Although the Aramaic word sum·pon·yahʹ, appearing in Daniel 3:5, 10, 15, has been translated “dulcimer” (a stringed instrument) (KJ, Kx) and “symphony” (Dy, Yg), modern Bible translations generally render the expression as “bagpipe.” Koehler and Baumgartner’s Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros gives the meaning “bagpipe.”​—Leiden, 1958, p. 1103.

Sum·pon·yahʹ may have resembled present-day simple Oriental bagpipes. The required airtight bag is made from a goatskin, without the feet, tail, or head, but many times with the hair still covering it. A tube to fill the bag with air is inserted into this bag and so are flutelike pipes that are made from reeds and the tips of cows’ horns.