BAGPIPE

Although the Aramaic word sum·pon·yahʹ, appearing in Daniel 3:5, 10 (mar.), 15, has been translated “dulcimer” (a stringed instrument) (AV, Kx) and “symphony” (Dy, Yg), modern Bible translations generally render the expression as “bagpipe,” since lexicographers indicate that sum·pon·yahʹ refers to a musical instrument having a double pipe in its construction. (AT, Da, JB, Le, Mo, NW, RS) It is noteworthy that the Italian word zampogna (derived from sum·pon·yahʹ) identifies a type of bagpipe still used in that country and is the expression employed in the Italian Versione Riveduta (1925) to translate sum·pon·yahʹ in all of its occurrences.

Sum·pon·yahʹ may have resembled present-day simple Oriental bagpipes. The required airtight bag is made from a goatskin, without the feet, tail or head, but which, many times, has the hair still covering it. Into this bag are inserted flutelike pipes that are made from reeds and the tips of cows’ horns, as well as a tube to fill the bag with air.