The Significance of the Shofar (שופר)
By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
The Significance of the Shofar (שופר)
By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
II. The Shofar – a sound that walks
IV. Verses with the word "shofar"
In this study I would like to examine the significance of the shofar and the sounds that it makes. I want to examine how it is used, when it is used, why it is used, and what will the sounds accomplish.
Lets start by seeing what the Encyclopedia Brittanica uses as a definition for the word "shofar":
שופר - shofar, also
spelled SHOPHAR, plural SHOFROTH, SHOPHROTH, or SHOFROT, a ritual musical
instrument, made from the horn of a ram or other animal, used on important Jewish public and religious occasions. In biblical
times the shofar sounded the Sabbath, announced the New Moon, and proclaimed the anointing of a new king. This latter custom has been preserved
in modern
The most important modern use of the shofar in religious ceremonies takes place on Rosh Hashana, when it is sounded in the synagogue to call the Jewish people to a spiritual reawakening as the religious New Year begins on Tishri 1. The shofar can be made to produce sobbing, wailing, and sustained sounds in sequences that are varied strictly according to halacha. The shofar is also sounded on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, as a call for repentance and sacrifice and for love of the Torah.[1]
Now lets look at the Hebrew meaning of the shofar: A sense of incising; a cornet or curved horn; cornet or trumpet.
Shofar is a Hebrew word that comes from a root meaning beauty. The word shofar, however, through tradition came to mean almost solely "ram's horn". The shofar was used in biblical times for various occasions ranging from calling the armies together to signaling death. Which brings up the curious point that shofar is also literally translated as a "sense of incising". Incising means to cut or burn into. Obviously the sound of the shofar was more than a mere horn blast to the ancient Hebrews, to earn a name that signified a cutting or burning into the heart and soul of the people. Strong's confirms this understanding with his definition:
7782 showphar, sho-far'; or shophar, sho-far'; from 8231 in the orig. sense of incising; a cornet (as giving a clear sound) or curved horn:-cornet, shofar.
------------------ Dictionary Trace --------------
8231 shaphar, shaw-far'; a prim. root; to glisten, i.e. (fig.) be (caus. make) fair:-X goodly.
According to the Talmud the shofar can be made of the horns of various animals including the sheep, both domestic and wild goats, the antelope, the gazelle, and of course the ram:
Rosh
HaShana 26a MISHNA.
ALL KINDS OF SHOFAR MAY BE USED EXCEPT [ONE MADE FROM THE HORN] OF A COW,
BECAUSE IT IS [PROPERLY] KEREN. SAID R. JOSE: ARE NOT ALL SHOFARS CALLED
‘KEREN’ AS IT SAYS, WHEN THEY MAKE A LONG BLAST WITH THE RAM'S KEREN [HORN]?
GEMARA. R. Jose was surely quite right. What can the
Rabbis reply? — That all shofars are called both shofar and keren, whereas that
of a cow is called keren but is not called shofar, as it is written, His
firstling bullock, majesty is his, and his horns [karnaw] are as the horns of a
re'em. What says R. Jose to this? — He can reply that that of a cow is also
called shofar as it is written, And it shall please the Lord better than a
bullock [shor par] that hath horns and hoofs. Now if ‘shor’ is mentioned here
why ‘par’, and if ‘par’ why ‘shor’? The fact is that shor par is equivalent to
shofar. And the Rabbis? — They adopt the explanation of R. Mattenah; for R.
Mattenah said: What is meant by shor par? A shor which is as full-grown as a
par.
Of course, the horn of a ram is preferred, as the shofar is strongly linked with the story of Abraham binding Isaac to sacrifice him to HaShem. As we all know, an angel stopped Abraham, and HaShem provided a ram in Isaac's place.
Now, while a ram is preferred, a cow's horn is forbidden.
The reason being that the Hakhamim believe that if a cow's horn is used, it
will remind the Satan to continue to accuse
Along with the harp, the shofar is the most spoken of musical instrument in the Bible. While the harp is used to calm and soothe the spirit and soul, the shofar is constantly used to grab hold of the attention and spirit of the people. The harp is a consoler while the shofar is a preparer.
