It has a very ancient history and tradition of use, dating back to Moses. It is blown during synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur (Judgment Day, or Day of Atonement) and on a number of other occasions.

Design and manufacturing

The simplest shofar mouthpiece

The shofar was made in ancient times and is now made only from natural horn. The hollow inside horns of rams, goats, antelopes, gazelles, and never or almost never (due to allusions to the golden calf) bull or cow horns were and are used. Therefore, the shapes and lengths of shofars can be very different. The shofar can be short with a simple curve, as is common among Ashkenazis, or it can be long and twisted. The latter variety originated in the Jewish community of Yemen. In some countries and communities, it is customary to heavily process the horn, heating it with steam to give it the desired shape; in others, on the contrary, it is customary to reduce processing to a minimum and not change the form. The tip of the shofar horn is cut off or drilled. The shofar blower uses this hole to produce sound. There are known cases when the tip of the horn was shaped into a simple pipe mouthpiece. In Ancient Armenia, a similar instrument, but made of copper and had a straight shape, was called Շեփոր “Shephor” or Փող “Phogh”. In modern musical terminology, these two synonymous words mean trumpet. [ ]

Blowing the shofar

"Yemenite" shofar

In ancient times, the shofar was used as a signaling instrument for convening the people and announcing important events, as well as during war. The use of this instrument dates back to the magical rites of the pre-Jewish era. The sounds of the shofar (more precisely, its variety, referred to as “yobel”, “jubilee trumpet”), according to the TANAK, brought down the walls of Jericho, where the expression “trumpet of Jericho” came from. The shofar is a natural instrument. In addition to the fundamental tone, only the first and second overtones, which make up the fifth, can be extracted from it. The timbre of the shofar's sound depends greatly on its shape and size. The short "Ashkenazi" shofar produces a high-pitched, weeping sound. Larger, longer shofars produce a richer sound that can be low, throaty, and solemn.

There are the following types of shofar sounds:

• "tkia"(“trumpeting”) - begins on the lower note and moves to the upper note with increasing sonority.
• "we're welding"(“tremolo”) - rapid alternation of lower and upper notes. Three short sounds, reminiscent of a sigh, as a sign of awareness of one’s mistakes.
• "trois"(“alarm”) - a series of abrupt sounds on a lower note, ending on a higher one. Nine short and sharp sounds conveying sadness and melancholy.
• "tkia gdola"(“big trumpet”) - lasts longer on the top note and is always final.

The four main trumpeting sounds can be combined into series (sequences) that have their own names:

• "Tashrat": “tkia”, “shvarim”, “trua”, “tkia gdola”;
• "Tashat": “tkia”, “shvarim”, “tkia gdola”;
• "Tarat": “tkia”, “trua”, “tkia gdola”.

Shofar Blowing Traditions

Later, the custom arose of blowing the shofar daily during the entire month of Elul, preceding the New Year.

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the shofar is blown not only in the synagogue, but also in places where Jews gather, for example, in Jewish schools. In Israel, the shofar can be heard in unexpected places, such as near a train station or near a shopping mall. This is done in order to call the entire people of Israel to repentance.

Jewish sources about the shofar

The meaning of the shofar in Kabbalah

According to this view, the shofar as the trumpet of the Messiah and the trumpet of the last days is mentioned in 1 Thess. , Mf. ; it is blown by angels in Rev. and further. Similar views may be found among Protestants.

see also

Footnotes and sources

1. // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
2. //

The Russian language is rich in figures of speech that can confuse not only foreigners, but also its native speakers. For example, what is the meaning of the phraseological unit “Trumpet of Jericho”? The answer to this question is easy to obtain; all you need to do is read the legend associated with its origin.

Who is Joshua

The answer to the question of what is the meaning of the phraseological unit “Trumpet of Jericho” cannot be given immediately. The story should begin with the famous one about Moses. Everyone knows that the prophet led his people, who had thrown off the shackles of Egyptian slavery, through the desert for about 40 years. People suffering from hunger and thirst were only able to constantly complain and express distrust of their leader.

This continued until those who were accustomed to living in slavery were replaced by their children, strong enough to find what God had promised the Jewish people. The famous prophet also died, and was replaced by his disciple and follower Joshua, who promised his teacher to deliver his flock to Canaan. He was famous not only for his religiosity and devotion to his people, but also for his gift as a commander.

Legendary city

The information presented above does not yet answer the question of what is the meaning of the phraseological unit “Trumpet of Jericho”. First, it’s worth understanding what the legendary Jericho is. This is the name of the city that met on the path of Joshua and those who followed him. This settlement was reliably protected by powerful walls, turning it into an impregnable fortress.

