What does σάλπιγξ (sálpinx) mean in the Bible?
G4536 names a trumpet and can, by extension, refer to its blast. Ancient trumpets signaled assembly, warning, battle, worship, or royal approach, so a clear sound carries recognized authority.
Greek · G4536
σάλπιγξ
A trumpet
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σάλπιγξG4536
Pronunciationsálpinx
What does σάλπιγξ (sálpinx) mean in the Bible?
G4536 names a trumpet and can, by extension, refer to its blast. Ancient trumpets signaled assembly, warning, battle, worship, or royal approach, so a clear sound carries recognized authority.
Reader summary
Full entry for σάλπιγξ (G4536) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4536?
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include trumpet (3), [the] trumpet (2), a trumpet (2), trumpets (2), to a trumpet (1).
Where does σάλπιγξ (sálpinx) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 24:31. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (6), 1 Corinthians (2), 1 Thessalonians (1), Hebrews (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G4536 names a trumpet and can, by extension, refer to its blast. Ancient trumpets signaled assembly, warning, battle, worship, or royal approach, so a clear sound carries recognized authority. In 1Cor. 14. 8, Paul asks who will prepare for battle if a trumpet gives an indistinct call, illustrating why speech in gathered worship must be intelligible. In 1Thess.
4. 16, The Lord descends with a commanding cry, an archangel's voice, and God's trumpet, and the dead in Christ rise. In Heb. 12. 19, Sinai's trumpet blast belongs to a terrifying encounter contrasted with believers' approach to heavenly Zion through Jesus. G4536 opens teaching on clear edification, resurrection comfort, and holy awe. It does not endorse militarizing the church, furnish a detailed sound sequence for date-setting, or make emotional volume equivalent to divine authority.
How the Bible Uses It
G4536 appears as an instrument or blast in Paul's worship instruction, resurrection promises, Jesus' gathering imagery, Sinai remembrance, and Revelation's visions. Its communicative function is stable, but each passage supplies a distinct source and result.
- 1Cor.14.8
Again, if the trumpet sounds a muffled call, who will prepare for battle?
An indistinct trumpet call cannot prepare hearers for battle, illustrating Paul's demand for intelligible speech that builds up the gathered church.
- 1Thess.4.16
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.
The Lord Himself descends with a commanding cry, an archangel's voice, and God's trumpet as the dead in Christ rise first.
- Heb.12.19
To a trumpet blast or to a voice that made its hearers beg that no further word be spoken.
Sinai's trumpet blast and unbearable voice belong to the fearful mountain encounter contrasted with access to heavenly Zion and Jesus.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ittrumpet3×1 Corinthians 15:52, Revelation 8:13, Revelation 9:14
[the] trumpet2×1 Corinthians 14:8, 1 Thessalonians 4:16
a trumpet2×Revelation 1:10, Revelation 4:1
trumpets2×Revelation 8:2, Revelation 8:6
to a trumpet1×Hebrews 12:19
trumpet call1×Matthew 24:31
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 24:31σάλπιγγοςtotrumpet callNoun - Genitive Feminine Singular1 Corinthians 14:8σάλπιγξto[the] trumpetNoun - Nominative Feminine Singular1 Corinthians 15:52σάλπιγγιtotrumpetNoun - Dative Feminine Singular1 Thessalonians 4:16σάλπιγγιto[the] trumpetNoun - Dative Feminine SingularHebrews 12:19σάλπιγγοςtoto a trumpetNoun - Genitive Feminine SingularRevelation 1:10σάλπιγγοςtoa trumpetNoun - Genitive Feminine SingularRevelation 4:1σάλπιγγοςtoa trumpetNoun - Genitive Feminine SingularRevelation 8:2σάλπιγγεςtotrumpetsNoun - Nominative Feminine PluralRevelation 8:6σάλπιγγαςtotrumpetsNoun - Accusative Feminine PluralRevelation 8:13σάλπιγγοςtotrumpetNoun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 24:31
Aligned rows11
Books represented5
Matthew11 Corinthians21 Thessalonians1Hebrews1Revelation6
Source forms
σάλπιγγος5xsalpingosMatthew 24:31, Hebrews 12:19, Revelation 1:10, Revelation 4:1
σάλπιγγι2xsalpingi1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16
σάλπιγγα1xsalpingaRevelation 9:14
σάλπιγγας1xsalpingasRevelation 8:6
σάλπιγγες1xsalpingesRevelation 8:2
σάλπιγξ1xsalpinx1 Corinthians 14:8
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular5xMatthew 24:31, Hebrews 12:19, Revelation 1:10, Revelation 4:1
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular2x1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural1xRevelation 8:6
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular1xRevelation 9:14
Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural1xRevelation 8:2
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular1x1 Corinthians 14:8
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not use battle-trumpet imagery to portray political opponents, other ethnic groups, or questioning church members as enemies to be conquered.
