The Silver Trumpets
Numbers 10:1-10
Num.10.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וידבר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- Exod.25.1 (verbal): Same introductory formula "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying" — verbal parallel introducing God's instructions (here for the tabernacle/offerings).
- Lev.1.1 (verbal): Very similar wording: "And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him... saying" — verbal/structural parallel in the context of divine speech giving cultic laws.
- Num.1.1 (verbal): Within the same book: "And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai..." — repeats the standard formula of divine communication to Moses, showing a recurring structural marker.
- Josh.1.1 (structural): "Now after the death of Moses... the LORD spake unto Joshua" — structural/thematic parallel: divine speech to Israel's human leader to give commission or instruction, echoing the Moses pattern.
Alternative generated candidates
- The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
- The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
Num.10.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- שתי: NUM,card,f,du
- חצוצרת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מקשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- והיו: CONJ+VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- למקרא: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- העדה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ולמסע: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- המחנות: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Numbers 10:8 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same instruction: specifies that when the trumpets are sounded the leaders and camps are to set forward or gather, repeating the functional use given in 10:2.
- Leviticus 23:24 (thematic): The trumpet (shofar) is commanded for a holy convocation on the appointed feast—uses the horn to call the assembly, echoing Num.10:2’s cultic/communal summons.
- Leviticus 25:9 (thematic): The Jubilee is proclaimed ‘with the blast of the horn’ to announce freedom and a communal reset—the trumpet’s role as a public, legal and liturgical signal parallels Numbers 10:2.
- Joshua 6:4–5 (thematic): Trumpets are employed as the signal for Israel’s movement and action around Jericho; like Num.10:2, the horn functions as the authoritative signal to advance and act.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (allusion): The NT image of the Lord’s return accompanied by a trumpet blast that summons the gathered faithful echoes the Old Testament motif of the horn as God’s summons and signal to assemble.
Alternative generated candidates
- “Make for yourself two silver trumpets; make them of hammered work. They shall serve you for calling the assembly and for signaling the movement of the camps.
- Make for yourself two silver trumpets, hammered work; make them, and they shall be for you for summoning the assembly and for setting the camps in motion.
Num.10.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותקעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בהן: PREP+PRON,3,f,pl
- ונועדו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- כל: DET
- העדה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- פתח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אהל: NOUN,m,sg,construct
- מועד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 10:2 (verbal): Immediate parallel instruction to make two silver trumpets for gathering the congregation and directing the movement of the camp—same ritual use of trumpets to summon the people.
- Exodus 33:7 (thematic): Describes Moses pitching the tent of meeting outside the camp and the people assembling there to seek the LORD—parallels 'all the congregation... at the door of the tent of meeting.'
- Joel 2:1 (thematic): ’Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain!’—uses the trumpet as a call to assemble and warn, echoing the summons in Num 10:3.
- Psalm 81:3 (verbal): ’Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the appointed time...’—uses trumpet language to mark sacred times and gather the community, similar ritual function.
- Leviticus 23:24 (thematic): The Feast of Trumpets (yom teru'ah): a commanded blowing of trumpets as a holy convocation—connects the trumpet-blast with assembling the people for worship.
Alternative generated candidates
- When they are blown, all the assembly shall gather to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
- When you blow them, all the assembly shall gather to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
Num.10.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- באחת: PREP+NUM,f,sg,abs
- יתקעו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ונועדו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- הנשיאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ראשי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,sg
- אלפי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exod.18.21 (thematic): Jethro counsels Moses to appoint able men as heads over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens—paralleling the institutional role of the 'heads of the thousands of Israel' who are to assemble and take counsel.
- Num.10.2 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same chapter: the command to make two silver trumpets for summoning the congregation and directing the movement of the camps—Num.10:4 specifies the leaders' response to those trumpet signals.
- Psalm 81.3 (thematic): The psalm commands blowing the horn at appointed times to call the people to feast/assembly, echoing Numbers' use of trumpet blasts to summon leaders and the community.
- Joel 2.1 (allusion): The prophetic call 'Blow the trumpet in Zion' uses the trumpet as an alarm to gather or warn the people, resonating with Numbers' trumpet as a summons for leaders to convene.
Alternative generated candidates
- If they sound but one, then the chiefs—the heads of the thousands of Israel—shall assemble to you.
