Hebrew word · H3104

יוֹבֵל

yovel

jubilee|horn

(1) A ram, or the ram's horn as an instrument: 'horns of the rams' (Josh 6:4, 6, 8, 13), 'horn of the ram' (Josh 6:5), 'when the ram's horn sounds long' (Exod 19:13). (2) The fiftieth year of release, the 'Jubilee' (Lev 25:10–15; 27:17–24), which was proclaimed by a horn blast.

Appears 27 times in 25 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) ram, ram's horn, trumpet, cornet

1a) ram (only in combination)

1a1) ram's horn, trumpet

1b) jubilee year (marked by the blowing of cornets) (meton)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Joshua 6:6

Range of meaning

(1) A ram, or the ram's horn as an instrument: 'horns of the rams' (Josh 6:4, 6, 8, 13), 'horn of the ram' (Josh 6:5), 'when the ram's horn sounds long' (Exod 19:13). (2) The fiftieth year of release, the 'Jubilee' (Lev 25:10–15; 27:17–24), which was proclaimed by a horn blast.

Against the English

YLT's 'trumpets of the jubilee' reproduces the later English word, but it makes a modern reader think of an anniversary or a celebration. Here the word describes the instrument, horns of rams. The historical link runs the other way: the Jubilee year probably got its name from the horn, not the horn from the year.

How it drifted

Through Greek and Latin (iobeleus, iubilaeus, later blended with Latin iubilare, 'to shout for joy'), 'jubilee' came to mean a festive anniversary. That meaning is far from a ram's horn.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Babylonian Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 26a) reports Rabbi Akiva saying that in Arabia a ram is called yûblāʾ, and the major lexicons (BDB, HALOT) give 'ram' as the basic sense. Exod 19:13 uses the word alone for the horn at Sinai.

From the study of Joshua 6:5

Range of meaning

(1) Ram, the animal. (2) By extension, the ram's horn used as a signal instrument, as in 'horn of the yovel' (Joshua 6:5) or simply 'the yovel' (Exodus 19:13). (3) The Jubilee: the fiftieth year announced by the horn (Leviticus 25:10–15; 27:17–24).

Against the English

Most modern versions say 'ram's horn'. YLT's 'horn of the jubilee' follows the later meaning. It suggests a link to the Jubilee year that this verse does not have: the Jubilee was named after the horn, not the other way round.

How it drifted

In English, 'jubilee' came through the Latin iubilaeus and was blended with iubilare, 'to shout for joy'. So it now suggests a celebration or anniversary. The Hebrew word started as the name of an animal.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Babylonian Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 26a) reports Rabbi Akiva saying that in Arabia people called a ram yuvla. Lexicons such as HALOT also cite a Phoenician ybl, 'ram'. Exodus 19:13 uses yovel alone for the horn at Sinai. Leviticus 25:9 has the Jubilee announced with a shofar and a teru'ah.

From the study of Joshua 6:8

Range of meaning

(1) Ram (Exod 19:13 uses yovel alone for the horn blast at Sinai, and 'horns of the yovelim' here and in vv. 4–6, 13). (2) The Jubilee, the fiftieth year of release (Lev 25:10–15; 27:17–24), apparently named from the horn that announced it. Sometimes it stands for the horn or the blast itself (Josh 6:5 'the horn of the yovel').

Against the English

Most English versions give 'rams' horns.' YLT gives 'trumpets of the jubilee,' which follows the word's other main use but sounds odd. Neither version alone carries the double echo a Hebrew hearer might catch.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Talmud (b. Rosh Hashanah 26a) records Rabbi Akiva saying that in Arabia a ram was called yovla, which supports the meaning 'ram.' The LXX of Joshua 6 has 'sacred trumpets' (salpinges hierai), reading the word in its ceremonial sense. Vulgate: bucinae… quarum usus est in iubileo ('horns… used in the jubilee').

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 19:13 הַיֹּבֵ֔ל the ram's horn

    No hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows—whether man or beast, he must not live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they approach the mountain.”

Leviticus · 20

  1. Leviticus 25:10 יוֹבֵ֥ל a jubilee

    So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan.

    Here: Basically "ram," and from that the ram's-horn trumpet. The year is named after the horn blast that opens it (v. 9). "A yôbēl it shall be" means "it is the ram's-horn year."

  2. Leviticus 25:11 יוֹבֵ֣ל a jubilee

    The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you; you are not to sow the land or reap its aftergrowth or harvest the untended vines.

  3. Leviticus 25:12 יוֹבֵ֣ל [is] a jubilee

    For it is a Jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You may eat only the crops taken directly from the field.

  4. Leviticus 25:13 הַיּוֹבֵ֖ל the jubilee

    In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his own property.

  5. Leviticus 25:15 הַיּוֹבֵ֔ל the jubilee

    You are to buy from your neighbor according to the number of years since the last Jubilee; he is to sell to you according to the number of harvest years remaining.

