Drum, hand drum, frame drum
Human-made Things in the Bible
The drum consisted of a membrane, usually of animal skin, which was stretched over a shallow circular, triangular, or square frame.
Pictures
How it was used
The drum was struck sharply with one or two hands, depending on where it was situated. It could be held in the left hand, under the left arm, or against the chest and struck with the right hand, or it could be held on the knees or the ground and struck with one or two hands. The fingers of the left hand could be used to tighten or loosen the tension on the membrane as it was struck with the palm of the right hand.
In the Bible
The Hebrew and Greek words for it, and every verse where each is used
תֹּף, תפף tof, tafaf (verb) · 16 verses
τύμπανον tumpanon · 4 verses
Also in Percussion instruments
Sources
Plants and Trees in the Bible, Animals in the Bible and Human-made Things in the Bible © United Bible Societies, 2025 (adapted from Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible by Robert Koops, All Creatures Great and Small: Living Things in the Bible by Edward R. Hope, and The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible by Ray Pritz), CC BY-SA 4.0; adapted for eRhema