Encyclopedia, the first publication of its kind in Russian science, is devoted to the instrumental aspect of the richest musical culture of the ancient civilizations of the Middle East (Ancient Israel. Ancient Egypt. Assyria, Sumer, Babylonia), captured in the Holy Scriptures. All types of instrumental music making, the role of instruments in various spheres of society and the state are considered. Instrumental terminology in Church Slavonic and Russian translations of the Bible is covered in detail. The encyclopedia contains eighty-seven articles and two historical essays. It is intended for musicologists, historians, philologists, Bible translators, theologians, as well as for a wide range of readers who want to understand the Book of Books more deeply.