Flute

The flute appears in scripture as one named instrument in a recurring orchestral list — the music summoned to compel worship before Nebuchadnezzar's golden image on the plain of Dura. The same six-instrument list runs through Daniel 3 four times: at the proclamation of the decree, at the moment the nations comply, in the official report against the three Hebrew exiles, and in the king's confrontation with them.

The Decree

The herald announces the requirement to the assembled nations. "that at what time you⁺ hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you⁺ fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up" (Da 3:5). The flute is the second name in a seven-element catalogue ("and all kinds of music" closes it), and the music itself is the trigger for the act of worship.

The Compliance

When the orchestra plays, the multinational crowd obeys: "Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up" (Da 3:7). The flute is again the second instrument named in the list, and "all the peoples, the nations, and the languages" supply the body that the music is moving.

The Accusation

The Chaldeans bringing charges against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego repeat the king's own decree back to him: "You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who will hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, will fall down and worship the golden image" (Da 3:10). The repetition itself is rhetorical — the decree is being held up to the king to set up the next clause about the three who refused.

The King's Ultimatum

Confronting the three directly, Nebuchadnezzar offers one more chance: "Now if you⁺ are ready that at what time you⁺ hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, lyre, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you⁺ fall down and worship the image which I have made, [well]: but if you⁺ don't worship, you⁺ will be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god who will deliver you⁺ out of my hands?" (Da 3:15). The orchestra is named a fourth time, and now the music is paired with the alternative — the furnace — as the two arms of the king's decree.