The
Shofar Kathy
Ann Prell Martonosi The
shofar is made from a ram’s horn. It can be goat or sheep. It was used
for different signals for the Children of Israel. The
ram is associated with the one that YHWH showed to Abraham as the substitute
sacrifice offering in the place of Isaac. That is in Genesis 22:1-19,
and was a type of Yeshua. Through
the course of this document, I will show several places and situations
the shofar was used. At times it was used for gathering the people,
other times it was call to battle, and other for repentance. At Rosh
Hashana and Yom Kippur it is used during the services in the synagogue. It was
used in the Torah all the way through do we see it in the last book
of the Bible, in Revelation, which will announce the King. Exodus
19:16-17; “On the third day when it was morning, there was thunder and
lightening and a heavy cloud on the mountain, and the sound of the shofar
was very powerful, and the entire people that was in the camp. Moses
brought the people forth from the camp toward G-d, and they stood at
the bottom of the mountain. All of Exodus
Exodus
20:15; “The entire people saw the thunder and the flames, the sound
of the shofar and the smoking mountain; the people saw and trembled
and stood from afar.” Leviticus
25:9; “You shall sound a broken blast on the shofar, in the seventh
month, on the tenth of the month; on the Day of Atonement you shall
sound the shofar throughout your land.” (Year of Jubilee) Joshua
6:4-20; “And seven Kohanim shall carry seven ram-shofars before the
Joshua
son of Nun summoned the Kohanim and said to them, “Carry the He said
to the people, “Advance and go around the city; let the armed troop
pass before the Ark of YHWH.” It happened
that as soon as Joshua spoke to the people, the seven Kohanim carrying
seven ram-shofars before the [ Joshua
arose early the [next] morning. The Kohanim carrying the seven ram-shofars
before the Ark of YHWH walked onward and blew with the shofars – and
the walking and blowing with the shofars. They went around the city
one time on the second day and they returned to the camp; they did thus
for a period of six days. It happened
on the seventh day: They arose early at daybreak, and they went around
the city in this same manner seven times; only on that day they went
around the city seven times. It happened on the seventh time: The Kohanim
were blowing with the shofars, and Joshua said to the people, “Cry out,
for YHWH has given you the city! The city – it and all that is in it
– shall be consecrated property for YHWH. Only Rahab the innkeeper shall
live – she and all who are with her in the house – because she hid the
emissaries whom we sent. Only you – beware of the consecrated property,
lest you cause destruction if you take from the consecrated property
and you bring destruction upon the camp of Judges
3:27; “It happened when he arrived that he sounded the shofar at Judges
6:34; “The spirit of YHWH clothed Gideon. He blew the shofar, and [the
family of] Abiezer was mustered after him.” Judges
7:8; “And they took the provisions of the [other] people in their hands,
as well as their shofars. And as for all the men of Judges
7:16-22; “He divided the three hundred men into three companies. Into
the hand of them all he gave shofars and empty jugs, with torches inside
the jugs. He said to them, “See my example and do the same. Behold,
when I arrive at the edge of the camp, then as I do, so shall you do.
I will sound the shofar – I and all who are with me – then you, too,
shall sound shofars all around the entire camp, and you shall say, ‘For
YHWH and for Gideon!’” Gideon and the hundred men with him arrived at
the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they
had just barely set up the guards. They sounded the shofars and broke
the jugs that were in their hand. The three companies sounded the shofars
and broke the jugs; in their left hand they grasped the torches and
in their right hand the shofars to sound, and they called out, “The
sword for YHWH and for Gideon!” Each of them stood in his place, all
around the camp – and the entire camp ran, they shouted and fled. They
sounded the three hundred shofars and YHWH set each man’s sword against
his fellow, and throughout the entire camp. The camp fled as far as
Beth-shittah, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah,
near Tabbath.” I Samuel
13:3; “Jonathan slew the Philistine commissioner in Geba, and the Philistines
heard [about it]. Shaul had the shofar blown throughout the land, announcing,
“Let the Hebrews hear.” II Samuel
2:28; “So Joab blew the shofar, and all the people halted, no longer
chasing after [their fellow] Israelites, and they did not continue to
fight.” II Samuel
6:15; “David and the entire House of Israel brought up the Ark of YHWH
with loud, joyous sound, and the sound of the shofar.” II Samuel
15:10; “Absalom then sent spies throughout all the tribes of II Samuel
18:16; “Joab blew the shofar, and the people refrained from chasing
after II Samuel
20:1; “There happened to be there a certain base man by the name of
II Samuel
I Kings
