SHOFAR SYMBOLISM

ARTHUR L. FINKLE
What does the sound of the shofar symbolize? There are various
interpretations. Let us explore the biblical origins.

Herald the giving and receiving of the Law at Mt. Sinai

Exodus 19:16-19 provides:

“THEN IT CAME TO PASS ON THE THIRD DAY, IN THE MORNING, THAT THERE WERE
THUNDERINGS AND LIGHTNINGS, AND A THICK CLOUD ON THE MOUNTAIN; AND THE
SOUND OF THE TRUMPET WAS VERY LOUD, SO THAT ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WERE IN
THE CAMP TREMBLED.17) AND MOSES BROUGHT THE PEOPLE OUT OF THE CAMP TO
MEET WITH GOD, AND THEY STOOD AT THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN.18) NOW
MOUNT SINAI WAS COMPLETELY IN SMOKE, BECAUSE THE LORD DESCENDED UPON IT
IN FIRE. ITS SMOKE ASCENDED LIKE THE SMOKE OF A FURNACE, AND THE WHOLE
MOUNTAIN QUAKED GREATLY.19) AND WHEN THE BLAST OF THE TRUMPET SOUNDED
LONG AND BECAME LOUDER AND LOUDER, MOSES SPOKE, AND GOD ANSWERED HIM BY
VOICE.” 

EXODUS 20:18-20, “NOW ALL THE PEOPLE WITNESSED THE THUNDERINGS, THE
LIGHTNING FLASHES, THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET, AND THE MOUNTAIN SMOKING;
AND WHEN THE PEOPLE SAW IT, THEY TREMBLED AND STOOD AFAR OFF.19) THEN
THEY SAID TO MOSES, “YOU SPEAK WITH US, AND WE WILL HEAR; BUT LET NOT GOD
SPEAK WITH US, LEST WE DIE.”20) AND MOSES SAID TO THE PEOPLE, “DO NOT FEAR;
FOR GOD HAS COME TO TEST YOU, AND THAT HIS FEAR MAY BE BEFORE YOU, SO THAT

YOU MAY NOT SIN.” 

Covenanted Relationship
The sound of the shofar also brings to God's remembrance that
exalted moment when "a very loud blast of the horn" (Exod. 19:16)
was heard at Mount Sinai, and the children of Israel entered into an
everlasting covenant with God. On that eventful occasion they
responded with the memorable words: "All that the Lord has spoken
we will faithfully do!" (Exod. 24:7). This remembrance, too, awakens
God's attribute of mercy on behalf of the children of Israel.
Remembrance
The shofar reminds us of God’s promise of salvation. Indeed, a
shofar will then be sounded to announce the establishment of God's
kingship on earth. (Abraham Milgram, , Phil: JPS, 1971.Jewish
Publication Society)

Messiah
Biblical citations foresee the proclamation heralding the Messiah:

"YOU WILL BE GATHERED UP ONE BY ONE, O SONS OF ISRAEL. IT WILL COME ABOUT
ALSO IN THAT DAY THAT A GREAT SHOFAR WILL BE BLOWN" (ISAIAH 27:13)

BLOW THE TRUMPET IN ZION, AND SOUND AN ALARM IN MY HOLY MOUNTAIN!

LET ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND TREMBLE; FOR THE DAY OF THE LORD IS
COMING, JOEL 2:1

." --MATTHEW 24:29-35

Indeed, the shofar will be sounded in the future:

 At the final ingathering of the exiles of Israel (Is. 27:13)

 To announce God’s miraculous end-time intervention to

deliver the people of Israel (Zech 9:14,16)

 To herald the coming Messianic Age (Matt 24:29-31)

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  At the Resurrection (I Thess 4:16, 17)

 To announce God’s Judgments (Rev 8-9) and the Day of the

Lord (Zeph 1:14-16)
 In connection to the coming of the King Messiah (Rev 11:15-
18)

http://www.communityoftheway.com/uploads/Erev_Yom_Teruah
_Service.pdf

Special Occasions

The Shofar is mentioned on occasions of festivals and worship,

like on the occasion of bringing up the Holy Ark (2 Samuel 6:15)
and in the repentance of Asa and The People (Chronicles B 15:14).

