Cornet

Hebrew: shophar. Meaning: Brightness, with reference to the clearness of its sound.

See: 1 Chronicles 15:28; 2 Chronicles 15:14; Psalm 98:6; Hos. 5:8.

It is usually translated in the King James Version as “trumpet.” It denotes the long and straight horn, about eighteen inches long [45.72 centimeters]. The words of Joel, “Blow the trumpet,” literally, “Sound the cornet,” refer to the festival which was the preparation for the day of Atonement.

In Dan. 3:5, 7, 10, 15, the word (keren) so rendered is a curved horn.

The word “cornet” in 2 Samuel 6:5 (Hebrew: mena'an'im, occurring only here) was some kind of instrument played by being shaken like the Egyptian sistrum, consisting of rings or bells hung loosely on iron rods.

Author: Matthew G. Easton, with minor editing by Paul S. Taylor.

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