Music in the Bible #5 - Trumpets in the Old Testament - Harmony Passion - ideas and resources for church and community musicians

Music in the Bible #5 - Trumpets in the Old Testament

5/3/2013

The trumpet is the most frequently referenced instrument in the Bible, by far. But what was the trumpet used for in Bible times? The answer can be found in this post, as we explore the use of trumpet music for people of the Old Testament. Trumpets are mentioned in over ninety verses in the Old Testament alone, so there are definitely some patterns that we can see from all these passages.

Purposes of the trumpet in the Old Testament - summary

As I read through these various Bible verses about trumpets, I found there were several uses for trumpets that were specifically mentioned. Among these were the following:

To assemble a large group of people
To give direction to a large group of people
To alert people to coming danger or judgment
Used along with other instruments and singers to celebrate holy days and sacred events
As a battle signal
To make an announcement or proclamation
As a regular part of worship ceremonies
To praise God
As God's signal to humanity

Passages that talk about the trumpet - verse listing and summaries

Here is a listing of all the references to trumpets that I could find in the Old Testament, and a brief summary of the context of each:

Exodus 19:13, 16, 19, 20:18 -- God sounds a trumpet as a signal to the nation of Israel, as He prepared to give them His commandments on Mt. Sinai (for a more detailed look at these verses, see my previous article here)
Leviticus 23:24, Numbers 29:1 -- trumpets sounded to remind the Israelites of their holy day of convocation
Leviticus 25:9 -- trumpets sounded to signify the year of jubile every 50 years
Numbers 10:1-10 -- God instructs Moses to make silver trumpets to call for assemblies of the people, for journeying signals, and as battle signals
Numbers 31:6 -- trumpets used as signals in a battle with the Midianites
Joshua 6:4-9, 13, 16, 20 -- the priests blow trumpets during the battle of Jericho
Judges 3:27 -- the judge Ehud assembles warriors with a trumpet signal
Judges 6:34 -- Gideon assembles the people with a trumpet
Judges 7:8, 16, 18-20, 22 -- Gideon and the Israelites carry out a clever battle strategy involving trumpets, lanterns, and pitchers
I Samuel 13:3 -- Saul makes an announcement of Jonathan's victory by using trumpets
II Samuel 2:28 -- Joab signals an end to the battle with Abner
II Samuel 6:5,15 / I Chronicles 13:8, 15:24,28 -- David uses trumpets in the celebration surrounding the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem
II Samuel 15:10 -- Absalom announces his intent to reign
II Samuel 18:16 -- Joab stops the people from pursuing battle with Absalom
II Samuel 20:1 -- Sheba assembles the people in a revolt against David
II Samuel 20:22 -- After Sheba is dead, Joab signals that the battle is over
I Kings 1:34,39,41 -- Solomon's reign announced
II Kings 9:13 -- Jehu's reign announced
II Kings 11:14 / II Chronicles 23:13 -- Joash's reign announced and celebrated
I Chronicles 16:6,42 -- trumpets are to be a part of the regularly recurring service before the Ark of the Covenant
I Chronicles 25:5 -- David organizes the Levite musicians (including trumpet players)
II Chronicles 5:12-13, 7:6 -- Solomon brings the Ark into the new temple and dedicates the temple
II Chronicles 13:12,14 -- during the reign of Abijah, the priests sound trumpets in battle and God delivers Judah from attack
II Chronicles 15:14 -- Asa holds ceremonies after his reforms in Judah
II Chronicles 20:28 -- Jehoshaphat rejoices after God's victory over the Ammonites and Moabites
II Chronicles 29:26-28 -- sacrifices are made at the renewing of the temple under Hezekiah
Ezra 3:10 -- music at the temple renewed after the return from exile
Nehemiah 4:18,20 -- trumpets prepared as an alarm against imminent attack
Nehemiah 12:35-36,41 -- the wall of Jerusalem dedicated
Job 39:24-25 -- as God questions Job, there is a reference to trumpets used in battle
Psalm 47:5 -- God goes out with the sound of the trumpet
Psalm 81:3 -- the trumpet to be played on the solemn feast day at the appointed time
Psalm 98:6, 150:3 -- the trumpet played in praise to the Lord
Isaiah 18:3 -- trumpets make an announcement in God's denunciation of Ethiopia
Isaiah 27:13 -- trumpet sounds mark the gathering of Israel in the Kingdom
Isaiah 58:1 -- the trumpet used as a comparison; Isaiah is told to lift up his voice like a trumpet
Jeremiah 4:5, 6:1 -- the trumpet used to assemble Israel in the face of impending attack
Jeremiah 4:19,21 -- Jeremiah is distraught at the sound of the trumpet because it means coming judgment on his people
Jeremiah 6:17, Ezekiel 33:3-6 -- the true prophet is pictured as a watchman with a trumpet of warning
Jeremiah 42:14 -- the trumpet sound is equated with the war that Judah was trying to avoid
Jeremiah 51:27 -- a trumpet call used to assemble nations to fight against Babylon
Ezekiel 7:14 -- the unanswered trumpet call shows that Israel is not prepared for the coming judgment
Daniel 3:5,7,10,15 -- the cornet and sackbut (in conjuction with other instruments) were used as a signal to worship Nebuchadnezzar's idol
Hosea 5:8, 8:1 -- a trumpet signals God's coming judgment on Israel
Joel 2:1 -- a trumpet gives the alarm of God's coming judgment
Joel 2:15 -- admonition for Israel to assemble with a trumpet sound and repent of their sin
Amos 2:2 -- trumpet signifies the war that would come to Moab
Amos 3:6 -- the trumpet signal used as an example of something that requires response
Zephaniah 1:16 -- trumpet signifies distress and alarm in the land
Zechariah 9:14 -- God blows the trumpet, signifying His future victory with the nation of Israel over the Greek Maccabees in the second century B.C.

