Hebrew word · H8596

תֹּף

tof

tambourine

A frame drum: a skin stretched over a round wooden hoop, held in one hand and struck with the other. It was played at feasts, victory celebrations, processions and worship.

Appears 17 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

timbrel, tambourine

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Jeremiah 31:4

Range of meaning

A frame drum: a skin stretched over a round wooden hoop, held in one hand and struck with the other. It was played at feasts, victory celebrations, processions and worship.

Against the English

"Tambourine" calls up an instrument with metal jingles, often treated as a lightweight accessory. "Tabret" (KJV) and "timbrel" are archaic. The ancient instrument was a proper drum. Whether it had jingles is uncertain, and they were probably not typical.

How it drifted

English translations borrowed the closest familiar instrument. The word 'tambourine' also brings modern associations of a toy or a small extra instrument.

Used elsewhere in the period

Miriam and the women go out with drums and dances (Exod 15:20). Jephthah's daughter comes out with drums and dances (Judg 11:34). Women greet Saul and David with drums (1 Sam 18:6). "Young women playing drums" appear in a procession in Ps 68:25. Many terracotta figurines from Iron Age Israel show women holding frame drums. Carol Meyers has studied the evidence and argues that frame-drumming was mainly a women's musical tradition.

From the study of Ezekiel 28:13

Range of meaning

Everywhere else in the Bible: a hand-drum or tambourine, a frame drum played mostly by women at celebrations (Exod 15:20; 1 Sam 18:6; Ps 150:4). Here the plural with 'your' sits in a context of gems and gold, and many scholars posit a separate jewellery sense, 'setting, bezel,' possibly from a root meaning 'to surround or enclose.'

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'tabrets,' WEB 'tambourines' keep the usual musical sense. BSB 'mountings,' NIV/ESV 'settings,' NASB 'settings' take the jewellery sense. NLT drops the specific term.

How it drifted

KJV's 'tabrets and pipes' (1611) turned an obscure craft term into a musical one. That reading later became the basis for the popular idea that the figure was made with built-in instruments.

Used elsewhere in the period

The musical sense is well attested (about 17 uses). The jewellery sense is a scholarly inference from this context and is noted as possible or likely in HALOT and the major commentaries (Zimmerli, Greenberg, Block). The Septuagint did not read either sense; it has 'treasuries.' The Vulgate seems to read 'the work of your beauty (decoris).'

From the study of Psalm 150:4

Range of meaning

A hand-held frame drum: a wooden or bent hoop with an animal skin stretched over it, struck by hand. It was used at victory celebrations (Exodus 15:20; Judges 11:34; 1 Samuel 18:6), feasts and banquets (Isaiah 5:12; Genesis 31:27), religious processions (1 Samuel 10:5; 2 Samuel 6:5), and as a sign of restored joy (Jeremiah 31:4).

Against the English

KJV 'timbrel' is an old word for a small hand-drum and is actually close. Modern 'tambourine' (BSB, WEB, ESV) makes most readers picture metal jingles in the frame. Nothing shows that the Iron Age tof had them, and the evidence for jingled frame drums in the region is later.

How it drifted

Translators of the past few centuries used the nearest familiar instrument, and over time 'tambourine' came to mean the jingling version.

Used elsewhere in the period

Many Iron Age clay figurines from Israel and nearby show a woman holding a disc against her body. Carol Meyers and others have argued these are frame drums, which fits the biblical picture of women as the drummers. The Septuagint renders it τύμπανον (tympanon) and the Latin Vulgate tympanum.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 31:27 בְּתֹ֥ף with tambourine

    Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps.

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 15:20 הַתֹּ֖ף בְּתֻפִּ֖ים the tambourine, with tambourines

    Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.

    Here: A round frame drum, a skin stretched over a wooden hoop and beaten with the hand. 'The' may point to the familiar drum used at such celebrations, or simply mean 'her drum'.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 11:34 בְתֻפִּ֖ים with tambourines

    And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.

    Here: Frame drums: a skin stretched over a round wooden hoop and struck by hand. In Israel they were played mostly by women, especially to celebrate a victory.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 10:5 וְתֹף֙ and tambourine

    After that you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have an outpost. As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying.

    Here: A frame drum held in one hand and struck with the other. It kept the rhythm and was linked with dancing and celebration (Exod 15:20).

  2. 1 Samuel 18:6 בְּתֻפִּ֥ים with tambourines

    As the troops were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, and with tambourines and other instruments.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 6:5 וּבְתֻפִּ֔ים and on tambourines

    David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of wood instruments, harps, stringed instruments, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 13:8 וּבְתֻפִּ֔ים and with tambourines

    David and all the Israelites were celebrating before God with all their might, with songs and on harps and lyres, with tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.

    Here: The toph: a round frame drum with a skin, struck by hand. It is the typical instrument of dance and victory songs and is often played by women (Exod 15:20; 1 Sam 18:6).

Job · 1

  1. Job 21:12 כְּתֹ֣ף according to tambourine

    singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.

Psalms · 3

  1. Psalm 81:2 תֹ֑ף a tambourine

    Lift up a song, strike the tambourine, play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.

    Here: A round frame drum held in one hand and struck with the other. In Israel it belonged to festive dancing and processions and was most often played by women (Miriam, Exodus 15:20; Psalm 68:25).

  2. Psalm 149:3 בְּתֹ֥ף with tambourine

    Let them praise His name with dancing, and make music to Him with tambourine and harp.

    Here: "With drum." A round frame drum held in one hand and struck with the other. Women most often played it at victory celebrations and feasts (Miriam at the sea, Exodus 15:20). By the accents it opens the second half of the verse, going with 'let them make music'.

  3. Psalm 150:4 בְתֹ֣ף with tambourine

    Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute.

    Here: A shallow round frame with skin stretched over it, held in one hand and struck with the other. It was the rhythm instrument of festivals and victory celebrations, and in Israel it was played mostly by women.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 5:12 תֹּ֧ף tambourine

    At their feasts are the lyre and harp, tambourines and flutes and wine. They disregard the actions of the LORD and fail to see the work of His hands.

    Here: A frame drum beaten by hand, used for dancing and celebration (Miriam's instrument in Exodus 15:20). It sets the rhythm of the revelry.

  2. Isaiah 24:8 תֻּפִּ֔ים tambourines

    The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent.

  3. Isaiah 30:32 בְּתֻפִּ֖ים [will be] with tambourines

    And with every stroke of the rod of punishment that the LORD brings down on them, the tambourines and lyres will sound as He battles with weapons brandished.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 31:4 תֻפַּ֔יִךְ tambourines your

    Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.

    Here: "Your drums". These are round frame drums held in one hand and struck with the other. In Israel they were played above all by women at times of celebration and victory.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 28:13 תֻּפֶּ֤יךָ tambourines your

    You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation.

    Here: Elsewhere tof is a hand-drum or tambourine. In this list of gems and gold, most modern scholars take it as a jeweller's term, such as 'settings' or 'bezels.' The meaning here is genuinely uncertain.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.