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Musical Instruments in the Bible Part 10 – Stringed Instruments 

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Musical Instruments in the bible, Part 10 – Stringed Instruments

[Asor – Instrument of ten strings (Gittith)]

[Study Aired November 23, 2023]

Stringed Instruments

The only thing known about the Asor was that it was a ten-stringed instrument. It was likely a type of harp such as a zither or lute.

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These first two stringed instruments we’re going to study are both connected to the flesh, and we will look at the accompanying verses where they’re used to help us understand what it is telling us about our flesh that is both represented by the number ten and the instrument itself.

The ten strings of this first instrument, known as the asorH6218, symbolize the flesh of man that we are all trying to always bring into submission to Christ (2Co 10:5-6). With Christ in us, we are a somber and solemn people who acknowledge that we are that ten-stringed instrument which can’t go beyond ‘ten’ except for the grace of God. He knows how to take our empty marred vessels and make them into another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it (Jer 18:4), and even fill us with praise and fervent prayer that is likened unto “the harp.”

The second stringed instrument we will look at is called the gittithH1665 and was believed to have been retrieved by King David in the Philistine city of Gath. The symbolism is hard to miss, and even if the historical comments above are vague and without spiritual insight, the point remains true that Christ must give us victory over sin, which can be symbolized by king David, a type of Christ who retrieves [is retrieving] the musical instrument called ‘the gitteth’ from the Philistine city of Gath [Joh 8:36].

2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 
2Co 10:6  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Christ must deliver the captive (2Ti 2:23-26) instruments of corruption that we all start off as, residing in the Philistine city of Gath. Through the hand of our Lord, we are then able, in time, to take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ as a stringed instrument that is now in tune with the mind of Christ and able to live in harmony with the rest of the body of Christ and be at peace with all men (2Co 10:5, Heb 12:14).

2Ti 2:23  But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. 
2Ti 2:24  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 
2Ti 2:25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 
2Ti 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. 

2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Heb 12:14  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Christ must deliver the captives from captivity:

Luk 21:22  For these be the days of vengeance, [1Pe 4:17, 1Jn 4:17, Rom 2:4] that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
Luk 21:23  But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people  [within and without].
Luk 21:24  And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: [Rev 13:9-10] and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled [Rev 11:2-5 – after God’s elect are judged and found worthy to be in the blessed and holy first resurrection, then the time of the Gentiles begins and will be fulfilled in the lake of fire, great white throne judgment].

Rev 13:9  If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Rev 13:10  He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Rev 11:2  But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
Rev 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 
Rev 11:4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev 11:5  And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity  captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

2Ti 2:26  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. 

2Ti 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women [churches of Babylon we are called out of] laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

2Co 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 

Rev 13:10  He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity [2Ti 2:26]: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints [The sword is the word of God that kills our old man as we decrease and Christ increases within us. We are able to “killeth with the sword” only because we have been decreasing as we die daily by the sword of God’s word, His spirit that makes it possible for us to die daily (Rom 2:24, Php 2:12-13)].

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Here are the three verses where we find the word AsorH6218 being used, (Psa 33:2, Psa 92:3, Psa 144:9), and there are a number of expressions that are used in the context of these verses which tell us something about our relationship with our heavenly Father and Christ, made known when the AsorH6218 is in use. 

In Psalm 33:2 we are told to do this:

Psa 33:1  Rejoice in the LORD, [Php 4:4, Rev 19:7] O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. 
Psa 33:2  Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten stringsH6218 (“Asor“).
Psa 33:3  Sing unto him a new song; play skilfullyH3190 with a loud noise. 
Psa 33:4  For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth  [Col 1:27, Php 2:12-13, Joh 14:6].

Rejoicing in the Lord is a way in which we praise God, and give Him thanks for the victory over the sin within us. When we play an instrument of ten strings skillfullyH3190, God’s word is telling us that we can have dominion over the flesh through Christ, but we go on to perfection only on the third day (Exo 15:1, Rev 14:2, Rev 15:2, Luk 17:10, Luk 13:32).

Gen 4:7  If thou doest wellH3190, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

In Psalm 92:1-6 we are told to do this:

Psa 92:1  A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
Psa 92:2  To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
Psa 92:3  Upon an instrument of ten stringsH6218 (“Asor”), and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn soundH1902.

Psa 92:4  For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands [Psa 139:14-16, Eph 2:10]. 
Psa 92:5  O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. 
Psa 92:6  A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.]

Psa 139:14  I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 
Psa 139:15  My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 
Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

Psa 139:16 Your eyes saw my embryo, And my days, all of them were written upon Your scroll; The days were formed When there was not one of them.”[CLV] [author and finisher of our faith, of our books (Heb 5:9, Heb 12:2)]

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We are the “ten strings”H6218 that God is mercifully working with, and we acknowledge we are nothing more than instruments in His hands which He likens to “psaltery”H5035, and it is in this place “the harp”H3658 can make its “solemn sound” that the Lord is forming through those who sigh and cry a solemn and somber cry (1Pe 5:7-9) in this age for the abominations He is allowing to unfold (Eze 9:4).

In Psalm 144 we are told to do this:

Psa 144:9  I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten stringsH6218 (“Asor”) will I sing praises unto thee.

This “new song” is presented nine times in the KJV (Psa 33:3, Psa 40:3, Psa 96:1, Psa 98:1, Psa 144:9, Psa 149:1, Isa 42:10, Rev 5:9, Rev 14:3), and it is in the last instance mentioned, with its surrounding verses, that we are also told ‘no man could learn that song but those which were redeemed from the earth… not defiled… virgins… which follow the Lamb… redeemed from among men… firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb… no guile… without fault before the throne of God.’

