And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
Parallel translations
- WEB His brother’s name was Jubal, who was the father of all who handle the harp and pipe.
- BSB And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.
- NKJV His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute.
- NASB His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and flute.
- NLT His brother’s name was Jubal, the first of all who play the harp and flute.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jubal becomes the ancestor of those who play the harp and pipe. It records the origin of music among humanity.
Overview
Jubal is credited as the father of musicians who handle stringed and wind instruments, marking the beginnings of music and the arts. This shows the breadth of human culture emerging early in history. Music, a good gift reflecting God's creativity, arises here, though within a line living apart from God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Rom 4:11–12And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
- Job 21:12They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.
- Gen 31:27Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
- Amos 6:5That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;
- Isa 5:12And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 4:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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