Trumpets

Overview

• Testament: Old
• Book: Leviticus, Numbers
• Chapters: Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6
• Summary: The appointed day of trumpet blowing on the first of Tishri, marking the new month and calling the congregation to a holy convocation.

Details

The Feast of Trumpets (Hebrew: Yom Teruah, “day of shouting/blowing”) was a Sabbath rest and holy convocation on the first day of the seventh month, accompanied by blowing of trumpets. The Mosaic text gives no explicit reason for the feast; it is simply described as “a memorial of blowing of trumpets.” Numbers 29 adds detail about the accompanying sacrifices.

The seventh month was the most holy month in the Hebrew calendar, containing the Day of Atonement (10th) and the Feast of Tabernacles (15th-21st). The Trumpets feast on the first day effectively called the nation to prepare spiritually for what would follow.

Post-biblical Judaism developed Yom Teruah into the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the beginning of the ten days of repentance leading to Yom Kippur. In prophetic and NT contexts, trumpets regularly herald significant divine action — the voice at Sinai, the fall of Jericho, the Day of the LORD, and the resurrection call (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Cross-References

• Day of Atonement Established — Follows ten days after Trumpets
• Feast Days Appointed — The full calendar
• Related books: Leviticus, Numbers 29, 1 Corinthians 15:52, Revelation 8-11

Notes

• The sequence Trumpets → Day of Atonement → Tabernacles in the seventh month is read eschatologically by many interpreters as foreshadowing gathering, judgment, and dwelling with God.