“Trumpet of Jericho” is a phraseological unit whose emergence was facilitated by subsequent events. Joshua, doubting his ability to conquer Jericho, turned to the Lord for advice. God assured the prophet that he would win a brilliant victory, and also promised his support to the long-suffering people.

Capture of Jericho

The meaning of the phraseological unit “Trumpet of Jericho” still remains a mystery. The question inevitably arises about what the pipes have to do with the capture of the city. The fact is that God offered Joshua a unique strategy for siege of the fortress. He wanted Jesus' people to circumambulate the city for seven days. With them there should be seven priests holding trumpets in their hands. Of course, the priests blew the trumpets, but nothing happened.

The main event happened on the seventh day of walking around the city. Joshua, who had previously commanded his people to remain silent, gave his famous command to shout. The city walls fell from the screams of those besieging the fortress. The army immediately moved in and took Jericho.

The above is just one version of the famous legend. There is another, which says that for the fall of the city, all it took was the sound of trumpets, which did not stop for seven days while the detour continued.

Myths and reality

Phraseologisms, the meaning and origin of which are a mystery, often tell about real events. Not everyone knows that the city of Jericho really exists and is not part of a beautiful legend. Of course, the greatest interest for researchers who are trying to understand its history is the reason for the destruction of the ancient fortress walls. Modern research methods have made it possible to establish that the strong walls fell almost simultaneously.

A popular theory claims that their destruction was actually due to the sounds of trumpets and the screams of thousands of people. They could have become a source of sound vibrations that resonated with the frequency of the walls, which were eventually destroyed.

The meaning of phraseology

Of course, it is interesting not only where this phraseological unit came from in the Russian language, but also what it means. “Trumpet of Jericho” is a figure of speech that is still used today. The meaning that is put into it does not raise doubts among linguists. This is what they say about a person endowed with a loud, trumpet-like voice.

Using this phraseological turn, people can put both positive and negative meanings into it. For example, you might say that a person “shouts like the trumpet of Jericho,” meaning that his loud voice is disturbing someone. You can also use the expression “trumpet of Jericho” when sincerely admiring someone’s strong and sonorous voice.

Example from the literature

Phraseologisms, the meaning and origin of which are a mystery to many people, are more often found in literary works than in everyday speech. For example, the speech structure discussed in this article is used by the writer Stepanov in his work “The Zvonarev Family”. One of the characters in the book talks about recognizing another solely by his strong voice, which resembles the trumpet of Jericho.

The phrase “trumpet of Jericho” comes from the Old Testament. The book of Joshua, chapter 6, tells how, on the way from Egyptian captivity to the Promised Land, the Jews approached the fortified city of Jericho. To continue the journey, the city had to be taken, but its inhabitants took refuge behind high and impregnable walls. Six siege. On the seventh day, the Jewish priests began to go around the city, blowing trumpets. At the appointed moment, the rest of the Israelis supported them with loud shouts. And a miracle happened: the walls collapsed from the shaking caused by the pipes.

This trick was performed not without God’s help or according to the laws of physics, but since then the expression “trumpets of Jericho” has been used as a description of an unusually loud, deafening voice. “The sound of a trumpet,” they also say.

Jericho

Palestinian Jericho and its associated areas are mentioned several times in the Bible. The ruins of the ancient biblical city still lie at the western tip of modern Jericho, the capital of the province of the same name. The first settlements on this site, as excavations show, date back to the eighth millennium BC - this is the oldest center of civilization discovered so far. Jericho is mentioned several times in the Bible even after the events surrounding its destruction. Under the Romans, it was even the residence of kings - the Jewish king Herod the Great died here. The New Testament also tells of Jesus Christ's repeated visits to Jericho.

Legend, myth or historical fact?

As shown by excavations of cultural layers of the 13th century BC on the site of the ancient city, Jericho was indeed surrounded by high double walls. Moreover, research conducted using radioactive analysis and other modern advanced methods has confirmed that the city walls of Jericho have practically fallen. Excavations also did not find traces of human habitation in the layers of the 11th-12th centuries BC, which again corresponds to the biblical story. Indeed, the book of Joshua says that after the capture of the city and the total extermination of all its citizens, Yehoshua bin Nun (Joshua) pronounced a curse over the ruins of anyone who wanted to restore the city. For many centuries it lay in ruins.