- If only one is sounded, then the leaders, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather to you.
Num.10.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותקעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- תרועה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ונסעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- המחנות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- החנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- קדמה: ADV
Parallels
- Num.10.2 (verbal): Immediate parallel instruction: the making and use of silver trumpets to call the congregation and direct the breaking of camp — same vocabulary and function as v.5.
- Num.10.9 (thematic): Trumpets used specifically as alarms in war — 'blow an alarm' to summon or to set troops in motion, paralleling the signal-function in v.5.
- Josh.6:4-5 (thematic): Rams' horns/trumpets accompany ritual marching and determine when the people move and act at Jericho — analogous use of trumpet blasts to regulate movement and action.
- Isa.27:13 (allusion): Eschatological blowing of a great trumpet to gather and bring people back — echoes the motif of the trumpet as a signal for assembly and movement found in Numbers 10:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- When you blow the signal, the camps that lie to the east shall set out.
- When you sound an alarm, the camps that encamp on the east shall set out.
Num.10.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותקעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- תרועה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שנית: ADV
- ונסעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- המחנות: NOUN,m,pl,def
- החנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- תימנה: ADV
- תרועה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יתקעו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- למסעיהם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Numbers 10:2 (verbal): Immediate instruction to make two silver trumpets for summoning the congregation and breaking camp—shares the same vocabulary and function for the trumpets as signals.
- Numbers 10:5 (structural): Neighboring verse that specifies how and when the trumpets are to be blown to direct the journeys of the camps; part of the same regulatory unit governing movement.
- Joshua 6:4-5,13 (thematic): Trumpets signal the movement and coordinated action of Israel's forces at Jericho—uses trumpet blasts to direct marching and communal advance.
- Leviticus 25:9 (thematic): The blowing of a trumpet (shofar) announces a major communal ordinance (the Year of Jubilee), parallel in function as a public signal initiating a significant collective action.
- 1 Corinthians 15:52 (thematic): The image of a trumpet blast as the summons or signal for a decisive divine movement (the resurrection/transformation) echoes the trumpet's role as a summons to action or assembly in Numbers 10:6.
Alternative generated candidates
- When you blow a second signal, the camps that lie to the south shall set out; and a signal for their journeys shall be sounded.
- When you sound a second blast, the camps that encamp on the south shall set out; and when you sound a blast for their journeys, they shall set out.
Num.10.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובהקהיל: VERB,hif,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- הקהל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- תתקעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- תריעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,pl
Parallels
- Numbers 10:2 (verbal): Gives the immediate instruction to make two silver trumpets for calling the congregation and for directing the camps—the same command context as v.7.
- Numbers 10:5-6 (structural): Details how and when the trumpets are to be blown for breaking camp and gathering, complementing v.7’s restriction about not sounding an alarm on the assembly blast.
- Leviticus 25:9 (thematic): Commands the blowing of a ram’s horn to proclaim the Jubilee and assemble the community—parallels the trumpet’s role in summoning the people.
- Psalm 81:3 (thematic): Calls for blowing the trumpet at the new moon and full moon as a convocational/worship signal, echoing the assembly function of the trumpet in Num 10:7.
- Judges 7:20 (thematic): Describes Gideon’s use of trumpets and a shout as a sudden attack causing panic—illustrates the contrasting ‘alarm’/battle signal that Num 10:7 prohibits when summoning the assembly.
Alternative generated candidates
- When you summon the assembly, you shall blow (the trumpets), but you shall not blow an alarm.
- When you gather the assembly, you shall blow (the trumpets); you shall not sound an alarm.
Num.10.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובני: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- אהרן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הכהנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- יתקעו: VERB,hitpael,impf,3,m,pl
- בחצצרות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- והיו: CONJ+VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- לחקת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לדרתיכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Num.10:2 (structural): Immediate instruction about the two silver trumpets and their uses; provides the technical context for the priests' duty to blow trumpets (directly connected within the same instruction set).
- Num.10:10 (verbal): Continues the same chapter's prescriptions for trumpet-signals at festivals and in war—echoes the phraseology and the idea of trumpet-blowing as a regulated, recurring ordinance.
- Josh.6:4-5 (thematic): Describes priests blowing trumpets before the ark in the conquest of Jericho; parallels the priestly role of sounding trumpets in cultic and military contexts.