Wow -- if you made it through the reading of that whole list, you deserve some kind of award. If you also looked up and read each of the corresponding verses, you are a true scholar. This Bible study was very enlightening to me. The trumpet is a common theme in the Bible; and by studying these themes we can draw parallels and compare Scripture with Scripture. I hope you have benefited, as I have, from this look at the most frequently mentioned instrument in the Bible. Stay tuned for a (much shorter) summary of trumpet verses in the New Testament!

Have you seen the other posts in this series? Read them here:

Music in the Bible #1
Music in the Bible #2
Music in the Bible #3
Music in the Bible #4

If you'd like to add anything to this post, please feel free to leave your comments. Thanks!

Rick McDonnell is a vocalist, voice teacher, and the head blogger at Harmony Passion. Rick enjoys family time, barbershop quartets, singing at church and community events, personal finance, technology, P90X workouts, and studying and teaching the Bible as the youth director at his church. Rick and his wife Bethany use the knowledge gained by earning college degrees in music to teach voice and piano students in their home studio and in music studios in nearby Thomasville, GA.

6 Comments

Alan Lathan

3/28/2015 07:48:55 pm

Where can I find a trumpet like the one pictured here? I need one for a prop. It does not have to work.

Rick link

10/2/2015 06:36:03 am

Alan, I have had the best results looking for this type of specialty item on eBay. I would search for "bugle" and see what is available. It is likely you could find both playing and non-playing versions. If you want a longer style bugle, I would search for "herald bugle". Good luck!

Gavin reed

6/1/2015 05:22:35 am

I'm doing a study on trumpet sounds specifically in the book of Judges when Gideon called for a gathering in sixth chapter I was just curious if in your study if you had come across any information how these specific calls would have sounded. have these trumpet calls been passed down from generation to generation in the nation of Israel I just thought it would be interesting to hear how distinctive the sounds were.

Rick link

10/2/2015 06:31:28 am

To be honest, Gavin, I'm not sure what they sounded like. If I were to guess, I would think that the trumpet calls of Bible times would sound quite different from military calls we hear today. Some of the calls were played on ram's horns, which in contrast to horns of brass or other metals would have more mellow warm sound, and less of bright clean edge we would associate with trumpets today. In Babylon, the sackbut was used, which is the equivalent to the modern-day trombone. It is likely that without modern precision engineering, however, this instrument would have had a more airy, breathy sound than our modern trombone.

If I find out anything more about what these specific calls sounded like on my upcoming trip to Israel, I will try to let you know.

Marinus de Bruijne

11/19/2015 03:56:52 am

Hallo Rick. I am so glad to find a kindred spirit regarding music in the Bible. I am a pastor of the Walvis Bay Baptist Church in a small town called Walvis Bay, Namibia (South Western Africa). I am a self taught musician and vocalist and leads our corporate singing. I have started a study on music in the Bible about three years ago. My first step was to list all the verses pertaining to music, secondly to order them and thirdly to draw some kind of general guideline for music in our corporate singing from these texts. I have asked very much the same questions you have: what instruments were use, how were they used, when were they used etc. My first post on my blog was "What instruments were used in the Bible", "The Bible and bands" and "the Bible and amplification. It is just amazing that two people could think so alike in these matters. I would like to keep in touch and share some ideas and research?
God's grace for you
marinusdebruijne

Khadga Magar

7/1/2016 12:50:43 pm

I was preparing Sermon about Trumpet from Numbers 10:1-10. And I got much help from your article. Thank you very much for your kind efforts. Khadga from Nepal: South Asia.