[Esaias]

Wednesday evening, 20 September, 2017 marks the beginning of the "Day of Trumpets" (assuming the new moon is sighted Wednesday). Thought I would share some thoughts concerning this particular Biblical holy day.

Jews consider this day to be "Rosh Hashana", meaning "head of the year, or "New Year's Day." This, however, is incorrect. The day is never called "Rosh Hashana" in the Bible, nor is it identified as the beginning of the year. Abib 1 is the correct Biblical "new year's day" according to Exodus 12:2, and occurs in the spring sometime around March-April. The Jews adopted the Babylonian civil calendar which begins in the fall, instead of the Biblical holy calendar which begins in the spring, as God commanded Israel.

The Biblical term for this day is "Zikron Teruah", which means "Memorial of Trumpets". It is also called "Yom Teruah" which means "Day of Trumpets".

Leviticus 23:24 KJV Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.

Numbers 29:1 KJV And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.

The phrase "blowing of trumpets" is the Hebrew word "teruah". So, Biblically, the first day of the seventh month is a zikron teruah (memorial of trumpet-sounding) or a yom teruah (day of trumpet-sounding).

Biblically, each month began with the sighting of the first crescent of the new moon. This was announced by a blowing of the trumpets. The start of the seventh was likewise announced with a blowing of trumpets, but there was a special emphasis on this day. Thus, the trumpet-blowing would have been enhanced, increased, louder, and longer. This indicated that THIS month was a special month. The reason this seventh month was to be considered special and important is because in this seventh month were the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Day of Atonement was the most important day in Israel's divine calendar, because on that day the sins of the nation were symbolically expiated by the offering of the Atonement. On that day the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies and atoned for the sins of the whole nation. Then followed the Feast of Tabernacles, the last of the three Pilgrim Feasts of the year, also called the Feast of the Ingathering or Harvest.

Yom Teruah signalled the arrival of the seventh month, calling the people to prepare for the great fast Day of Atonement which would occur on the tenth day of the month, and the great Feast of Tabernacles which would commence on the fourteenth day of the month and last for 7 days, with a final eighth day high Sabbath. So the primary significance of the Day or Memorial of Trumpets was to remind the people to prepare for the Atonement, and the Ingathering.

What does the word teruah mean?

Generally, the word teruah is understood to mean the sound of a trumpet. However, the meaning is much broader and deeper than the mere blowing of a horn. The word teruah is found 36 times in the Hebrew Bible, in 33 verses. Here they are:

• Leviticus 23:24 KJV Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets (teruah), an holy convocation.
• Leviticus 25:9 KJV Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile (teruah) to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
• Numbers 10:5-6 KJV When ye blow an alarm (teruah), then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward. (6) When ye blow an alarm (teruah) the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm (teruah) for their journeys.
• Numbers 23:21 KJV He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout (teruah) of a king is among them.
• Numbers 29:1 KJV And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets (teruah) unto you.
• Numbers 31:6 KJV And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow (teruah) in his hand.
• Joshua 6:5 KJV 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 trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout (teruah); and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
• Joshua 6:20 KJV So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout (teruah), 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.
• 1 Samuel 4:5-6 KJV And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout (teruah), so that the earth rang again. (6) And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout (teruah), they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout (teruah) in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.
• 2 Samuel 6:15 KJV So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting (teruah), and with the sound of the trumpet.
• 1 Chronicles 15:28 KJV Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting (teruah), and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.
• 2 Chronicles 13:12 KJV And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding (teruah) trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
• 2 Chronicles 15:14 KJV And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting (teruah), and with trumpets, and with cornets.
• Ezra 3:11-13 KJV And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout (teruah), when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. (12) But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud (teruah) for joy: (13) So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout (teruah) of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout (teruah), and the noise was heard afar off.
• Job 8:21 KJV Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing (teruah).
• Job 33:26 KJV He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy (teruah): for he will render unto man his righteousness.
• Job 39:25 KJV He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting (teruah).
• Psalms 27:6 KJV And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy (teruah); I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.
• Psalms 33:3 KJV Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise (teruah).
• Psalms 47:5 KJV God is gone up with a shout (teruah), the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
• Psalms 89:15 KJV Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound (teruah): they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.
• Psalms 150:5 KJV Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding (teruah) cymbals.
• Jeremiah 4:19 KJV 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 trumpet, the alarm (teruah) of war.
• Jeremiah 20:16 KJV And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting (teruah) at noontide;
• Jeremiah 49:2 KJV Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm (teruah) of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.
• Ezekiel 21:22 KJV At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting (teruah), to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a mount, and to build a fort.
• Amos 1:14 KJV But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting (teruah) in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
• Amos 2:2 KJV But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting (teruah), and with the sound of the trumpet:
• Zephaniah 1:16 KJV A day of the trumpet and alarm (teruah) against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.

Notice that teruah is translated as "shout", "shouting", "alarm", "jubile", "joy", "high sounding", "rejoicing", "sounding", as well as "trumpets" and "blowing of trumpets". It is clear then that teruah does not mean specifically the noise made by a horn or trumpet instrument, but is a general term meaning essentially "loud noise". A teruah can be made with a trumpet or horn, cymbals, or the human voice.

So the Day of Trumpets is literally the Day of Loud Noise-making.