Siege of Jericho

A rather interesting phraseological unit “Trumpet of Jericho” can be heard from people. For example, if they say that “stop shouting like the trumpet of Jericho” or “what are you yelling“like the trumpet of Jericho,” then there is no need to be offended, but on the contrary, take it with a sense of humor. But this is only if a person knows meaning of the expression trumpet of Jericho. At the very beginning it is necessary to know what or who Jericho is.

Jericho is the city besieged by Joshua, described in the book of Joshua. But in fact, this is a city located in the northern part of the Judean Desert, seven kilometers from the Jordan River. The meaning of why the Trumpet of Jericho is now clear. And why no other pipe is also clear. Next, let's look at why pipe

Not another instrument.

So let's go back to the book of Joshua and open chapter six. From it you can see that the Lord gave a hint to Joshua on how to take the city of Jericho. The hint is that all people capable of war were to go around the given city once a day and do this for six days in a row, and seven priests were to go in front of the ark and blow the seven jubilee trumpets. After this, on the seventh day, they had to walk around Jericho seven times and also blow the trumpets. And when the jubilee horn blows, then all the people at one moment must shout out loud. And after this the wall of Jericho must collapse.

Those. The meaning is that from the strong voice of the people and the trumpets of Joshua, the wall of Jericho collapsed and people entered the city without obstacles.
That’s why they say “you scream like the trumpet of Jericho,” i.e. you talk or yell very loudly and forcefully.

The expression Trumpets of Jericho may not be correct. After all, they were not made in Jericho, but were simply used in the siege of the city.

From this it should be clear that the expression trumpet of Jericho means not something offensive, but the opposite. And if they say so, then be proud of your strong voice, capable of bringing down the wall of the fortress.

Trumpets of Jericho

Anyone who travels from Jerusalem to the east, after a difficult mountain crossing, ends up in the Jordan Valley, where the river flows into the Dead Sea. About two hours west of the Jordan lies the poor village of Riha (Er-Rihu), with a Greek monastery and the ruins of a tower erected by the Crusaders.

There is an oasis near this village. Once in ancient times, it resembled a garden lushly grown in the tropical climate of the valley with numerous palm trees and fragrant bushes. There, near one of the springs, lies the “city of palm trees” - Jericho.

If you go to the city from the east, you need to cross the Jordan, which flows near Jericho.

This is stated in the Old Testament, in the 4th chapter of the book of Joshua, which describes a miracle performed by God, who, during the flight of the Israelites from Egypt, caused the waters of the Jordan to recede: “For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you, until you crossed over.” his…"

Then the second miracle happened in front of Jericho. Jericho was a fortress blocking the entrance to Northern Palestine. To get to Palestine and settle there, it was necessary to take Jericho.

Chapter 6 of the book of Joshua tells how this powerful city was taken. Jericho with its powerful walls could not be taken by force of arms. Only a miracle could help here - the sacred trumpets, from the sound of which the walls of the city collapsed, and the “ark of the Lord,” which was carried around Jericho for seven days until the city fell into the hands of the children of Israel.

In the thousand-year history of wars and various sieges experienced by mankind, there is not a single case that could be compared with the siege of Jericho, although, according to legend, it often happened that the gods blessed the weapons of the conquerors.

Just because of its defensive walls, Jericho is an interesting site for archaeological research.

In 1907 and 1909, Professor Ernst Sellin, together with a group of German archaeologists and architects, excavated the ruins of Jericho near Ain es-Sultan. It goes without saying that the main attention was directed to a thorough examination of the mysterious walls. Architects measured these amazing city walls and began to look for weak points in the masonry that could collapse.

The thickness of the outer wall is approximately 1.5 meters, the inner one is even 3.5 meters. The distance between these cyclopean walls is approximately 3 to 4 meters.

Could such walls really fall?

And just from the sound of trumpets, spells using the “ark of the Lord” and the magic number seven?

Even the most God-fearing soul will not be able to suppress certain doubts about such divine intervention in military operations. Moreover, archaeologists who began methodological research with a tape measure in their hands and with professional skepticism in their souls did not believe in this.

The results of the study showed that the walls of Jericho had actually fallen. This was confirmed by huge cracks and the collapse of large parts of the external walls outward, and the internal ones inward.

So, it’s still a miracle!

It does not matter much whether the walls were destroyed by a giant earthquake in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea, as modern architects believe.

But when?

When did this earthquake happen?

Plan of the excavations of Jericho in the area of ​​Ain es-Sultan. The dotted line indicates excavations that have been ongoing since 1930.