The Gemara records an argument that I believe is revealing:
Rosh
Hashanah 26b MISHNA. THE SHOFAR USED ON NEW
YEAR WAS OF AN ANTELOPE'S HORN AND STRAIGHT, AND ITS MOUTH WAS OVERLAID
WITH GOLD. THERE WERE TWO TRUMPETS, ONE ON EACH SIDE OF
IT. THE SHOFAR GAVE A LONG BLAST AND THE TRUMPETS A SHORT ONE, SINCE THE PROPER
CEREMONY OF THE DAY WAS WITH THE SHOFAR. ON [COMMUNAL] FAST DAYS THEY USED
[TWO] CURVED SHOFARS OF RAMS, THE MOUTHS OF WHICH WERE OVERLAID WITH SILVER.
THERE WERE TWO TRUMPETS BETWEEN THEM; A SHORT BLAST WAS MADE WITH THE SHOFARS
AND A LONG ONE WITH THE TRUMPETS, BECAUSE THE RELIGIOUS DUTY OF THE DAY WAS [TO
BE PERFORMED] WITH THE TRUMPETS. THE JUBILEE IS ON A
PAR WITH NEW YEAR FOR BLOWING THE HORN AND FOR
BLESSINGS. R. JUDAH SAYS: ON NEW YEAR THE BLAST IS MADE WITH A SHOFAR OF RAMS
AND ON JUBILEES WITH ONE OF ANTELOPES.
GEMARA. R. Levi said: The religious
duty of New Year and of the Day of Atonement is
performed with a curved shofar, and on other days in the year with a straight
shofar. But we learn, THE SHOFAR OF NEW YEAR WAS A STRAIGHT ONE OF ANTELOPE'S
HORN? — Levi followed the view of the following Tanna, as it has been taught:
‘R. Judah says, On New Year they used to blow with curved shofars of rams’
horns and on jubilees with shofars of antelopes’ horns’. Why then did not he
[Levi] say that the law follows the view of R. Judah? — If you were to say that
the law follows R. Judah, I should say that in the case
of the Jubilee also he was of the same opinion as R. Judah. Now we know [that
this is not so]. What is the ground of the difference [between R. Judah and the
First Tanna]? — One authority [R. Judah] holds
that on New Year the more a man [so to speak] bends
his mind the more effective [is his prayer], while on
the Day of Atonement [of the Jubilee]
the more a man elevates his mind the better is the effect. The other authority holds that on New
Year the more a man elevates his mind the better the effect, and on fast
days the more he bends his mind the better the effect.
The Mishna states that the shofar to be used on Rosh Hashanah should be of an antelope and should be straight. The Gemara states: Rav Levi says that the mitzva of Rosh Hashanah is fulfilled with a bent-over shofar. The Gemara then brings a baraita in the name of Rav Yehuda who says that on Rosh HaShanah we use a bent rams horn and on Yom Kippur (for the Jubilee) we use a straight horn. After stating that the halacha is like Rav Yehuda, the Gemara explains that the more bent over we are, the more effective is our Rosh Hashanah, while the straighter we are on Yom Kippur the better. Rashi explains that being bent over is the correct posture for the prayers of Yom HaDin (this is another name for Rosh HaShanah).
Thus we see that there is more to this simple musical instrument than meets the eye.
The shofar produces some very mystical sounds, which have some very unusual properties. One of its properties is the ability to stir a heart to repentance.
What is it about the sound of the shofar that calls us to return to HaShem? To answer this question we must return to Gan Eden, that garden wherein we have the beginnings of everything.
After the first sin we find:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 3:8 And they heard the
voice (kol) of HaShem God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam
and his wife hid themselves from the presence of HaShem God amongst the trees
of the garden.
Exactly how does a “voice”, a kol, go “walking”?