- 1 Chron.15:24 (structural): At the bringing of the ark to Jerusalem, priests and Levites play trumpets and other instruments—illustrates the ongoing, institutionalized role of priests in trumpet-soundings comparable to Num.10:8's 'statute for ever.'
- Ps.81:3 (thematic): Calls for blowing the trumpet at the new moon and appointed festivals; thematically links trumpet-soundings to sacred times and communal convocations as a continuing ordinance.
Alternative generated candidates
- The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; it shall be an ordinance forever throughout your generations.
- The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
Num.10.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכי: CONJ
- תבאו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- מלחמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בארצכם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,SUF,2,m,pl
- על: PREP
- הצר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הצרר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- והרעתם: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- בחצצרות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ונזכרתם: VERB,niphal,perf,2,m,pl
- לפני: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- ונושעתם: VERB,niphal,perf,2,m,pl
- מאיביכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Num.10.5-8 (verbal): Immediate context — instructions about the two silver trumpets for calling assemblies, breaking camp, and signaling movement or war, of which v.9 is a continuation.
- Josh.6.4-5 (thematic): Trumpet blasts (and a shout) are used as a ritual signal that brings about divine intervention and the defeat of the enemy (the fall of Jericho).
- Judg.7.16-22 (thematic): Gideon’s use of trumpets, lamps, and a shout to rout the Midianites — another instance where a trumpet signal precipitates salvation from foes.
- Lev.25.9 (allusion): The blowing of the jubilee trumpet to proclaim liberty and release — analogous use of a trumpet to announce deliverance and restoration.
- Ps.47.5 (thematic): The sound of the trumpet accompanies God’s victorious reign and triumphant advance — linking trumpet-signal imagery with divine saving action.
Alternative generated candidates
- And if you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God and delivered from your enemies.
- And when you go to war in your land against an adversary who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets; and you shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and you shall be delivered from your enemies.
Num.10.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וביום: CONJ+PREP,NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמחתכם: NOUN,f,sg,cstr,suff,2,mp
- ובמועדיכם: CONJ+PREP,NOUN,m,pl,suff,2,mp
- ובראשי: CONJ+PREP,NOUN,m,pl,cstr
- חדשיכם: NOUN,m,pl,suff,2,mp
- ותקעתם: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,2,mp
- בחצצרת: PREP,NOUN,f,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- עלתיכם: NOUN,f,sg,suff,2,mp
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- זבחי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- שלמיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+2mp
- והיו: CONJ+VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,pl
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- לזכרון: PREP,NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לפני: PREP
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Leviticus 23:24 (quotation): Direct parallel instruction for the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah): a memorial proclaimed by the blowing of trumpets — same ceremonial use of horns for the appointed feast.
- Psalm 81:3 (verbal): Calls to 'blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day,' echoing Numbers' linking of trumpet blasts to new-months and festivals.
- Numbers 10:5-8 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter prescribing the two silver trumpets for summoning, marching, and directing Israel; verse 10 extends these trumpet functions to festivals and offerings.
- Zechariah 9:14 (thematic): Prophetic image of the LORD blowing the trumpet to gather/judge — relates to the broader symbolic role of the horn as divine summons and eschatological sign.
Alternative generated candidates
- Also on your festival days, and at your appointed times, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; they shall be a memorial before the LORD your God. I am the LORD your God.”
- And on the day of your gladness, and at your appointed festivals, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; they shall be a remembrance before your God. I am the LORD your God.
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
Make for yourself two silver trumpets; make them of hammered work. They shall be for you to summon the assembly and to set the camps in motion.
When you blow them, all the congregation shall assemble to you at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
If only one is blown, then the leaders—the heads of the thousands of Israel—shall come to you.
When you sound a blast (teruah), the camps that camp on the east shall set out.
When you sound a second blast, the camps that camp on the south shall set out; a blast (teruah) shall be sounded for their journeys.
When you assemble the congregation, blow a call, but do not sound the war-alarm (teruah).
The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; it shall be a perpetual ordinance throughout your generations. And if you go to war in your land against an enemy who oppresses you, you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the LORD your God and be delivered from your enemies.
On your days of gladness, at your appointed feasts, and at the beginnings of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; they shall be for you as a remembrance before your God. I am the LORD your God.