Not only experts in biblical chronology, but also geologists, historians and, of course, archaeologists were interested in solving this issue. And here it must be said frankly that opinions on this important issue differ.

Some scientists believe that we are talking about strong earth tremors in the 15th century BC. e., others are convinced that this happened in the 13th or 12th century BC. e., that is, just at the time when, according to the Bible, the children of Israel crossed the Jordan and saw how the walls of Jericho were destroyed.

Since then, many have tried to explain what the walls of Jericho were. The biblical legend is well known. It was she who prompted English, American, Austrian and German scientists to enter into a debate about whether these walls could have fallen at the very moment when the children of Israel crossed the Jordan. Sellin and Watzinger decisively rejected the previously proposed dating of this event, putting forward new considerations that to some extent met the needs of theology.

Meanwhile, it seems to us that it is not so important whether the walls of Jericho fell a hundred or even two hundred years earlier or a hundred years later. One way or another, Jericho fell into the hands of the children of Israel thanks to treason. And since it is not difficult to see “divine destiny” in this, one cannot blame the chronicler for attributing to its action a mysterious earthquake, which, of course, conveys the will of God even more expressively than simple treason.

The Bible does not deny that adultery could have taken place here. Moreover, it describes in detail how the Lord spared the traitorous harlot Rahab and her family, while all the inhabitants of Jericho, along with their livestock, were destroyed: “men and women, young and old, sheep and donkeys.” The miracle at Jericho thus pales in comparison to the methods of conquest that were carried out in antiquity.

The Germans abandoned the hill of Jericho (30 meters high), consisting of shards and broken bricks mixed with the ground. They knew from the Bible that Jericho was later rebuilt again and that Gil of Beth-El had walled up his two sons, the eldest and the youngest, as sacrifices within the walls of the new building. Then the hill above the former “city of palm trees” again fell into a lazy sleep.

In 1918, he was suddenly awakened. On the English front near Jericho, a random Turkish grenade exploded on a hill, revealing an inscription. Taking advantage of this, after the end of the First World War, Dominicans from the Bible School in Jerusalem excavated an Israeli synagogue here.

With interest, the Dominicans uncovered the preserved, although heavily damaged, mosaic floor of the ancient synagogue. In the center of the mosaics was a circle in which animals, the prophet Daniel in the lions' den and other scenes from biblical mythology were depicted.

On either side of the middle doors, two huge animals are depicted on the mosaic floor. With their heads turned towards the entrance, they seemed to be guarding an ancient Israeli shrine. These were significant figures - a lion and a bull. No words could more clearly express the connection that exists between these images and the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia. Two or three millennia after the lions and bulls of Assyro-Babylonia, the symbolic image of the moon appears in the mosaic of the synagogue of Jericho. And this is almost two millennia after the ritual dances around the golden calf: after all, the synagogue was built in the 6th century AD. e.

Headless Skeletons

In 1929–1930, the Englishman John Gerstang again began excavating Jericho. They continued for many years. In 1935–1936, Gersteng came across the lowest strata of the Stone Age population. He discovered a cultural layer older than the 5th millennium BC. e., when they did not yet know pottery - pots, bowls and jugs. But people of this time already led a sedentary lifestyle, they lived first in round and then in rectangular houses.

The clay floors in the houses were carefully leveled. Sometimes they were painted and polished. The walls were already made of bricks and compacted earth. In one of these prehistoric layers of Jericho they discovered a kind of ceremonial hall with six wooden pillars. It was probably a temple - a primitive predecessor of the future sanctuary. Inside this room and in its immediate vicinity, archaeologists did not find household items, but they found numerous clay figurines of animals - horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and plastic models of male genital organs.

There is no doubt that the ancient population of Jericho, who did not use pottery, already knew how to sculpt animal figures and other images from clay. One can quite realistically imagine how one of the creators of such a sculpture one fine day came up with the idea of ​​making a bowl or pot for food and drink from the same material.

Life-size group sculptures of men, women and children were also found in one of the prehistoric layers of Jericho. They were made using cement-like clay, which was spread on a reed frame. These figures were still very primitive and flat: after all, three-dimensional plastic art was preceded for many centuries by cave paintings or images on cave walls. The figures found show how much interest prehistoric man from Jericho showed in the miracle of the origin of life and the creation of a family: this was one of the first and most powerful impressions of prehistoric man. It is clear that he later transferred these impressions to ideas about the gods and their families.

