Trumpets

Concept

Trumpets in the Bible appear in a wide variety of materials and forms, serving military, liturgical, and eschatological functions. The two main Hebrew terms are shofar (the curved horn of a ram or goat, used primarily for signaling) and chatsotsrah (the straight silver trumpet prescribed in Numbers 10:1–10, made in pairs for the priests). God commanded Moses to make two silver trumpets for the assembly, for journeying, and for war; the blowing of them over burnt offerings and peace offerings was to serve as a memorial before God. The shofar was blown at Sinai when God descended (Exodus 19:16, 19), at the fall of Jericho (Joshua 6:4–20), and at the coronation of kings. In eschatological passages, the trumpet announces the day of the LORD (Joel 2:1; Zephaniah 1:16) and in the New Testament heralds both the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16) and the angelic judgments of Revelation (Revelation 8–9).