This particular Hebrew word for sound or voice, kol, resonates with another kol, the sound (kol) of the shofar:
Shemot
(Exodus) 19:16 And it came to
pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders (kol) and
lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice (kol) of the shofar
exceeding loud; so that all the people that [was] in the camp
trembled.
This kol that we hear at Sinai is the same kol that went walking in Gan Eden right after the first sin. The kol that walked had a question:
Bereshit
(Genesis) 3:9 And HaShem God
called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are you?
This question: “Where are you (Ayekah)?” was obviously not concerned with Adam’s physical location. After all, how can one hide from The One who is everywhere? This question must be asking a more profound question: ‘Ayekah?’ Where are you, where do you stand morally and spiritually, to what place are you directing your efforts?
The
kol of HaShem in Gan Eden looms significant because the shofar blessing on Rosh
Hashanah, which reasonably could have stressed the "blowing" of the
shofar, stresses the sound or voice, "lishmoah kol hashofar," to hear
(or internalize) the sound of the shofar.
The Rambam is quite explicit in altering the definition of the mitzva. He consistently defines the mitzva as one of HEARING the shofar rather than BLOWING.
This then is the kol that walks. This kol comes seeking the state of the soul of His beloved. This same kol approaches us at this time of judgment. This kol from the shofar “walks” to us, His beloved, and asks: Where are you?
Another mystical property of the sounds of the shofar, is the ability to express the human neshama.
Our Sages teach us that the sound made by the shofar is the sound of the human neshama, the soul. This is a sound without corruption, the raw sound of the neshama. The bend of the shofar is said my the mystics to be the transition between this world and the next.
The shofar is the depth or root of speech. Teshuva means to go back to the moment of creation, to go back into the womb to the moment of conception. We return to our fetal state, our moment of creation. This return is what Chazal meant by zichronot – memory or remembering as a function of Rosh HaShana. We return to the moment when the memories (sperm), or seeds, of the father are given to us. Chazal use this same concept to teach us that the sound Adam HaRishon heard on wakening from his creation, was the sound of a shofar, the sound made by his neshama as it entered him. This suggests that the shofar can take us back to the very moment when our neshama entered us.
This same concept will help us to understand why a ram was found at the very moment that Isaac expired and was resurrected. At that moment a shofar became available.
Another mystical property of the sounds of the shofar, is the ability to cause HaShem to move from the seat of judgment to the seat of mercy. The Zohar describes this reaction:
Soncino Zohar, Vayikra, Section 3, Page 100b Thus when Israel
produce the blasts of the shofar with proper devotion, the supernal Shofar
returns and crowns Jacob so that all is properly arranged. Another throne is
set up and joy is universally diffused and God has mercy on the world. Happy
are Israel who know how to divert their Master from justice to mercy and to be
the instruments for establishing all worlds. Corresponding to the three series
of blasts three books are opened above on this day, and just as mercy is
awakened and punishments are restrained and put back in their place above, so
below in the same way harsh punishments are kept back and removed from the
world. And what are these? These are the irremediably wicked
who are inscribed at once for death.’ Said R. Abba: ‘Assuredly this is the true
explanation of the matter. Blessed be God that I asked for and obtained this
instruction.’ R. Judah said: ‘It is written, A MEMORIAL OF BLOWING OF TRUMPETS.
We make a memorial by the concentration of our mind and thought. Israel make a
memorial below by an appropriate ceremony, so as to arouse a corresponding
reaction above.’
The mekubalim teach that the shofar has the ability to create a sound called the ‘Voice of Yaaqov’. This is the sound that causes HaShem to move to the mery seat.
A Ninth century Babylonian teacher, Saadia Gaon, taught that there were ten reasons that the Holy One commanded us to blow the shofar on Yom Teruah:
1. Just as earthly kings have horns and shofarot blown to celebrate the anniversary of their coronation, so HaShem wants the shofar blown on the anniversary of the Creation - when there came to be a world that HaShem could rule over, as it is said:
Tehillim (Psalms) 98:6 With shofarot and the blast of the ram's
horn--shout for joy before HaShem, the King.
