H7030 H7030
Lyre, zither; an Aramaic loanword from Greek kitharis, listed among instruments at Nebuchadnezzar's court.
An Aramaic noun borrowed from Greek kitharis (κίθαρις), qithros designates a stringed instrument -- a lyre or zither -- mentioned exclusively in Daniel 3:5, 7, 10, and 15. It appears in the list of instruments that signal the moment to bow before Nebuchadnezzar's golden image. The ketiv-qere variation (qithros/qathros) reflects the fluid spelling of this foreign loanword in Aramaic. The consistent rendering across languages -- Spanish 'cítara,' French 'lyre,' English 'lyre' -- confirms its identification as a plucked stringed instrument of the harp family.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A lyre or zither, an Aramaic loanword from Greek kitharis (κίθαρις), appearing only in Daniel 3:5, 7, 10, 15 among the instruments played at the dedication of Nebuchadnezzar's golden image. The ketiv and qere forms (qithros/qathros) reflect variant spellings of this Greek borrowing into Imperial Aramaic. Cross-linguistic evidence -- Spanish 'cítara,' French 'lyre,' English 'lyre' -- uniformly identifies it as a plucked stringed instrument in the harp-lyre family. 8×
AR["(الْقِيثَارَةِ)", "[قِيثَارَةٍ]"]·ben["(বীণার)", "[বীণার]"]·DE["[קיתרוס]", "[קיתרס]", "[קתרוס]", "[קתרוס]"]·EN["(qere:lyre)", "[ketiv:lyre]"]·FR["lyre"]·heb["קתרוס"]·HI["वीणा"]·ID["[kecapi]", "kecapi"]·IT["cetra"]·jav["(kecapi)", "[kecapi]"]·KO["수금의"]·PT["[cítara]", "cítara"]·RU["(кифары)", "[кифары]"]·ES["(la-cítara)", "[la-cítara]"]·SW["(kinubi)", "[kinubi]"]·TR["(lirin)", "[lir]"]·urd["رباب"]
Related Senses
H2719 1. sword, weapon of war (410×)H4196 1. altar (place of sacrifice) (403×)H7393 1. chariot, chariotry (117×)H7198 1. bow (weapon) (72×)H7979 1. table (71×)H7782 1. ram's horn trumpet (69×)H4294 2. staff, rod, scepter (63×)H4043 1. shield, defensive weapon (60×)H0646 1. ephod (priestly garment) (49×)H8504 1. blue (violet-blue yarn/fabric) (49×)H2595 1. spear, lance (48×)H2671 1. arrow, projectile weapon (46×)H4818 1. chariot, war-chariot (44×)H3658 1. lyre, harp (stringed instrument) (42×)H1537 1. Gilgal (place name) (41×)H0713 1. purple (fabric/dye) (38×)H0905 3. poles, staves (37×)H7392 1. Qal participle: rider, charioteer (37×)H4501 1. cultic lampstand (menorah) (36×)H0212 1. wheel (35×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† קיתרס Kt, קַתְרֹס Qr, n. [m.] lyre, zither (also 𝔗; loan-word from Gk. κίθαρις Krauss i. 193; ii. 573);—Dn 3:5, 7, 10, 15; Kmp קִיתָרִס.