HAROSHETH

(Ha·roʹsheth).

A site, called fully “Harosheth of the nations,” that served as military headquarters for Sisera, the army chief of the Canaanite king Jabin, who ruled in Hazor. (Judg. 4:2, 13) Judge Barak pressed his victory over these enemy forces to this same point. (Vs. 16) The name “Harosheth” seems to be preserved at el-Harithiyeh, near the western exit of the Plain of Esdraelon and about eleven miles (17.7 kilometers) NW of Megiddo. However, geographers usually hold that the actual ancient site was at nearby Tell ʽAmr.

HARP

This translates the Hebrew word kin·nohrʹ, the name of the first musical instrument mentioned in Scripture (Gen. 4:21, AS, Da, Fn, Kx, NW, Yg), also rendered “lyre” in a number of Bible translations. (JB, Mo, Ro, RS) In twenty-one of the forty-two occurrences of kin·nohrʹ in the Bible, the translators of the Septuagint Version rendered it by the Greek ki·thaʹra. The ki·thaʹra was an instrument resembling the lyre (Gr., lyʹra), but had a more shallow sounding board. Modern translations generally render ki·thaʹra in the Christian Greek Scriptures as “harp.” (1 Cor. 14:7; Rev. 5:8) Pictorial representations on Egyptian monuments indicate that ancient harps were of many styles and shapes, with a varying number of strings. In view of those points, some have suggested that kin·nohrʹ may have been a somewhat general term designating any instrument incorporating basic features of the ancient harp.

All that the Hebrew Scriptures definitely indicate about the kin·nohrʹ is that it was portable and comparatively light in weight, since it could be played in a procession, or even by a prostitute as she sang, walking through a city. (1 Sam. 10:5; 2 Sam. 6:5; Isa. 23:15, 16) Some were made of “almug” wood. (1 Ki. 10:12) The strings may have been made from the small intestines of sheep, although perhaps spun vegetable fibers were also used.

David, who was skilled in playing the kin·nohrʹ “with his hand” (1 Sam. 16:16, 23), assigned this instrument a prominent place along with the ‘stringed instrument’ (neʹvel) in the orchestra that later played at Solomon’s temple. (1 Chron. 25:1; 2 Chron. 29:25) When Nehemiah inaugurated Jerusalem’s wall, the kin·nohrʹ added to the joy of the occasion. (Neh. 12:27) Since the kin·nohrʹ was essentially a “pleasant” instrument of “exultation,” its sound would cease at times of judgment or punishment. (Ps. 81:2; Ezek. 26:13; Isa. 24:8, 9) Saddened by their captivity in Babylon, exiled Israelites had no inclination to play their harps, but hung them upon poplar trees.—Ps. 137:1, 2.

Because of the uncertainty surrounding the precise identity of the kin·nohrʹ, and especially the neʹvel (stringed instrument), any attempt to compare the two instruments is speculative. First Chronicles 15:20, 21 mentions “stringed instruments [n^eva·limʹ (plural)] tuned to Alamoth, . . . harps [kin·no·rohthʹ (plural)] tuned to Sheminith.” If “Alamoth” refers to a higher musical register and “Sheminith” to a lower tonal range, this could imply that the kin·nohrʹ was the larger, lower-pitched instrument. On the other hand, the reverse could be true (which is the general consensus of thought) if, indeed, Alamoth and Sheminith are specifically here mentioned because of being exceptional tunings for these instruments. In any event, both instruments were portable.

At Daniel 3:5, 7, 10, 15, the Aramaic word sab·b^ekhaʼʹ seems to refer to a “triangular harp” (NW), also rendered as “trigon” (AT, JB, RS) and “sambuca.” (Da) The sab·b^ekhaʼʹ is described by some as a small, shrill, triangular, four-stringed harp, which description harmonizes with the above renderings.

[Picture on page 716]

Three captives playing lyres as shown on an Assyrian relief

HARPOON

A barbed, spearlike instrument generally used in striking large fish. Reference is made to the harpoon only at Job 41:7, drawing attention to the armorlike quality of the skin of Leviathan (the crocodile), which resists penetration by an ordinary harpoon.—See CROCODILE.

HARSHA

(Harʹsha) [mute, or, taciturn].

Ancestral head of a family of Nethinim temple slaves, members of which returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel in 537 B.C.E.—Ezra 2:1, 2, 43, 52; Neh. 7:54.

HARUM

(Haʹrum).

A man of the tribe of Judah.—1 Chron. 4:1, 8.

HARUMAPH

(Ha·ruʹmaph) [probably, having a mutilated nose].

Father (or fore-father) of the Jedaiah who helped Nehemiah rebuild Jerusalem’s wall.—Neh. 3:10.

HARUZ

(Haʹruz) [possibly, gold, or, eager].

A man from Jotbah; the grandfather of King Amon of Judah and the father of Meshullemeth the wife of King Manasseh.—2 Ki. 21:19, 20.

HARVEST

The gathering of crops; one of the things that will never cease “all the days the earth continues.” (Gen. 8:22) Certain Biblical happenings were noted as occurring in relation to the time of harvest.—Gen. 30:14; Josh. 3:15; Judg. 15:1; Ruth 1:22; 2:23; 1 Sam. 6:13; 2 Sam. 21:9; 23:13.

Harvesttime was accompanied by great rejoicing, although much hard work was required to gather the crops. (Ps. 126:5, 6; Isa. 9:3; 16:9, 10) It was no time for sleeping, the lazy one being admonished to take a lesson from the ant, which gathers its food in the harvest.—Prov. 6:6-11; 10:5.

SABBATHS AND JUBILEE

God’s law to Israel outlined certain requirements and provisions regarding the harvest. Important as it was, the Israelites were not relieved of their obligation to observe the sabbath, the Law making no provision for harvesting on that day in the event of an emergency. (Ex. 34:21; compare Nehemiah 13:15.) Since no sowing was to be done during the sabbath year, as well as the Jubilee year, there would, of course, be no crops to gather in, with the exception of the growth from spilled kernels of the former harvest. But even this was not to be harvested by the owner, although he, his slaves and his hired laborers, settlers and alien residents, domestic animals and wild beasts could eat of the land’s produce.—Ex. 23:10, 11; Lev. 25:3-7, 11, 12, 20-22.