Proclamation of Liberty

Leviticus 25:9-10 proclaims: ‘Then you shall cause the trumpet of

the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the
Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound
throughout all your land.10) ‘And you shall consecrate the fiftieth
year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its
inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall
return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his
family.”

If this particular passage sounds familiar, it is written on the

“Liberty Bell”

Super-Human Courage and Strength

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Both the Joshua story (Josh. 6:1-20) and the Gideon story (Jdg
6:11) refer top the courage that God provided fearful leaders in
leading armies to further the covenant.

In the description of the conquests of Joshua and the People of

Israel, the walls of Jericho came tumbling down after blowing the
Shofars. And so it is written in the book of Joshua (6, 1-20) about
the conquest of Jericho and falling of its walls:

“1 NOW JERICHO WAS TIGHTLY SHUT UP BECAUSE OF THE ISRAELITES. NO ONE WENT
OUT AND NO ONE CAME IN. 2 THEN THE LORD SAID TO JOSHUA, “SEE, I HAVE
DELIVERED JERICHO INTO YOUR HANDS, ALONG WITH ITS KING AND ITS FIGHTING MEN.
3 MARCH AROUND THE CITY ONCE WITH ALL THE ARMED MEN. DO THIS FOR SIX DAYS.
4 HAVE SEVEN PRIESTS CARRY TRUMPETS OF RAMS’ HORNS* IN FRONT OF THE ARK.
ON THE SEVENTH DAY, MARCH AROUND THE CITY SEVEN TIMES, WITH THE PRIESTS
BLOWING THE TRUMPETS. 5 WHEN YOU HEAR THEM SOUND A LONG BLAST ON THE
TRUMPETS, HAVE ALL THE PEOPLE GIVE A LOUD SHOUT; THEN THE WALL OF THE CITY
WILL COLLAPSE…”

An Instrument, Used By God Himself

In various places in the Bible the Shofar is conceived as an

instrument, used by God himself:

“Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like
lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet…” (Zechariah
9:14).

The sign is given with the Shofar, it is the symbol of God, it is God’s
voice.

Military Purposes
Signaling and alerting: Ehud and Nehemiah use it to summon their
men (Judges 3:27; Nehemiah 4:12-14).

Weapon for frightening the enemy (Judges 7:22)

Announcing victory (Samuel A 13:3)

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Announcing rebellion (Samuel B 20:1)

Cease fighting (Samuel B 20:22)

Warning sign about approaching enemy (Jeremiah 4:21; Hosea 5:8;

and other)

Military Warning
The prophet is likened to a scout blowing the Shofar to warn the
people (Ezekiel 33:1-6).

The scout’s Shofar and the army’s Shofar are joined together in the
description of the day of the Lord (Zephaniah 1:16).

It is also written: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great
horn shall be blown;” (Isaiah 27:13).

Coronations
It was customary to blow the Shofar on coronations, like in the story
of Absalom (2 Samuel 15:10) and of Jehu (2 Kings 9:13), as well as
upon the coronation of God on the entire universe (Psalms 47:6;
68:6)

Curative
There is a documented episode in which the sound of the shofar has
acted as a curative

Probably for the patient in the room, the shofar, an ancient

instrument with years of accumulated cultural and spiritual
meaning, sounded like hope. But there’s little space in the modern
hospital for displays of faith. When one occurs so dramatically, and
so audibly, the effect can be unnerving.

http://theharperstudio.com/2009/09/may-your-name-be-written-
in-the-book-of-life/

Indeed, Rev. Jim Babarossa had found that the sound o fthe shofar
has curative qaualitites. See how is Step By Step World Outreach
Ministries work.

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https://docs.google.com/Doc?
docid=0AVh1rO41ADV3ZDMyOHBrNl8xNDhoa2N2dDdnNQ&hl=en

Preparations of the Priestly Rituals

In Tamid, Chapter Seven, Mishnah Three, the shofar is sounded after
every step of the early morning ritual, involving numerous steps
(sacrificial cult, blessings of many steps interspersed with the sound
of the shofar.