After the end of World War II, the British again excavated Jericho for several years. In 1953, Cutley Canyon led an expedition that would lead to further discoveries in this “world’s oldest city.” To participate in the excavations, which were becoming more and more interesting, the British invited German anthropologists who worked there for several years. Scientists have found that people who lived in Jericho approximately 8-10 thousand years ago led an extremely difficult life full of dangers in this paradise, and their average age did not exceed 20 years.

True, this average age is explained by high infant mortality. But an adult who avoided thousands of dangers as a child was also threatened with early death. Only a few of them lived to be 40–45 years old. There were obviously no older people in Jericho at all.

These people's teeth were completely worn out - a consequence of rough food, consisting of cereals and legumes, ground in stone mortars. People were no longer able to chew food and, obviously, were slowly walking towards death. At the same time, it is striking that in the oldest graves of Jericho for 6500 BC. e. Mostly skeletons were found without heads. The skulls were separated from the corpses and buried separately.

The cult of beheading and headhunting is known in many parts of the world and continues to this day. Here, in Jericho, archaeologists stood, apparently, at the source of this cult.

Why eight to ten thousand years ago were heads removed from corpses and buried separately? This question is very interesting and should not be ignored.

Did they again do this because they imitated what was happening in heaven?

Is it because the moon gradually wanes day by day, until its entire “head”, its entire “face” completely disappears?

The phenomena of a beheaded and flawed moon are observed on earth so often that it is difficult to deny the possibility of such thoughts.

Why did this imitation arise?

Why was it necessary to cut off the heads of dead people, just as they cut off the “head” of the moon in the heavens?

What was the purpose of this imitation?

The whole point is that the cut off “head” of the moon is reborn again. From month to month, the moon begins its new life. Why shouldn't human life repeat itself forever?

Why should not a person be resurrected in the same way as the moon is resurrected?

Could the ancient inhabitants of Jericho 6500 BC? e., being thinking beings, would they endure their short lives if they did not have this hope?

Was it Sodom or Gomorrah?

Not far from Jericho, in the eastern part of the Jordan Valley, at a mysterious hill of rubble, which the locals called “Tell Eilat Hassul,” a group of famous archaeologists carried out work on behalf of the Pontifical Biblical Institute beginning in 1930.

The first excavations showed that an ancient city was buried at this place, which was apparently older than Jericho.

Vessels decorated with relief images of female breasts or snakes were discovered here. The snakes seemed to drink from the vessels.

In the deepest layers, which were probably at least six thousand years old, a huge star with eight alternating red and black rays shone on the smooth whitewashed wall. This, apparently, was the same star that was already shining at the threshold of historical time in Sumerian Mesopotamia, and was the sign of the goddess Inanna - Ishtar or personified the deity in general. The star in Khassoul was the center of a large composition, which, unfortunately, has hardly survived. Around it, apparently, was depicted some kind of ornament of intertwined snake bodies and eyes.

And again, researchers were concerned about the time of these finds. Archaeologists have carefully compared polished flint axes and numerous shards with materials from early Syrian culture from Tell Halaf and Egyptian culture from the 4th millennium BC. e. Then they assigned the name “Khassul” to the Hassul cultural layer with its eight-rayed star and determined its age to be approximately the 5th or 6th millennium BC. e.

When Arab workers dug up fragments of pottery that showed scratched marks, scientists became worried. Linguists immediately appeared and attacked the peculiar inscriptions that interested them. Then they began to interrogate the Arabs until they, completely at a loss, admitted that they themselves had scratched these signs on the found shards in order to obtain a particularly large baksheesh. Archaeologists must take such contingencies into account. But all the more precisely they were later able to establish that Hassul was at a very high level of culture when at the beginning of the Bronze Age it was destroyed by a huge fire. This fire occurred around the 20th century BC. e. and literally turned the entire city into ashes, thereby ending the history of Hassul, a city whose real name has not yet been determined. Since the fire, no one has lived in this place anymore. The four thousand years that have passed since then have razed the remains of the large city to the ground.

Was this Sodom? Was this Gomorrah?

Nobody knows this. It is only known that in the Jordan Valley there was no other more significant city about which historical tradition has been preserved. Therefore, all that remains is to read the biblical legend about Sodom and Gomorrah: “The sun rose on the earth... And the Lord rained down brimstone and fire... on Sodom and Gomorrah... and overthrew these cities... and (all) the growth of the earth. Lot’s wife looked behind him and became a pillar of salt” (I Book of Moses, 19, 23–26).

Such salt columns can still be seen today near the Dead Sea, near the “Sea of ​​Lot”.