2. Just as earthly kings have horns and shofarot blown to announce their decrees - and only after this warning actually enforce the decree, so HaShem wants the shofar blown to announce the beginning of the Ten Days of Return, when all are commanded to turn their lives around.
3. Just as the shofar blew when HaShem gave the Torah at
Shemot (Exodus) 24:7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded,
"We will do everything HaShem has said; we will obey."
4. Just as Yehezekel (Ezekiel) compared the words of the Prophets, calling for the people to change their ways, to a shofar, so we must know that those who hear the shofar and do not take warning and change their lives will be responsible for their own destruction, as it is said:
Yehezekel (Ezekiel) 33:2-9 "Ben Adam,
speak to your countrymen and say to them: 'When I bring the sword against a
land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their
watchman, And he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the shofar to
warn the people, Then if anyone hears the shofar but does not take warning and
the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Since he
heard the sound of the shofar but did not take warning, his blood will be on
his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the
watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the shofar to warn the people
and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken
away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman
accountable for his blood.' "Ben Adam, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give
them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, 'O
wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from
his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable
for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he
does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.
5. Because the shofar was blown as a war-alarm when the Temple was destroyed, it should remind us of the
destruction of the
Yiremyahu (Jeremiah) 4:19-20 Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in
pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within
me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the Teruah of the shofar; I have
heard the battle cry. Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment.
6. Because HaShem used a ram as a substitute sacrifice for Isaac, the ram's horn should remind us how Isaac and Abraham were prepared to give up all their hopes and dreams for HaShem's sake. Bereshit (Genesis) 22.
7. Since the blowing of a horn causes cities to tremble, so the shofar will make us tremble and fear our Creator, as it is said:
Amos 3:6 When a shofar sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When
disaster comes to a city, has not HaShem caused it?
8. Since the shofar will be blown on the great day of HaShem.
Zephaniah 1:14-16 "The great day of HaShem is near--near
and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of HaShem will be bitter, the
shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of
distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a
day of clouds and blackness, A day of shofar and battle cry against the
fortified cities and against the corner towers.
Daniel speaks of this judgment day in: (seated for judgment)
Daniel 7:9-14 "As I looked, "thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of
Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was
white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all
ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon
thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The
court was seated, and the books were opened. "Then I continued to watch
because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the
beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. (The
other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for
a period of time.) "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me
was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the
Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples,
nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an
everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will
never be destroyed.
We can also see in the above passage the coronation of the King of kings.
Revelation 20:4-6 I saw thrones on which were seated those
who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had
been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of
God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his
Marqos (Mark) on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned
with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead
did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part
in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they
will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign
with him for a thousand years.
9. Since the shofar will be blown when the tempest-tossed of HaShem's people are gathered in harmony to the Land of Israel, we should hear the shofar to stir our longings for that day, as it is said:
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 27:12-13 In that day HaShem will thresh from the
flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of
This reminds me of:
Matityahu (Matthew) 24:29-31 "Immediately after the distress of
those days 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the
stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly
bodies will be shaken.' "At that time the sign of
the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the
clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with
a loud shofar call, and they will gather his elect from the four
winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
10. Since the shofar will be blown when Mashiach revives the dead, we hear the shofar in order to revive our faith in that supernatural transformation, the final victory of life and freedom over death, the ultimate oppressor, as it is said:
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 18:3 All you people of the world,
you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will
see it, and when a shofar sounds, you will hear it.
This reminds me of another Yom Teruah event:
Yehezekel (Ezekiel) 37:1-14 The hand of HaShem was upon me, and he
brought me out by the Spirit of HaShem and set me in the middle of a valley; it
was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many
bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me,
"Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign HaShem,
you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say
to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of HaShem! This is what the Sovereign HaShem
says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I
will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with
skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that
I am HaShem.'" So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was
prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together,
bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered
them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to
the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign
HaShem says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain,
that they may live.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath
entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a
vast army. Then he said to me: "Son
of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.
They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.'
Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign HaShem says: O
my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will
bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my
people, will know that I am HaShem, when I open your graves and bring you up
from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you
in your own land. Then you will know that I HaShem have spoken, and I have done
it, declares HaShem.'"
In this passage we see the resurrection
of the righteous (the whole house of
IV. Verses with the word "shofar"
The first use of the word "shofar" is found in:
Shemot (Exodus) 19:16-19 And it came to pass on the third day in the
morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the
mount, and the voice of the shofar exceeding loud; so that all the
people that [was] in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the
mountain.
From this first use of the word "shofar", we find that the shofar is a signal of the presence of HaShem that causes the people to tremble, this is their emotional response. After the emotional response, we see that there is an action response. The action is the drawing near to Hashem. These two responses should always flow from the sound of the shofar.
Now lets look at the rest of the shofar verses. Take the time to notice the responses:
Shemot (Exodus) 20:18-21 When the people saw the thunder and
lightning and heard the shofar and saw the mountain in smoke, they
trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance And said to Moses, "Speak to
us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will
die." Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to
test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from
sinning." The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the
thick darkness where God was.
Vayikra (Leviticus) 25:8-10 "'Count off seven
sabbaths of years--seven times seven years--so that
the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of
forty-nine years. Then have the shofar sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the shofar throughout your land.
Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty
throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee
for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his
own clan.
Another use of the shofar is to bring about the will of HaShem. This instrument is capable of breaking down the greatest of barriers:
Yahoshua (Joshua) 6:4-9 And seven priests
shall bear before the ark seven shofarot of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times,
and the priests shall blow with the shofarot. And it shall come to pass,
that when they make a long [blast] with the ram's horn, 
[and] when ye hear the sound of the shofar,
all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall
fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
And Yahoshua (Joshua) the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them,
Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven shofarot of rams' horns
before the ark of HaShem. And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the
people, that the seven priests bearing the seven shofarot of rams' horns
passed on before HaShem, and blew with the shofarot: and the ark of the
covenant of HaShem followed them. And the armed men
went before the priests that blew with the shofarot, and the reward came
after the ark, [the priests] going on, and blowing with the shofarot.
Yahoshua (Joshua) 6:13 And seven priests bearing seven shofarot of rams' horns before the ark of
HaShem went on continually, and blew with the shofarot: and the armed
men went before them; but the reward came after the ark of HaShem, [the
priests] going on, and blowing with the shofarot.
Yahoshua (Joshua) 6:16 And it came to pass at the seventh time,
when the priests blew with the shofarot, Joshua said unto the people,
Shout; for HaShem hath given you the city.
Yahoshua (Joshua) 6:20 So the people shouted when [the priests] blew with the shofarot: and it came to
pass, when the people heard the sound of the shofar, and the people
shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people
went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
The shofar is used to gather the people:
Shoftim (Judges) 3:27 And it came to pass, when he was come, that
he blew a shofar in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before
them.
Shoftim (Judges) 6:34 But the spirit of HaShem came upon Gideon,
and he blew a shofar; and Abi-ezer was gathered
after him.
Shoftim (Judges) 7:8 So the people took victuals
in their hand, and their shofarot: and he sent all [the rest of]
The shofar is capable of bringing fear to the heart of even the most hardened man:
Shoftim (Judges) 7:16 And he divided the three hundred men [into]
three companies, and he put a shofar in every
man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
Shoftim (Judges) 7:18-20 When I blow with a shofar, I and all
that [are] with me, then blow ye the shofarot also on every side of all
the camp, and say, [The sword] of HaShem, and of Gideon. So Gideon, and the
hundred men that [were] with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had
but newly set the watch: and they blew the shofarot, and brake the
pitchers that [were] in their hands. And the three companies blew the shofarot,
and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the shofarot
in their right hands to blow [withal]: and they cried, The sword of HaShem, and
of Gideon.
Shoftim (Judges) 7:22 And the three hundred blew the shofarot,
and HaShem set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the
host: and the host fled to Beth-shittah in Zererath, [and] to the border of
Abel-meholah, unto Tabbath.
