Bible Dictionary
Cornet
A cornet was a horn instrument, commonly the ram’s horn or shofar, used for signals, worship, royal occasions, and sacred festivals. The term can also refer to other horn or shaking instruments.
Definition
A cornet was a loud-sounding horn instrument, commonly made from the horn of a ram, chamois, or sometimes an ox. The Hebrew shophar was a long, straight horn with a clear sound, while another term referred to a curved horn or a shaken instrument.
Biblical Usage
Cornets were used for signals, priestly service, royal occasions, worship, and sacred festivals. The call to sound the cornet in Joel refers to the festival preparing for the Day of Atonement. In another passage, the instrument was played by shaking rings or bells.
Historical Background
The shophar was about eighteen inches long and was valued for the brightness and clarity of its sound. The shaken instrument mentioned in connection with David resembled an Egyptian sistrum, with loose rings or bells attached to rods.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Heb. shophar, “brightness,” with reference to the clearness of its sound (1 Chr. 15:28; 2 Chr. 15:14; Ps. 98:6; Hos. 5:8). It is usually rendered in the Authorized Version “trumpet.” It denotes the long and straight horn, about eighteen inches long. 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 Sam. 6:5 (Heb. 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.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(Heb. shophar), a loud-sounding instrument, made of the horn of a ram or a chamois (sometimes of an ox), and used by the ancient Hebrews for signals, (Leviticus 25:9) and much used by the priests. (1 Chronicles 15:28)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>kor'-net.</p><p>See MUSIC.</p>