery

References

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Asor". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.