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Musical Instruments in the Bible, Part 9 – Percussion Instruments [Paamon-Bells ; Toph-Timbrel/Tabret]

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Musical Instruments in the bible, Part 9 – Percussion Instruments [Paamon-Bells; Toph-Timbrel/Tabret]

[Study Aired November 16, 2023]

The Hebrew word toph is translated 10 times as “timbrel” and eight times as “tabret.” The toph, the oldest and most popular means of percussion, was a musical instrument of the drum kind. The 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, in its section on the timbrel and tabret, states the following:

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In this study we’ll look at the last two percussion instruments in this part of the series. Starting with the Paamon which is a bell, and lastly the Toph which is the Timbrel or Tabret. 

The only two areas in the bible where the Paamon is mentioned is in Exodus 28:33-34 and 39:25-26.

Exo 28:33  And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bellsH6472 of gold between them round about: 
Exo 28:34  A golden bellH6472 and a pomegranate, a golden bellH6472 and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. 

Exo 39:25  And they made bellsH6472 of pure gold, and put the bellsH6472 between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates; 
Exo 39:26  A bellH6472 and a pomegranate, a bellH6472 and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.

As it is Aaron who typifies the elect for whom these garments are made, the ‘blue, purple, and scarlet, that are round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about’ of Exodus 28:33 typify for us what our service in the Lord is all about (Exo 28:1-3). These garments represent the righteousness of the saints and how we need to be armed with His righteousness in order to overcome as we wage spiritual warfare in this life (Rev 19:7-9, Eph 6:10-12).

Exo 28:3  And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Eph 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Eph 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God [“Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office  –  for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Rom 13:14, Gal 3:27)], that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 
Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Rom 13:12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Rom 13:13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 
Rom 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Gal 3:26  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 
Gal 3:27  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

What the body of Christ has to experience in order to “minister unto me in the priest’s office” is symbolized by what is seen at the hem of the garment of the priest (Exo 28:33-34), “And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bellsH6472 of gold between them round about: A golden bellH6472 and a pomegranate, a golden bellH6472 and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.”

The three colors, “blue, and of purple, and of scarlet” are round about the hem to symbolize the ongoing process of judgment that is upon the body of Christ (1Pe 4:17). Blue is first mentioned as God declares the end from the beginning and the end of the thing is better than the beginning (Ecc 7:8). So actually from our earthly perspective we learn that we are beasts (Ecc 3:18) which start off by being dominated by our scarlet flesh that is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer 17:3) and through the bruising or much tribulation that we go through in this life (Act 14:22), symbolized by the purple. We cease from sinning (1Pe 4:1-3, 2Pe 2:14) resulting in our being led by the spirit (Rom 8:14-16) which is represented by the color blue. The blue is the righteousness of Christ, the linen we put on as we go through this process of judgment which requires that we die daily (1Co 15:31).

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 
1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
1Pe 4:3  For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 

The robe has “A bellH6472 and a pomegranate, a bellH6472 and a pomegranate” around the hem. The bell is golden and symbolizes the mind of Christ that is being purified within the body of Christ as His faith (Eph 2:8) is tried and tested in this life (1Pe 1:7) through a sanctification process (Joh 17:17). We are being cleansed by the blood of Christ, and it is an ongoing process around the hem, and it can only begin by our being dragged to Christ by our Father (Joh 6:44) so we can touch the hem of His garment as we die daily (1Co 15:31) from the twelve-year issue of blood (Mat 9:20) that represents the sinful Adamic flesh foundation that we all start with (Mat 9:20-22, Eph 2:2). The pomegranate is red and has many seeds, but those many seeds come from the same one seed which is Christ (Gal 3:16) who is doing this work within His body. That is a ministry of reconciliation which is the new foundation being built upon Christ, the true foundation that all men will come to learn of through the church (2Co 5:18, Ezr 3:10-12, Eph 2:20, Mat 16:18).

Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Mat 9:20  And, behold, a woman [who represents the church, the body of Christ (Col 1:24)], which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: 
Mat 9:21  For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 
Mat 9:22  But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. 

Gal 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. [many seeds make up the pomegranate but it is the same one seed Christ within us who is our hope of glory within the pomegranate (Col 1:27). It is the entire body of Christ [many seeds made up of the same seed Jesus Christ His body (Col 1:24)] therefore that takes part in the redemptive process as we come under the wings of Christ who is our stronghold against the powers and principalities in the heaven against which we wrestle (Mat 23:36-39)] 

2Co 5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Ezr 3:10  And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. 
Ezr 3:11  And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 
Ezr 3:12  But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: 

Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone [Jesus Christ the one preeminent seed that the church is built upon];

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it [Peter who represents the body of Christ that is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner”].

The word “Paamon” means “bell”, and when the priest moves, you hear the bell around the hem, which tells us having faith without works typified by that movement is dead faith (Jas 2:26). The bell has to be struck or moved or stroked in order to bring forth sound, and Christ tells us to let our light shine before men so that we may glorify our Father in heaven through those works (Mat 5:16).

Jas 2:26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. 

Mat 5:14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

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The next instrument we will look at is called TophH8596 which is a Timbrel or a Tabret.