15)       AT EVERY PAUSE THERE WAS A TEKI'AH AND AT EVERY TEKI'AH A BOWING
DOWN.

God’s Voice
Rabbi Shlomo Pliskin analogized the shofar to God’s voice.

ALLOW ME ONE MORE LEAP OF EXEGESIS TO COMPLETE THE PICTURE. THE BIBLE
DESCRIBES HOW GOD TOOK DUST FROM THE EARTH AND BREATHED INTO IT THE
BREATH, OR "VAPOR," OF LIFE, THEREBY FORMING A HUMAN BEING - AN ANIMAL
CREATURE WITH THE INTERNAL SPARK OF THE DIVINE (GENESIS 2:7). THE WORD
YOVEL ALSO MEANS SHOFAR, RAM'S HORN, INTO WHICH THE HUMAN BEING EXHALES
HIS VAPOR IN A SYMBOLIC COMMITMENT TO UPLIFT AND INSPIRE THE ANIMAL WORLD,
AND ESPECIALLY HIS ANIMAL SELF, WITH THE ESSENTIAL ETERNITY OF THE DIVINE.
WE MAY LIVE BRIEF LIVES, AKIN TO VAPOR. NEVERTHELESS, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO
COMMUNICATE, TO EXHALE AND EXPRESS OUR DIVINE SPIRIT, AND THEREBY
INFLUENCE SUBSEQUENT GENERATIONS TO ACHIEVE REDEMPTION. INDEED, AS RECITED
AT THE END OF YOM KIPPUR, "THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAN AND BEAST IS
ETERNITY [EIN-SOF], FOR EVERYTHING LIES IN THE VAPOR OF HUMAN, HUMANE
EXPRESSION [HEVEL]." 

http://ots.org.il/parsha/5771_printer/bereishit71_printer.htm

Sound of the trumpet compared to a prophet’s voice 

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 EZEKIEL 33:2-9 - “SON OF MAN, SPEAK TO THE CHILDREN OF YOUR PEOPLE, AND SAY
TO THEM: ‘WHEN I BRING THE SWORD UPON A LAND, AND THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND
TAKE A MAN FROM THEIR TERRITORY AND MAKE HIM THEIR WATCHMAN, 3) ‘WHEN HE
SEES THE SWORD COMING UPON THE LAND, IF HE BLOWS THE TRUMPET AND WARNS
THE PEOPLE, 4) ‘THEN WHOEVER HEARS THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET AND DOES NOT
TAKE WARNING, IF THE SWORD COMES AND TAKES HIM AWAY, HIS BLOOD SHALL BE ON
HIS OWN HEAD. 5) ‘HE HEARD THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET, BUT DID NOT TAKE
WARNING; HIS BLOOD SHALL BE UPON HIMSELF. BUT HE WHO TAKES WARNING WILL
SAVE HIS LIFE. 6) ‘BUT IF THE WATCHMAN SEES THE SWORD COMING AND DOES NOT
BLOW THE TRUMPET, AND THE PEOPLE ARE NOT WARNED, AND THE SWORD COMES
AND TAKES ANY PERSON FROM AMONG THEM, HE IS TAKEN AWAY IN HIS INIQUITY; BUT
HIS BLOOD I WILL REQUIRE AT THE WATCHMAN’S HAND.’ 7) “SO YOU, SON OF MAN: I
HAVE MADE YOU A WATCHMAN FOR THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL; THEREFORE YOU SHALL
HEAR A WORD FROM MY MOUTH AND WARN THEM FOR ME. 8) “WHEN I SAY TO THE
WICKED, ‘O WICKED MAN, YOU SHALL SURELY DIE!’ AND YOU DO NOT SPEAK TO WARN
THE WICKED FROM HIS WAY, THAT WICKED MAN SHALL DIE IN HIS INIQUITY; BUT HIS
BLOOD I WILL REQUIRE AT YOUR HAND. 9) “NEVERTHELESS IF YOU WARN THE WICKED
TO TURN FROM HIS WAY, AND HE DOES NOT TURN FROM HIS WAY, HE SHALL DIE IN HIS

INIQUITY; BUT YOU HAVE DELIVERED YOUR SOUL.” 

http://www.battleaxe.org/Shofar.html

Call People To Repentance

Isaiah 58:1 - “Cry aloud, spare not; 1) Lift up your voice like a
trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob
their sins.” 