    Here: The fiftieth year, named after the ram's horn (vv. 9–10). In this year land went back to the family that held it by inheritance. Here it is the fixed point that every land deal is measured against.

  6. Leviticus 25:28 הַיּוֹבֵ֑ל בַּיֹּבֵ֔ל the jubilee, in the jubilee

    But if he cannot obtain enough to repay him, what he sold will remain in possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. In the Jubilee, however, it is to be released, so that he may return to his property.

  7. Leviticus 25:30 בַּיֹּבֵֽל׃ in the jubilee

    If it is not redeemed by the end of a full year, then the house in the walled city is permanently transferred to its buyer and his descendants. It is not to be released in the Jubilee.

  8. Leviticus 25:31 וּבַיֹּבֵ֖ל and in the jubilee

    But houses in villages with no walls around them are to be considered as open fields. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the Jubilee.

  9. Leviticus 25:33 בַּיֹּבֵ֑ל in the jubilee

    So whatever belongs to the Levites may be redeemed—a house sold in a city they possess—and must be released in the Jubilee, because the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the Israelites.

  10. Leviticus 25:40 הַיֹּבֵ֖ל the jubilee

    Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee.

  11. Leviticus 25:50 הַיֹּבֵ֑ל the jubilee

    He and his purchaser will then count the time from the year he sold himself up to the Year of Jubilee. The price of his sale will be determined by the number of years, based on the daily wages of a hired hand.

  12. Leviticus 25:52 הַיֹּבֵ֖ל the jubilee

    If only a few years remain until the Year of Jubilee, he is to calculate and pay his redemption according to his remaining years.

  13. Leviticus 25:54 הַיֹּבֵ֔ל the jubilee

    Even if he is not redeemed in any of these ways, he and his children shall be released in the Year of Jubilee.

  14. Leviticus 27:17 הַיֹּבֵ֖ל the jubilee

    If he consecrates his field during the Year of Jubilee, the price will stand according to your valuation.

  15. Leviticus 27:18 הַיֹּבֵל֮ הַיֹּבֵ֑ל the jubilee

    But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the priest is to calculate the price in proportion to the years left until the next Year of Jubilee, so that your valuation will be reduced.

  16. Leviticus 27:21 בַיֹּבֵ֗ל in the jubilee

    When the field is released in the Jubilee, it will become holy, like a field devoted to the LORD; it becomes the property of the priests.

  17. Leviticus 27:23 הַיֹּבֵ֑ל the jubilee

    then the priest shall calculate for him the value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the man shall pay the assessed value on that day as a sacred offering to the LORD.

  18. Leviticus 27:24 הַיּוֹבֵל֙ the jubilee

    In the Year of Jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom it was bought—the original owner of the land.

    Here: The fiftieth year, named after the ram's horn blown to announce it (Lev 25:9–10). For the first hearers it meant the year of release, when land went back to its family. It did not mean an anniversary or a party.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 36:4 הַיֹּבֵל֮ the jubilee

    And when the Jubilee for the Israelites comes, their inheritance will be added to the tribe into which they marry and taken away from the tribe of our fathers.”

Joshua · 5

  1. Joshua 6:4 הַיּֽוֹבְלִים֙ <the> rams' horns

    Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark. Then on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns.

    Here: Tells you what the horns were: most likely rams' horns, or 'horns of the yovel'. This is the same word that later names the Jubilee year, which a horn blast announced.

  2. Joshua 6:5 הַיּוֹבֵ֗ל <the> ram's horn

    And when there is a long blast of the ram’s horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the wall of the city will collapse and all your people will charge straight into the city.”

    Here: 'Of the ram'. Here the word most likely means 'ram', so the phrase means 'the ram's horn'. The Jubilee year (Leviticus 25) later took its name from this horn, which announced it.

  3. Joshua 6:6 יוֹבְלִ֔ים rams' horns

    So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the LORD.”

    Here: This most likely means 'rams', so the phrase is 'horns of rams'. The same word later gave its name to the Jubilee year, which was announced by a horn blast. Here it describes the instrument, not a celebration.

  4. Joshua 6:8 הַיּֽוֹבְלִים֙ <the> rams' horns

    After Joshua had spoken to the people, seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the horns, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them.

    Here: 'Of the rams,' specifying ram's horns. The same word names the Jubilee year (Lev 25), which was announced by a horn blast, so a Hebrew hearer could catch a ceremonial ring in it.

  5. Joshua 6:13 הַיֹּבְלִ֗ים <the> rams' horns

    And the seven priests carrying seven rams’ horns kept marching ahead of the ark of the LORD and blowing the horns. The armed troops went in front of them and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the horns kept sounding.

    Here: 'Of the rams' tells us what the horns are made of. The same word later names the Jubilee year (Lev 25), which was announced with a ram's-horn blast. That is why YLT reads 'trumpets of the jubilee.'

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.