Tekiah! Shevarim! Teruah! Tekia Gedolah!

Those are not orders shouted by a Klingon general, but the names of the various shofar (ram’s horn) blasts heard every year in the synagogue in the month of Tishrei. 

The first of Tishrei, which falls in September or October, is known in the Bible as Yom Teruah, or the Feast of Trumpets. It’s the first of three holy festivals that the Lord commanded the Jewish people to observe every fall.

Today, the Feast of Trumpets is known as Rosh Hashanah, which means “the head of the year.” So, when we celebrate it, we are celebrating the Jewish New Year. Strangely enough, there is more than one day with this designation! The Jewish calendar has a religious new year, a civil one, and others. 

Rosh Hashanah begins a 10-day period known as the Days of Awe.

The two fall holidays which follow Rosh Hashanah are Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles). Rosh Hashanah begins a 10-day period known as the Yamim Nora’im (Days of Awe). The Days of Awe fall between the first two holidays, and they are a time for us to reflect and repent in preparation for Yom Kippur.

The Biblical Meaning of the Feast of Trumpets

When we look into the history of the holiday, we find that it has a special meaning. Leviticus 23:23–25 explains God’s commandments concerning this festival.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the LORD.”

An ancient trumpet blast could be used to rouse people to war or to march. In the context of the holiday, it is generally understood as a call to repentance, since the Day of Atonement comes 10 days later.

The sound of the shofar initiated the giving of the covenant.

When God appeared at Mount Sinai and gave the Ten Commandments, there was also a blast of trumpets. In fact, the sound of the shofar was the call that initiated the giving of the covenant. 

Moses instructed the people to come to the mountain when they heard the sound of the trumpet. Then,

On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. (Exodus 19:16–19)

The events at Mount Sinai were imprinted in the memory of the nation of Israel. And so, at the Feast of Trumpets, the sound of the shofar reminds Israel that they are a people in a covenant, a nation chosen to be God’s people. Being in covenant with God has always included repentance and atonement. So, our fall holidays revolve around these ideals.

What about the word “memorial” spoken of in Leviticus? The day serves to remind Israel of our covenant with God, but also to “remind” God of his covenant promises, which include the restoration of his people. 

When Scripture speaks of God being “reminded” of something or “remembering” something, it means that he is going to act based on his past promises (see Genesis 8:1, Exodus 2:24). So, the Feast of Trumpets both implores God to accept our repentance and reminds the Jewish people that we have entered into a lasting covenant with God.

The Feast of Trumpets in the New Testament

The Feast of Trumpets is not mentioned in the New Testament, though Yom Kippur is. Speaking of the dangerous journey taken by Paul and other disciples, Acts 27:9 simply refers to the holiday as “the Fast.” 

Here, the day is called by its main observance (fasting), and the context is that by this late in the year, ocean travel could be perilous. Since Jews in the first century were observing Yom Kippur, we can assume that they also celebrated the Feast of Trumpets.

While trumpets are mentioned in various parts of the New Testament, they are not directly connected with the Feast bearing their name. In Matthew 24:31, 1 Corinthians 15:52, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “trumpet” indicates the gathering of God’s people. 

In Hebrews 12:19, we see “the sound of a trumpet” alluding to the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai as a fearsome phenomenon experienced by the nation of Israel. 

Finally, and most prominently, the book of Revelation (chapters 8 and 9) mentions a trumpet numerous times, either as the way a voice sounded or more often, the instrument itself (being blown by angels!). 

The trumpet calls for our attention and tells us that something more is coming.

While none of these references directly speaks of the holiday itself, they do illustrate that the blast of a trumpet calls for our attention and tells us that something more is coming. So, at the Feast of Trumpets, we gather, we repent, we reflect, and we trust in God to help us and to hear us.