The Shofar and Trumpet in Byzantine Art

Year 2022, Issue: 31, 129 - 153, 28.06.2022

Hatice Demir

https://doi.org/10.26650/sty.2022.1036418

Abstract

The subject of this study involves the shofar and trumpet, instruments used
both in liturgical and secular ceremonies, and their reflections in religious
art. The article addresses these instruments under certain sub-headings. The
introduction attempts to explain the emergence of the shofar as an instrument.
The trumpet, being frequently mentioned in the Bible, is also included to the
context of the study. References to trumpets and shofars were compared in
terms of how they were mentioned both in paganism and in the Bible. The
other sub-headings first examine the etymological and then iconographic
past of the shofar and trumpet. While evaluating the origin of the shofar, the
iconographic facts were identified as having important points regarding the
etymological derivation of shofar. Chapter 20 in the Bible’s Book of Genesis
deals with how God tests Abraham and sends a ram to replace Isaac upon the
sacrificial altar and how the ram’s horn has an important place in identifying
the shofar’s etymological, material, and iconographic past. This event, known as
the Akedah, has an important place in the Hebrew tradition. For these reasons, the places and usages of shofar and trumpet were classified according to their references given in the Bible. Another
important sub-heading of the study explains the depictions of the shofar and trumpet in religious art that were
chosen as examples. The conclusion heading provides a general evaluation using the given examples.

Keywords

Shofar, trumpet, Byzantium, Bible, religious depiction

Bizans Sanatında Şofar ve Trompet

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın konusunu hem liturji hem de seküler hayattaki törenlerde kullanılan bir çalgı olan şofar ve kullanıldığı yerlerin dinî tasvir sanatına yansımaları oluşturmuştur. Çalışma, birkaç alt başlık altında ele alınmıştır. Giriş bölümünde şofarın bir çalgı olarak nasıl ortaya çıktığı açıklanmıştır. Bu bağlamda, Kitab-ı Mukaddes’te adı sıkça geçen trompet de çalışma kapsamına alınmıştır. Trompet ve şofarın gerek çok tanrılı dönem ve gerekse Kitab-ı Mukaddes’te kullanıldığı yerler karşılaştırılmıştır. Diğer alt başlıklarda; şofarın etimolojisi ve ikonografik geçmişi irdelenmiştir. Etimolojik kökeni değerlendirilirken, şofar adının kökeninde, ikonografik etkenin de önemli olduğu noktası tespit edilmiştir. Kitab-ı Mukaddes Yaratılış episodu 22. Bab’da İbrahim’in Denenmesi olayında oğlu İshak’ı kurban etme ile sınanan İbrahim’e bir koç gönderilmiş ve bu koçun boynuzu şofarın hem etimolojik hem malzeme ve hem de ikonografik geçmişi konusunda önemli olmuştur. Akedah olarak bilinen bu olayın İbrani geleneklerinde önemli bir yeri vardır. Bu nedenle, Kitab-ı Mukaddes’te şofar ve trompetin kullanım yerleri amaçlarına göre sınıflandırılmıştır. Çalışma konusunun önemli bir diğer alt başlığında, şofarın dinî tasvir sanatındaki yeri örnekler ile açıklanmıştır. Sonuç bölümünde ise şofarın dinî tasvirlerdeki seçimleri ile ilgili olarak genel bir değerlendirme yapılmıştır.

Keywords

Şofar, Trompet, Bizans, Kitab-ı Mukaddes, Dinî Tasvir

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