Hosea 8:1 - “Set the trumpet to your mouth! 1) He shall come like an
eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed
My covenant And rebelled against My law.” 

Blown to usher in the ark of the Lord (His Presence) as David danced

2 Samuel 6:12-15 - “Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord
has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him,
because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of
God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with
gladness.13) And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord
had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep.14)
Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was

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wearing a linen ephod.15) So David and all the house of Israel
brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of
the trumpet.” 

1 Chronicles 15:28 - “Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the

covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of the cornet,
and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries
and harps.” (cornet is shofar and trumpets are the silver trumpets in
this passage.) 

Annunciation
Luke 2: 28-33 describes Gabriel’s announcement to Mary.

AND HAVING COME IN, THE ANGEL SAID TO HER, “REJOICE, HIGHLY FAVORED ONE, THE
LORD IS WITH YOU; BLESSED ARE YOU AMONG WOMEN!” BUT WHEN SHE SAW HIM, SHE
WAS TROUBLED AT HIS SAYING, AND CONSIDERED WHAT MANNER OF GREETING THIS
WAS. THEN THE ANGEL SAID TO HER, “DO NOT BE AFRAID, MARY, FOR YOU HAVE
FOUND FAVOR WITH GOD. AND BEHOLD, YOU WILL CONCEIVE IN YOUR WOMB AND
BRING FORTH A SON, AND SHALL CALL HIS NAME JESUS. HE WILL BE GREAT, AND
WILL BE CALLED THE SON OF THE HIGHEST; AND THE LORD GOD WILL GIVE HIM THE
THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID. AND HE WILL REIGN OVER THE HOUSE OF JACOB
FOREVER, AND OF HIS KINGDOM THERE WILL BE NO END.”

The gospel of Mathew describes the sound of the great trumpet

heralding the revelation.

"IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS SHALL THE SUN BE

DARKENED, AND THE MOON SHALL NOT GIVE HER LIGHT, AND THE STARS SHALL FALL
FROM HEAVEN, AND THE POWERS OF THE HEAVENS SHALL BE SHAKEN: AND THEN
SHALL APPEAR THE SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN IN HEAVEN: AND THEN SHALL ALL THE
TRIBES OF THE EARTH MOURN, AND THEY SHALL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING IN THE
CLOUDS OF HEAVEN WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. AND HE SHALL SEND HIS
ANGELS WITH A 'GREAT SOUND OF A TRUMPET' (SHOFAR GEDOLAH), AND THEY SHALL
GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, FROM ONE END OF HEAVEN TO
THE OTHER. NOW LEARN A PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE (ISRAEL); WHEN HIS BRANCH IS
YET TENDER, AND PUTTETH FORTH LEAVES, YOU KNOW THAT SUMMER IS NEAR: SO
LIKEWISE YOU, WHEN YOU SHALL SEE ALL THESE THINGS, KNOW THAT IT IS NEAR,
EVEN AT THE DOOR. VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, THIS GENERATION THAT SEES THIS
SHALL NOT PASS, TILL ALL THESE THINGS BE FULFILLED. HEAVEN AND EARTH SHALL
PASS AWAY, BUT MY WORDS SHALL NOT PASS AWAY. MATTHEW 24:29

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Conclusion
Cultures assign many attributes to this ancient, atavistic instrument,
the shofar. From the material (war calls, warnings, call to woprship)
to the esoteric (Cabbla) to the Messianic, the shofar seems to
symbolized human desires. Perhaps even Heavenly ones.