Rosh Hashanah

Scripture

Old Testament / Hebrew Bible

New Testament

Notes

Leviticus 23 and Numbers 29 provide the direct biblical foundation for the festival. Both describe a sacred observance on the first day of the seventh month. The sounding of the horn is a defining feature.

Exodus 12 is important because it identifies Nisan as the first month. This helps explain why the later celebration of a new year in Tishrei can initially seem confusing. Jewish tradition eventually recognized several different beginnings of the year for different purposes.

Nehemiah 8 describes a remarkable gathering on the first day of the seventh month. Ezra read the Law to the people. They were told that the day was holy and were encouraged to rejoice.

The Psalms and Joel show some of the wider biblical uses of horns and trumpets in worship and warning.

The New Testament passages use trumpet imagery in connection with the gathering of God's people, resurrection and judgment. They are useful for understanding the continuing biblical importance of this imagery, but they should not automatically be treated as direct references to Rosh Hashanah.