''Chazozra'', also ''hazozra'', ''hasosrah'', ''hasoserah'', plural ''chazozrot'', ''hasoserot'' was a

natural trumpet A natural trumpet is a valveless brass instrument that is able to play the notes of the harmonic series. History The natural trumpet was used as a military instrument to facilitate communication (e.g. break camp, retreat, etc.). Even before th ...

used in religious rituals by the

Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

s, made of bronze, silver or silver alloys. The ''chazozra'' is mentioned 31 times in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

and is translated ''tuba'' in the Vulgate. The first written description of the ''chazozra'' is probably recorded in the 4th book of Moses. The prophet Moses is from

Elohim ''Elohim'' (: ), the plural of (), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods". Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it usually takes a singular verb and refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the God of Israel. At other times ...

prompted: "And the LORD spoke to Moses and said: Make two trumpets of beaten silver..." (4

Mos MOS or Mos may refer to: Technology * MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor), also known as the MOS transistor * Mathematical Optimization Society * Model output statistics, a weather-forecasting technique * MOS (filmm ...

10) The straight metal trumpet ''chazozra'' can be distinguished from the curved natural horn ''

shofar A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the ...

'' by its design. While the word ''shofar'' derives from

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

, ''chazozra'' is based on the Hebrew consonant root ''ḤṢR'' (“housing”, “fence”, derived “tube”). The shape, but not the name, appears to have been imported from Egypt, deriving from the simpler Egyptian military trumpet ''

sheneb The chromatic trumpet of Western tradition is a fairly recent invention, but primitive trumpets of one form or another have been in existence for millennia; some of the predecessors of the modern instrument are now known to date back to the Neolit ...

'', which produced only two notes. The ''chazozra'' was usually played in pairs. While the ''chazozra'' is attributed to the institutionalized sacred area and the circle of power of the Second Temple, the ''shofar'' was part of the magical-mystical worship of GodJoachim Braun: Biblical musical instruments. IV Instruments. 4. ḥǎṣôṣrā. In: MGG Online, November 2016 According to the Bible, the dedication of Solomon's temple included “…120 priests who blew trumpets. And it was as if it were someone who trumpeted..., as if a voice could be heard praising and thanking the LORD." ( 2 Chr 5,12-13) When the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. at the end of the Jewish War, the stolen temple equipment was taken to Rome. An illustration of this can be found in the form of two reliefs on the Arch of Titus in Rome (approx. 70 A.D.), which were only added later, around 190 A.D. Flavius Josephus states the length of a ''chazozra'' in his book Antiquities of the Jews as a "bare cubit" (approx. 46 cm).

Literature

*Edward H. Tarr: The Trumpet . Schott, Mainz 1984. ISBN 3-7957-2357-4

References

Ancient Hebrew musical instruments Natural horns and trumpets Sacred musical instruments {{Natural horns

See also

Literature

References