1:34; “There Zadok the Kohen and Nathan the prophet shall anoint him
as king over Israel; sound the shofar and proclaim, ‘[Long] live King
Solomon!’” I Kings
1:41; “Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard this just
when they had finished eating. Joab heard the sound of the shofar, and
said, “Why is the sound of the city [so] turbulent?” II Kings
9:13; “Hurriedly, each of them took his garments and put it underneath
him, on the top of the steps; they sounded the shofar and said, “Jehu
has become king!” Isaiah
18:3; “All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers of the earth –
you will see the banner is hoisted up upon the mountains, and when the
shofar sounds you will hear!” Isaiah
27:13; “It shall be on that day that a great shofar will be blown, and
those who are lost in the land of Assyria and those cast away in the
land of Egypt will come [together], and they will prostrate themselves
to YHWH on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.” Jeremiah
4:5; “Relate [it] in Jeremiah
4:19; “My innards, my innards – I shudder; the walls of my heart murmurs
within me; I cannot be silent, for you have heard the sound of the shofar,
O my soul, the shofar blast of war.” Jeremiah
4:21; “How long will I see the banner [of the enemy] and hear the sound
of the shofar?” Jeremiah
6:1; “Come together, O sons of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem;
sound the shofar in Tekoa and hoist a flag over Beth-cherem, for evil
can be espied from the North, and a major disaster.” Jeremiah
Jeremiah
42:13-14; “But you say, ‘We shall not stay in this land,’ not heeding
the voice of YHWH your God, saying, ‘No, but to the land of Egypt shall
we go, so that we will not see, war not hear the sound of the shofar
[in battle] nor hunger for bread, and there shall we settle.’” Jeremiah
51:27; “Raise a banner in the land, sound the shofar among the nations;
summon nations against it, muster it the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni and
Ashkenaz; appoint a commander against it’ bring up the horse, as the
bristling locust.” Ezekiel
33:3-6; “If, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, he blows the
shofar and warns the people, and a listener hears the sound of the shofar
but does not take heed and the sword comes and takes him, his blood
will be upon his head. He heard the sound of the shofar but did not
take heed, so his blood will be upon him; had he taken heed, he would
have saved his soul. But if the sentinel saw the sword coming and he
did not blow the shofar and the people were not warned, and a sword
came and took a soul from among them – he was taken for his own iniquity,
but I will seek his blood from the sentinel’s hand.” Hosea
5:8; “Sound the shofar in Gibeah, a trumpet in Ramah; shout in Beth-aven,
‘[The enemy is coming] after you, Benjamin!’” Joel
2:1; “Blow the shofar in Joel
2:15-16; “Blow the shofar in Zion; decree a fast; call an assembly;
gather the people; summon the congregation; assemble the elders; gather
the young children and sucklings; let the bridegroom go forth from his
chamber and the bride from her canopy.” Amos
2:2; “I will send fire into Amos
3:6-7; “Is the shofar ever sounded in a city and the people not tremble?
Can there be misfortune in a city, if YHWH had not brought it?” Zephaniah
1:16; A Day of the shofar and battle-cry against the fortified cities
and against the high towers [on the city walls].” (CJB) Zachariah
9:14-16; “YHWH will appear to them, and His arrow will go forth like
the lightening; and Adonai YHWH will blow the shofar and do forth in
southern tempests. YHWH, Master of Legions, will protect them, and they
will protect them, and they will devour and conquer the ‘stones of the
slingshot.’ They will drink and be boisterous as from wine; they will
be filled up like a bowl, and like the corners of the altar. YHWH their
God will save His people like sheep on that day, for the ‘stones of
the crown’ will be exalted on His land.” Psalms
47:6-8; “God has ascended with a blast; YHWH, with the sound of the
shofar. Make music for G-d, make music; make music for our King, make
music. For God is King of all the earth; make music, O enlightened one!” Psalms
81:4; “Blow the shofar at the moon’s renewal, at the time appointed
for our festive day.” Psalms
98:6; “With trumpets and shofar sound, call out before the King, YHWH.” Nehemiah
4:12-14; “As for the builders, each man’s sword was girded at his side
as they built. The one who sounded the shofar was next to me. I said
to the aristocrats and to the nobles, and to the rest of the people,
“The work is great and extensive, and we are dispersed along the wall,
distant you are to gather yourselves to us. Our God will fight for us!” II Chronicles
15:12-14; “They entered into a covenant to seek out YHWH, the God of
their forefathers, with all their heart and with all their soul; and
anyone who would not seek YHWH, God of Israel, would be put to death,
whether small or great, man or woman. They swore to YHWH in a loud voice
and with shouts, with trumpets and with shofars.”
|