Lexical Summary yobel: Jubilee, ram's horn, trumpet Original Word: יוֹבֵל Strong's Exhaustive Concordance jubile, ram's horn, trumpet Or yobel {yob-ale'}; apparently from yabal; the blast of a horn (from its continuous sound); specifically, the signal of the silver trumpets; hence, the instrument itself and the festival thus introduced -- jubile, ram's horn, trumpet. see HEBREW yabal NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom yabal Definition a ram, ram's horn (a wind instrument) NASB Translation jubilee (21), ram's (1), ram's horn (1), rams' horns (4). Brown-Driver-Briggs יוֺבֵל, יֹבֵל noun masculineNumbers 36:4 ram, ram's horn, cornet (Phoenician יבל ram; compare Di Leviticus 25:10 DlPr 124) — absolute יוֺבֵל Joshua 6:5 7t.; יֹבֵל Exodus 19:13 13t.; plural יוֺבְלִים Joshua 6:4 2t.; יֹבְלִים Joshua 6:13; — 1 ram, only in combination: ׳בִּמְשֹׁךְ בְּקֶרֶן הַיּ Joshua 6:5 the ram's horn, as wind-instrument; so שׁוֺפְרוֺת(ה)י(ו)בלים Joshua 6:4,6,8,13 rams' horns (see BenzArchäol. 276); יֹבֵל alone, בִּמְשֹׁךְ הַיֹּבֵל Exodus 19:13 at the sounding of the ram ('s horn). 2 designation of 50th year, marked by blowing of cornets, AV 'jubile' (so Late Hebrew יוֺבֵל, ᵑ7 יובֵילָא, as loan-word); originally no doubt שְׁנַת הַיּוֺבֵל year of the ram ('s horn), as Leviticus 25:13,28,40,50,52,54 (all H), Leviticus 27:17,18,23,24 (all P), but then, without שׁנת, as יוֺבֵל הִוא תִּהְיֶה לָכֶם Leviticus 25:10 a ram ('s horn blowing) shall it be to you; so Leviticus 25:11; Leviticus 25:12; Leviticus 25:15; Leviticus 25:28; Leviticus 25:30; Leviticus 25:31; Leviticus 25:33 (all H), Leviticus 27:18; Numbers 36:4 (both P). Topical Lexicon Ram’s Horn Usage Exodus 19:13 introduces yōvēl as the specific ram’s horn whose prolonged blast summoned Israel to the foot of Mount Sinai: “When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall come up the mountain”. Unlike the general term shophar, yōvēl highlights the horn as a herald of covenant revelation. In Joshua 6 the same instrument marked the victorious entry into the land (Joshua 6:4-13). Seven priests carried “seven trumpets of ram’s horns before the ark of the LORD,” and at the final blast the walls of Jericho fell. Thus yōvēl bookends deliverance—first at Sinai, then at the first conquered city of Canaan—underlining that triumph belongs to the LORD who speaks and acts for His people. The Year of Jubilee Leviticus 25 employs yōvēl fourteen times to delineate the fiftieth year, the climactic sabbatical cycle. On the Day of Atonement “you shall sound the ram’s horn throughout your land” (Leviticus 25:9). The same horn that once summoned Israel to covenant now announces a nation-wide reset. Key provisions: Leviticus 27:17-24 links the Jubilee to vows and valuations, ensuring that consecrated property could not be permanently removed from tribal inheritance. Numbers 36:4 shows the social ripple: dowry lands transferred by marriage would also return at the Jubilee so that tribal boundaries remained intact. Ministry Principles 1. Divine ownership. “The land is Mine; you are but foreigners and sojourners with Me” (Leviticus 25:23). Jubilee reminded Israel that stewardship, not unrestricted possession, governed life. Historical Observance Scripture never records a national Jubilee actually kept, and Israel’s later exile is tied to sabbatical neglect (2 Chronicles 36:21). The prophetic literature laments debt slavery (Jeremiah 34:8-17; Nehemiah 5) and land monopolies (Isaiah 5:8; Micah 2:2), suggesting failure to implement Jubilee ideals. Yet Ezekiel 40:1 notes a vision dated “in the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year,” language many scholars see as Jubilee allusion, offering hope of future restoration. Christological Fulfilment Isaiah 61 weaves Jubilee imagery—liberty, return, and proclamation—into messianic hope. Jesus read this passage in Nazareth and declared, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). In Him the spiritual realities underlying Jubilee reach their goal: The Jericho narrative also prefigures this fulfilment: seven trumpets, seven days, and a climactic blast echo the consummation imagery of Revelation 8-11 where trumpet series heralds the final victory of God’s kingdom. Contemporary Application • Preaching: Like the Sinai horn, Gospel proclamation summons hearers to approach God through the Mediator. Summary Yōvēl unites instrument and institution. The ram’s horn heralds decisive acts of God, while the Jubilee year embeds those acts in Israel’s calendar, pointing beyond itself to the perfect redemption accomplished and yet to be fully manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ. Forms and Transliterations בַּיֹּבֵ֑ל בַּיֹּבֵ֔ל בַּיֹּבֵֽל׃ בַיֹּבֵ֗ל ביבל ביבל׃ הַיֹּבְלִ֗ים הַיֹּבֵ֑ל הַיֹּבֵ֔ל הַיֹּבֵ֖ל הַיֹּבֵל֮ הַיּֽוֹבְלִים֙ הַיּוֹבֵ֑ל הַיּוֹבֵ֔ל הַיּוֹבֵ֖ל הַיּוֹבֵ֗ל הַיּוֹבֵל֙ היבל היבלים היובל היובלים וּבַיֹּבֵ֖ל וביבל יוֹבְלִ֔ים יוֹבֵ֣ל יוֹבֵ֥ל יובל יובלים baiyoVel bay·yō·ḇêl ḇay·yō·ḇêl bayyōḇêl ḇayyōḇêl haiyoeLim haiyoVel haiyovLim hay·yō·ḇə·lîm hay·yō·ḇêl hay·yō·w·ḇêl hay·yō·wḇ·lîm hayyōḇêl hayyōḇəlîm hayyōwḇêl hayyōwḇlîm ū·ḇay·yō·ḇêl ūḇayyōḇêl uvaiyoVel vaiyoVel yō·w·ḇêl yō·wḇ·lîm yoVel yovLim yōwḇêl yōwḇlîmLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Exodus 19:13 HEB: יִחְיֶ֑ה בִּמְשֹׁךְ֙ הַיֹּבֵ֔ל הֵ֖מָּה יַעֲל֥וּ NAS: he shall not live.' When the ram's horn sounds a long blast, KJV: it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, INT: live sounds horn they shall come Leviticus 25:10 Leviticus 25:11 Leviticus 25:12 Leviticus 25:13 Leviticus 25:15 Leviticus 25:28 Leviticus 25:28 Leviticus 25:30 Leviticus 25:31 Leviticus 25:33 Leviticus 25:40 Leviticus 25:50 Leviticus 25:52 Leviticus 25:54 Leviticus 27:17 Leviticus 27:18 Leviticus 27:18 Leviticus 27:21 Leviticus 27:23 Leviticus 27:24 Numbers 36:4 Joshua 6:4 Joshua 6:5 Joshua 6:6 27 Occurrences |
    |