King David playing the harp from BL Add 15282, f. 302

Detail of an initial-word panel with King David playing harp in the middle flanked by a lion and a stag. Image taken from f. 302 of Pentateuch (the 'Duke of Sussex's German Pentateuch') with Targum Onkelos (ff. 1-290), small pieces on the feasts (ff. 291-293v), Five Scrolls (ff. 294-313v) and ~Haftarot~ with ~masorah magna~ and ~parva~ (ff. 314-358). Written in Hebrew, Aramaic.

David was a skilled musician and poet, and he played the harp to soothe King Saul when he was tormented by evil spirits. David's musical abilities and his role as a psalmist also led him to be associated with the worship of God and with the expression of devotion and praise. The image of David playing the harp remains a symbol of the connection between music, worship, and devotion in Western tradition.