1 Shmuel (Samuel) 13:3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the
Philistines that [was] in Geba, and the Philistines heard [of it]. And Saul
blew the shofar throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
The shofar can be used to halt actions that are not helpful:
2 Shmuel (Samuel) 2:28 So Joab blew a shofar, and all the
people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any
more.
In this next verse we see, again, that the shofar is used to indicate the precence of HaShem:
2 Shmuel (Samuel) 6:15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of HaShem with shouting, and with the sound of the shofar.
2 Shmuel (Samuel) 15:10 But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound
of the shofar, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron.
2 Shmuel (Samuel) 18:16 And Joab blew the shofar, and the
people returned from pursuing after
2 Shmuel (Samuel) 20:1 And there happened to be there a man of
Belial, whose name [was] Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite:
and he blew a shofar, and said, We have no part in David, neither have
we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his
tents, O Israel.
2 Shmuel (Samuel) 20:22 Then the woman went unto all the people in
her wisdom. And they cut off the head of
1 Melakim (Kings) 1:34 And let Zadok the priest
and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over
1 Melakim (Kings) 1:39 And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil
out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they
blew the shofar; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.
1 Melakim (Kings) 1:41 And Adonijah and all the guests that [were]
with him heard [it] as they had made an end of eating.
And when Joab heard the sound of the shofar, he said, Wherefore [is this] noise
of the city being in an uproar?
1 Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) 15:28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of HaShem with
shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with shofarot, and with
cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.
2 Divrei HaYamim (Chronicles) 15:14 And they sware unto HaShem with a loud
voice, and with shouting, and with shofarot, and with cornets.
2 Melakim (Kings) 9:13 Then they hasted, and took every man his
garment, and put [it] under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with shofarot,
saying, Jehu is king.
The shofar is also used to alert us and to call us to battle against our enemies:
Ezra-Nechemiah 4:18 For the builders, every one had his sword
girded by his side, and [so] builded. And he that sounded the shofar
[was] by me.
Ezra-Nechemiah 4:20 In what place [therefore] ye hear the sound
of the shofar, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.
Iyov (Job) 39:24-25 He swalloweth the ground with fierceness
and rage: neither believeth he that [it is] the sound of the shofar.He
saith among the shofarot, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the
thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
Tehillim (Psalm) 47:5 God is gone up with a shout, HaShem with
the sound of a shofar.
The shofar is used to call all of HaShem’s people to repentance on Yom Teruah (Rosh HaShanah)
Tehillim (Psalm) 81:3 Blow the shofar in the new moon, in the time appointed,
on our solemn feast day.
Tehillim (Psalm) 98:6 With shofarot and sound of cornet
make a joyful noise before HaShem, the King.
Tehillim (Psalm) 150:3 Praise him with the sound of the shofar:
praise him with the psaltery and harp.
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 18:3 All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an
ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a shofar, hear ye.
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 27:13 And it shall come to pass in that day,
[that] the great shofar shall be blown, and they shall come which were
ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt,
and shall worship HaShem in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
As a call to return in repentance before HaShem, the shofar has no equal:
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice
like a shofar, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
The shofar was used to call the people to assemble before HaShem. This call to assemble is required before we can understand the rest of the message:
Yirimiyah (Jeremiah) 4:5 Declare ye in
Yirimiyah (Jeremiah) 4:19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my
very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou
hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the shofar, the alarm of war.
Yirimiyah (Jeremiah) 4:21 How long shall I see the
standard, [and] hear the sound of the shofar?
Yirimiyah (Jeremiah) 6:1 O ye children of Benjamin,
gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of
Yirimiyah (Jeremiah) 6:17 Also I set watchmen over you,
[saying], Hearken to the sound of the shofar. But they said, We will not
hearken.
Yirimiyah (Jeremiah) 42:14 Saying, No; but we will go into the
land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the shofar,
nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:
Yirimiyah (Jeremiah) 51:27 Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the shofar among the nations, prepare the nations