Shaker, rattle

The shakers were small closed pottery containers holding small rattling pellets. When shaken, they provided the rhythm to accompany dancing.

The precise meaning of the Hebrew word mna‘an‘im is uncertain, and translations differ, including “castanets” (RSV, JB, REB), “sistrums” (NIV, TOB), and “rattles” (GNT, NCV). The translation “castanets” would associate the word with instruments that produced sound by banging together two flat pieces of wood. This would also imply different hand and finger movements from the translation “shakers,” as well as a different sound. The GNT translation “rattles” has the danger of being associated with baby toys, as well as the disadvantage that it lacks the association with dance and the assonance of the Hebrew word in its context. It is probably best to translate mna‘an‘im with something that indicates a kind of shaker or rattle.