ABSTRACT
In Genesis the "father of all such as handle the harp and organ" is named as Jubal, a name that comes from the same Hebrew root as jôbél which signifies ram's horn or trumpet; the man whom the Bible names as the inventor of music, as soon as he is revealed to us, is identified with the shofar. The reference to Jubal is laconic, too laconic not to arouse suspicion of some concealment: such reticence is notably absent in the elaborate recitals of the discovery of music and the invention of musical instruments contained in the myths of the Chinese, Indian, the Egyptian and Greek cultures. The inventor of music thus emerges as coming from a family of terrifying violence, a family who worshipped that belligerent God. Jubal is not presented as a man of peace. Jubilation is the emotional component of triumphalism, the celebration of ruthless, homicidal victory over an enemy.
