Chapter 6

The Feast of Trumpets

יוֹם תְּרוּעָה

Yom Teruah · YOHM teh-ROO-ah

Key 6: Wake Up and Return

At a Glance

Meaning: The day of the trumpet blast; the day of shouting
When: 1 Tishrei, the first day of the seventh month (Leviticus 23:24); observed in Israel on 1 and 2 Tishrei
Duration: Two days in Jewish practice; Leviticus names one day
Key Scriptures: Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6

Preparing live dates...

Dates follow Israel observance, with times at Jerusalem astronomical sunset.

What Scripture Says

Leviticus 23:24 (NKJV)

"In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation."

The seventh month opens with a day of rest and a trumpet blast. Scripture gives few details beyond rest, an offering, and the sounding of the trumpet.

Numbers 29:1 (NKJV)

"a day of blowing the trumpets"

Numbers calls the day Yom Teruah. The Hebrew word teruah means a loud blast or a shout: the sound of an alarm, or of joyful acclaim for a king.

Numbers 10:9-10 (NKJV)

"you will be remembered before the LORD your God"

In Israel, trumpets sounded the alarm for battle and announced the appointed feasts. When they sounded, Israel would be remembered before God.

Psalm 81:3 (NKJV)

"Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our solemn feast day."

The Feast of Trumpets is the only feast that falls on a new moon, the first day of a month.

Exodus 19:16-19 (NKJV)

"the sound of the trumpet was very loud"

At Sinai, God's presence was announced with a trumpet blast that grew louder and louder, and the people trembled.

Joel 2:1 (NKJV)

"Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!"

The prophets used the trumpet as a call to wake up, repent, and return to God before the day of the LORD (Joel 2:12-15).

In the Tabernacle and Temple

On the first day of the seventh month, the priests offered one young bull, one ram, and seven male lambs as burnt offerings, with one goat as a sin offering, in addition to the regular new moon offerings (Numbers 29:1-6). It was a holy convocation, and no customary work was done.

After the exile, Ezra read the Law aloud to all the people on the first day of the seventh month, from morning until midday. The people wept as they heard it, but Nehemiah told them, "Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:1-10).

Because the day fell on a new moon, its timing depended on the sighting of the new moon in Jerusalem. To make sure the day was not missed, Jewish practice came to keep it for two days, and Israel still does.

In the Days of Jesus of Nazareth

The Gospels do not record Jesus at the Feast of Trumpets. In His day, the shofar was sounded in the Temple on that day, and the Mishnah later recorded detailed rules for how it was blown.

Jesus did speak of a trumpet to come: "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:31).

Jewish Observance Today

Rabbinic tradition made this day Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year. The phrase "the beginning of the year" appears in Ezekiel 40:1, and Jewish tradition holds that the world was created in the month of Tishrei. Rosh Hashanah opens the Ten Days of Repentance, which end on Yom Kippur.

The shofar
A ram's horn is sounded in the synagogue, traditionally one hundred blasts, in three patterns: the long tekiah, the broken shevarim, and the rapid teruah.
The binding of Isaac
Genesis 22 is read on the second day. Tradition links the ram's horn to the ram God provided in Isaac's place.
Apples and honey
Apples dipped in honey express the hope for a sweet new year.
A round challah
Bread baked in a round shape pictures the cycle of the year.
Tashlich
People gather by flowing water and recite verses including Micah 7:19: "You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea."
Greetings
Friends wish one another "Shanah tovah," a good year.

Fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth

Each connection is labeled: what the New Testament states directly, and what Christians interpret from the patterns of Scripture.

The Trumpet of His Return

Theological interpretation

Paul writes, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God" (1 Thessalonians 4:16), and "the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible" (1 Corinthians 15:52). Many Christians connect the Feast of Trumpets with this trumpet. The New Testament does not name the feast, so the link is an interpretation.

A Call to Repentance

Theological interpretation

Jesus began His preaching with a call that echoes the trumpet's message: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). Seeing the feast's theme in that call is an interpretation.

The Ram in Isaac's Place

Theological interpretation

The ram's horn recalls the ram God provided in Isaac's place on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:13-14). Many Christians see in Genesis 22 a picture of the Father "who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all" (Romans 8:32). Paul's words are stated; the link to the shofar is an interpretation.

The Key to Humanity

Wake Up and Return

A trumpet does not explain. It summons. In Israel it gathered the people, sounded the alarm, announced the King, and called the nation to prepare for the holiest day of the year, ten days later. The message of the Feast of Trumpets is for every person: wake up, pay attention, and return to God before the decisive moment comes. Paul put it this way: "now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed" (Romans 13:11). Trumpets is the key that tells humanity history is not drifting. It is heading toward a day when God will call, and every person will answer.

Seventh-day Adventist View

In Seventh-day Adventist interpretation, the Feast of Trumpets is a call to prepare for the Day of Atonement, which Adventists connect with judgment. Ten days of trumpet blasts warned Israel to get ready, and Adventists see a parallel in the call of Revelation 14:7: "the hour of His judgment has come." Adventists do not keep the feast as an annual observance.

Hebrew Words to Know

יוֹם תְּרוּעָה

Yom Teruah

The day of the trumpet blast or shout.

שׁוֹפָר

Shofar

A ram's horn trumpet.

רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה

Rosh Hashanah

The head of the year.

תְּשׁוּבָה

Teshuvah

Repentance; literally, returning.

זִכָּרוֹן

Zikaron

A memorial or remembrance (Leviticus 23:24).

Questions for Reflection

1.
A trumpet blast is hard to ignore. What has God been trying to get your attention about?
2.
Teshuvah means returning. What would it look like for you to turn back toward God this week?
3.
Nehemiah told a weeping people, "the joy of the LORD is your strength." How can repentance lead to joy instead of shame?

See Jesus in all the feasts