Abstract

In this article a fragment from the Book of Numbers - Numbers 10:1-10, in which Moses is ordered to make two silver trumpets [חֲצֹצְרָה], has been shown in the research perspective, taking into account, above all, the biblical and historical contexts, as well as archaeo-musicological one. Contrary to the mythologized stories about inventors/ first builders of musical instruments from various areas of the Mediterranean Sea, this fragment contains an original account of the origin of the aerophone (Numbers 10:1-2). Due to their limited melodic capabilities, the ḥǎṣōṣěrâ trumpets, like their Egyptian šnb prototypes, were not musical instruments in the strict sense. They were usually used by priests descended from Aaron and the Levites. Numbers 10:2-10 includes historically reliable technological data (Numbers 10:2) and a developed usage profile of the aerophone (Lb 10:2-10), which is largely reflected in the referenced comparative material from the Old Testament (warfare, sacral celebrations in Jerusalem).

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