Shofar, a ram's horn used as a trumpet

The shofar had several uses in ancient Israel. It was used for calling the congregation to worship, for calling out soldiers to battle and for holding liquid, such as oil, for anointing. The shofar is the biblical trumpet (the Hebrew word shofar is translated trumpet in most English Bibles). Shofars are made from a ram's horn because it reminds the people of the ram that God provided when Abraham offered his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. Shofars can be made of any animal horn except that of a cow because of the idolatry with the golden calf. A much larger shofar is made from the horn of an antelope. It is called the Yemenite shofar.

The shofar is a very important element in the worship experience of the Jewish holidays, particularly Rosh Hashanah or the Feast of Trumpets. It also has great significance for Christians for the references in the New Testament Scriptures to the trumpet most certainly refer to the shofar. When John spoke of seven trumpets in Revelation, and when Paul wrote about the last trumpet that signals the resurrection, they were talking about the shofar.

There are four different sounds made with the shofar.  One is the tekiah, one long blast with a clear tone, a three second sustained note.  Tekiah means "blow" or "blast." This is the blast that enthrones the king, 1 Kings 1:34 and the blast that destroyed the walls of Jericho, Joshua 6:4-20. The second sound is the shevareem, a sighing sound of three short calls, 3 one second notes rising in tone. Shevareem means "broken" or "break in pieces." This is the sound that calls the congregation to worship or calls men out to battle, Psalm 29:5, Numbers 10:9, and Isaiah 14:5.  The third sound is the teruah, a rapid series of nine very short, staccato, notes over a period of about 3 seconds. Teruah means "shout" (alarm). This sound sounds the alarm, Jeremiah 4:19, 21, Jeremiah 6:1, 17.  The fourth and last sound is the tekiah gadollah (great blast), a single unbroken blast held as long as there is breath, 10 seconds minimum.