Trump, Trumpet
Trump Trumpet
(, from to sound a trumpet)
The word appears once in the Gospels, in the eschatological discourse of Jesus (Mat 24:31), where we learn that the elect are gathered by trumpet-call for the final judgment. There are three references to trumpet in the Pauline Epistles, one in Hebrews, and six in Revelation. (classical Greek, ) appears only in Rev 18:22.
The sound of a trumpet (Heb 12:19) occurs in the description of the scene at Sinai, and is illustrative of the awe-inspiring character of the Jewish dispensation. The passage from which it is taken (Heb 12:18-29) doses the main argument of the Epistle, and offers a striking picture of the characteristics of the two Covenants summed up in the words terror and grace (cf. B. F. Westcott, The Epistle to the Hebrews 3, London, 1903, p. 411 f.). In 1Co 14:8 St. Paul continues his illustration from music to criticize an unedifying speaking with tongues. 1Co 15:52 develops his eschatological doctrine. The verse is part of the climax of the Pauline argument which bases the future resurrection on the resurrection of Christ. The trumpet blast seemed to his Jewish mind a fitting accompaniment of an unparalleled scene of Christian triumph. The reference in 1Th 4:16 is also eschatological. Once again the trumpet betokens majesty and command, and it may be that St. Paul had in his thought the Jewish tradition of archangelic music (cf. Jud 1:9; Jud 1:14; and B. Jowett, Epistles of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, Galatians, and Romans , 2 vols., London, 1855, i. 73-75).
The other references to trumpet appear in Revelation. In two of these it is used as a figure of speech to define the voice of the angel (Rev 1:10), just as the sound of many waters describes the speech of one like unto the Son of man (Rev 1:15). In Rev 8:2; Rev 8:6; Rev 8:13; Rev 9:14 we read of the seven angels who sounded their seven trumpets to the discomfiture of the earth. The imagery of the Apocalypse is in keeping with Jewish tradition, which saw in the trumpet-call the music appropriate to angels. H. B. Swete holds that the picture in Revelation 8 has as its basis the scene of law-giving described in Exo 19:16 f., and he sees possible allusions to Jos 6:13 and to Joe 2:1 (cf. The Apocalypse of St. John 2, London, 1907, p. 107).
Thus the trumpet, which was so closely connected with Jewish ceremony in war and religion, acquired definitely Christian associations in the Apostolic Age. In the Authorized Version , trump, trumpet, and cornet (cf. S. R. Driver, Joel and Amos, Cambridge, 1897, p. 144) are the translations of the two Hebrew wind instruments, and . In early Hebrew history they were used for secular purposes, such as signalling the approach of an enemy (Hos 5:8, Amo 3:6), but in later days their use became increasingly religious. This is especially true of the latter. But, however they may have been confused in earlier times (cf. Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) iv. 816), they were different instruments in use, shape, and material. The was made of horn, usually that of a ram (Driver, op. cit., p. 144), and was blown at certain Jewish festivals. The , unlike the Roman tuba, was recognized as a priestly instrument. We read of it, for example, in Josephus (Bellum Judaicum (Josephus) IV. ix. 12). From Num 10:1-10 we learn that Moses made two trumpets of silver, which the priests sounded on occasions of assembly, pilgrimage, and festival. The mention of seven trumpets in 1Ch 15:24 and Neh 12:41 is interesting in view of Rev 8:2. Josephus (Ant. III. xii. 6) gives a description of a trumpet, in which he mentions that it was about one yard long and a little wider than the flute, that at its mouthpiece it was somewhat expanded, and that, like the war-trumpet, its extremity was bell-shaped. This description is borne out by a coin struck in the days of the Emperor Hadrian. On the relief of the Arch of Titus there is a representation of two trumpets which appear similar to those of Egyptian origin, but are longer than those described by Josephus (ib.). For these representations compare J. Wellhausen, Psalms in R. Haupts PB [Note: B Polychrome Bible.] , p. 220.
Archibald Main.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
Trump, Trumpet
trump, trumpet, trumpit. See MUSIC.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Trump, Trumpet
is used (1) of the natural instrument, 1Co 14:8; (2) of the supernatural accompaniment of Divine interpositions, (a) at Sinai, Heb 12:19; (b) of the acts of angels at the Second Advent of Christ, Mat 24:31; (c) of their acts in the period of Divine judgments preceding this, Rev 8:2, Rev 8:6, Rev 8:13; Rev 9:14; (d) of a summons to John to the presence of God, Rev 1:10; Rev 4:1; (e) of the act of the Lord in raising from the dead the saints who have fallen asleep and changing the bodies of those who are living, at the Rapture of all to meet Him in the air, 1Co 15:52, where “the last trump” is a military allusion, familiar to Greek readers, and has no connection with the series in Rev. 8:6 to 11:15; there is a possible allusion to Num 10:2-6, with reference to the same event, 1Th 4:16, “the (lit., a) trump of God” (the absence of the article suggests the meaning “a trumpet such as is used in God’s service”).
“to sound a trumpet,” Mat 6:2; as in (2) (c) above, Rev 8:6-8, Rev 8:10, Rev 8:12-13; Rev 9:1, Rev 9:13; Rev 10:7; Rev 11:15; as in (2) (e) 1Co 15:52.