Rev 14:1  And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. 
Rev 14:2  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: 
Rev 14:3  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. 
Rev 14:4  These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. 
Rev 14:5  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

As our heavens are cleansed of false doctrines, these false riches are replaced with the true riches of knowing God and Christ and His body (Joh 17:3), and we can now sing a new song of praise, meaning we are able to worship God in spirit and in truth now that all things are new in Christ (Joh 4:23, 2Co 5:17) having had our heavens cleansed of all filthiness (2Co 7:1). 

All of this is worship unfolding within the earnest condition (Eph 1:14, Rom 8:23, Rom 8:19, Php 1:20) we are in  “upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings”, the ten now representing the positive relation of the number ten being fulfilled in a life that is being led by the spirit of God (Rom 8:14) and glorifying Him with all our thoughts and actions which power He is giving us through Christ to bring into subjection unto him (Rom 8:16, 1Co 10:31, 2Co 10:5).

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We will now explore the use of the Hebrew word GittithH1665, that is found in the first verse of each Psalm this Strong’s number is found (Psa 8:1, Psa 81:1, Psa 84:1).

The word GittithH1665 is both “a wine-press” and a “harp”, according to Brown-Driver-Briggs and Strong. There is definitely a correlation between these Psalms that helps us understand the process of judgment God’s elect have been going through, and are going through, and will be going through, as our Father grants us to be the first grapes, or kind of first fruits (Jas 1:18), being dragged to this “wine-press” which represents what it means to be connected to the Vine who crushes those grapes (Joh 15:5, Mat 21:44). Christ is working this wine-press in our lives all according to the counsel of our Father’s will (Eph 1:11, Col 1:27, Joh 5:1 , Joh 12:29, Heb 13:8).

Psa 8:1  To the chief Musician upon GittithH1665, A Psalm of David. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. 
Psa 8:2  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. 
Psa 8:3  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 
Psa 8:4  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 
Psa 8:5  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psa 8:6  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 

In Psalm 8:1 we learn of the excellency of God in what He does in His workmanship which we are; a workmanship that is typified by the earth and the heavens (Psa 8:1). The earth is the church (Jer 22:29), and the heavens represent where Christ abides within us as our hope of glory (Col 1:27, Heb 9:23).

Psa 81:1  To the chief Musician upon GittithH1665, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. 
Psa 81:2  Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. 
Psa 81:3  Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. 
Psa 81:4  For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. 
Psa 81:5  This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.
Psa 81:6  I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.

In the second verse that uses the word GittithH1665 (Psa 81:1), we see how that workmanship of God offers up the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving (1Pe 2:5, Heb 13:5, 2Co 4:15, 2Co 9:11, Php 4:6, Col 4:2-3) to our Creator, “unto the God of Jacob” (Psa 81:1).

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Heb 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

2Co 9:11  Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

Php 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Col 4:2  Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Col 4:3  Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bond

Psa 84:1  To the chief Musician upon GittithH1665, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
Psa 84:2  My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. 
Psa 84:3  Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. 
Psa 84:4  Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah. 
Psa 84:5  Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

In the third use of the word GittithH1665 (Psa 84:1), we learn of the longing and groaning that comes forth from the body of Christ because of the judgment that is upon us as fellow laborers in Christ (1Co 3:9, Mat 9:37-38, Rev 6:11) and the fruit of having a strong desire to know God that only comes about through that judgment (Isa 26:9, Psa 84:12).

The sons of Korah (ref. vs 1) are Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph [three sons, representing the process of judgment on the new man typified by Korah’s sons], and they formed the tribes known as the Korahites who were the children of Korah (1Ch 9:19). Korah was a Levite who rebelled against Moses, and the two hundred and fifty men who rebelled with Korah represent our old man who must be swallowed up by the earth and die (Num 16:2, Num 16:19–30). The number [250] represents a multiple of the number five, which is grace that is experienced when we die and are baptized into Christ’s death (Tit 2:12, Heb 12:6, Rom 6:3). Korah and the men of renown within us must die [typifying rebellious Babylon in our flesh]. The seed must die [250 men of renown] in order to bring forth fruit (Joh 12:24), and that fruit is represented by the sons of Korah found in 1 Chronicles 6:31-48, “whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest” (1Ch 6:31). It is only when we are granted to rest in the Lord that these works can be accomplished in the body of Christ by our Lord (Php 2:12-13, Col 1:27).

Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Psa 84:12  O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

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Next week, Lord willing, we will look at the next two stringed instruments in our study of instruments in the bible, the Kathros or Harp, and Kinor which is another type of harp.

Hebrew: Kathros
KJV Name: Harp
Strong’s: #H7030
References: Daniel 3:5, 7, 10, 15

Found only in the book of Daniel, the kathros (an Aramaic word) was a stringed instrument played at Nebuchadnezzar’s court. It was possibly a type of lyre.

Hebrew: Kinnor
KJV Name: Harp
Strong’s: #H3658
References: Genesis 4:21, 31:27, 1Samuel 10:5, 16:16, 23, 2Samuel 6:5, 1Kings 10:12, 1Chronicles 13:8, 15:16, 21, 28, 16:5, etc.

The kinnor has the distinction of being the first musical instrument recorded in Scripture. Its creation is credited to a man named Jubal who was of Cain’s lineage (Genesis 4:16 – 21). The kinnor is sometimes referred to as David’s harp.

This instrument is small enough to be played while walking (1 Samuel 10:5) and made of wood. Its strings were crafted from sheep tripe. David, when an evil spirit bothered King Saul, would play his kinnor and chase the demon away (1 Samuel 16:23)! The kinnor was used to worship and praise God (2 Samuel 6:5, Psalm 43:4), utter prophecies (1 Chronicles 25:3), and bid farewell to loved ones (Genesis 31:27).

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