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This percussion instrument is mentioned in these verses:  Gen 31:27, Exo 15:20, Jdg 11:34, 1Sa 10:5, 1Sa 18:6, 2Sa 6:5, 1Ch 13:8, Job 21:12, Psa 81:2, Psa 149:3, Psa 150:4, Isa 5:12, Isa 24:8, Isa  30:32,  Jer 31:4, Eze 28:13. The first verse that is mentioned on any subject is normally very revealing, so we will look at that first verse, and the second one as well, to see what correlation we may find with the surrounding context. 

In this first instance, Jacob is fleeing away from Laban who pursues him, typifying how when we come out of Babylon, we are pursued by our own flesh which we are overcoming, and by those who do not want us to leave their company, more specifically their way of life, our former conversation (2Co 6:17-18, Eph 2:3). At the very least, the worldly churches we come out of, typified by Laban, expect us to follow the mantra, “In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity“, and they will determine what is non-essential to be sure, leading to our not obeying the commandments of God if we were to follow after them. 

This first use of the word “tabret” is used in the negative sense, pointing to a celebration of the flesh and the many wonderful works that Jacob did when he spent those years laboring in the house of Laban. There is a parallel example of that departing from Babylon with the next verse that uses the word TophH8596 that will witness to this idea of coming out of Babylon as was the case with Jacob leaving Laban’s house.

Gen 31:27  Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabretH8596, and with harp? 
Gen 31:28  And hast not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters? thou hast now done foolishly in so doing. [the negative example of kissing the son as opposed to this verse (Psa 2:12)]
Gen 31:29  It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt [Joh 19:11]: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. 
Gen 31:30  And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? 
Gen 31:31  And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Peradventure thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me. 
Gen 31:32  With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our brethren discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.

In this next story we see Miriam [type of the church] the sister of Aaron with a timbrel in her hand, who represents the elect in this instance, telling all the women who represent Babylon this wonderful message of deliverance which is the gospel message we preach, telling all men (Col 1:27-29) that we have been delivered by the mighty hand of our Lord out of which no man can take us (Joh 18:9, Rom 8:35). In both stories that we’ve examined, there is a type and shadow event being told connected to fleeing from sin, or from Babylon, the first being with Jacob fleeing from Laban and now Miriam rejoicing before all for the victory of coming out of the Red sea which represents our coming out and fleeing from sin, as we come out of Babylon.

Exo 15:20  And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrelH8596 in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrelsH8596 and with dances. 
Exo 15:21  And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 
Exo 15:22  So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 
Exo 15:23  And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. 
Exo 15:24  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 
Exo 15:25  And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
Exo 15:26  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. 
Exo 15:27  And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters. 

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 
Col 1:28  Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 
Col 1:29  Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

The vow of Jephthah (Jdg 11:34)

The last verse we will look at with the word TophH8596 is found in the story of Jephthah (Jdg 11:34). In this story, Jephthah’s daughter was dedicated to the Lord to be a virgin all her life because of Jephthah’s vow he made in haste.

Jdg 11:30  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 
Jdg 11:31  Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 
Jdg 11:32  So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. 
Jdg 11:33  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 
Jdg 11:34  And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrelsH8596 and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 
Jdg 11:35  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. 
Jdg 11:36  And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:37  And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. 
Jdg 11:38  And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 
Jdg 11:39  And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, 
Jdg 11:40  That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Making this seemingly innocent vow was akin to Uzza touching the ark with the best of intentions to steady it, resulting in his death (1Ch 13:9-10). The daughter of Jephthah would remain a virgin the rest of her days because of the vow Jephthah made and represents the sacrifice we make in order to follow Christ. God could have prevented her from being the first one he met, but she was sacrificed as a living sacrifice, unlike Uzza who was sacrificed to remind us today that our old man has to be put off in order to be obedient to God. That obedience is going to be found in the body of Christ because we are bound to the altar, and God has sworn that which He has started in us will be finished through Christ (Psa 118:27-29, Heb 6:17-20). What looks so terrible for the flesh, and it is, is telling God’s elect something positive about the certainty of God’s plan going forward by His great power and might that is working all things out according to the counsel of His own will, including the death of Uzza and the life of Jephthah’s daughter that became a type of a living sacrifice for us, like the scapegoat that was let go into the wilderness of Leviticus 16:10.

Many believe this sacrifice of Jephtha’s daughter was by killing her. However, such a sacrifice would not have been honored by God. She was dedicated to God just as Samuel was (1Sa 1:28), so she was never to marry and have children, thus it says she bewailed her virginity (not her death) “and she knew no man” (Jdg 11:39.

Luk 14:24  For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper. 
Luk 14:25  And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, 
Luk 14:26  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 
Luk 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 

1Ch 13:9  And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled.
1Ch 13:10  And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God. 

Luk 14:26  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 
Luk 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
Psa 118:28  Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee. 
Psa 118:29  O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 

Heb 6:17  Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 
Heb 6:18  That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 
Heb 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; 
Heb 6:20  Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

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.

Next week we’ll begin looking at the stringed instruments found in the bible.

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