- Do not replace comfort for mourners with arguments over the timing, number, or modern identification of eschatological trumpet events.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every G4536 occurrence names the same chronological trumpet; its uses span worship analogy, Sinai, resurrection, and visions.
- Do not claim that loudness, musical excellence, or a shofar performance carries divine authority apart from God's word.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. A trumpet blast announces divine intervention, judgment, or the eschaton in apocalyptic contexts.
Strong'sG4536
Lexical occurrences11 versesGreek text appearances11 timesWord forms6 forms11 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkJeremiah 4:5-9Source Gloss
a trumpet
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
A trumpet blast announces divine intervention, judgment, or the eschaton in apocalyptic contexts.
a trumpet, used in war and in religious ceremonies: 1Co.14:8, Heb.12:19, Rev.1:10 4:1 8:2, 6 8:11 9:14 By meton., a trumpet blast: μετὰ σ. μεγάλης, Mat.24:31; ἐν σ. θεοῦ, 1Th.4:16; ἐν τ. ἐσχάτῃ σ., 1Co.15:52.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 24:31Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
σάλπιγγοςsalpiggov
a trumpet
Read verse1 Corinthians 14:8Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
σάλπιγξsalpigx
a trumpet
Read verse1 Corinthians 15:52Noun Dative Singular Feminine
σάλπιγγι·salpiggi
a trumpet
Read verse1 Thessalonians 4:16Noun Dative Singular Feminine
σάλπιγγιsalpiggi
a trumpet
Read verseHebrews 12:19Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
σάλπιγγοςsalpiggov
a trumpet
Read verseRevelation 1:10Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
σάλπιγγος,salpiggov
a trumpet
Read verseRevelation 4:1Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
σάλπιγγοςsalpiggov
a trumpet
Read verseRevelation 8:2Noun Nominative Plural Feminine
σάλπιγγες.salpiggev
a trumpet
Read verseRevelation 8:6Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
σάλπιγγαςsalpiggav
a trumpet
Read verseRevelation 8:13Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
σάλπιγγοςsalpiggov
a trumpet
Read verseRevelation 9:14Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
σάλπιγγα,salpigga
a trumpet
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 6 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns6Aligned forms11Case patternGenitive (5)Number patternSingular (9)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Feminine1 Cor 14:81×
Nominative · Plural · FeminineRev 8:21×
Genitive · Singular · FeminineMatt 24:31 · Heb 12:19 · Rev 1:10 · Rev 4:1 · Rev 8:135×
Dative · Singular · Feminine1 Cor 15:52 · 1 Thess 4:162×
Accusative · Plural · FeminineRev 8:61×
Accusative · Singular · FeminineRev 9:141×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
War signal to summon people and announce imminent danger or invasion
Military alarm blown to gather inhabitants and warn of approaching enemy forces
Instrument of war used to muster nations and coordinate military campaign against Babylon
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 11 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
σάλπιγξ is built from this root:
σάλοςG4535
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
G4536 is valuable because a trumpet is not background noise. Its sound is meant to communicate. Paul appeals to that ordinary fact in Corinth: if hearers cannot distinguish the signal, they cannot respond, so congregational speech must pursue intelligibility and edification rather than the speaker's display. In Thessalonica, God's trumpet accompanies the Lord's descent and the resurrection of the dead in Christ.
Paul gives this promise so believers comfort one another in grief, not so they compete over speculative calendars. Hebrews recalls Sinai's overwhelming trumpet within a contrast that magnifies believers' approach to God through Jesus, while preserving divine holiness. These texts make clarity, hope, and awe more important than volume or novelty. A church should speak so people can understand, grieve with resurrection confidence, and approach God gratefully through the mediator.
The trumpet's authority comes from the one whose summons it carries. No instrument, loud service, or urgent preacher can manufacture God's final call.
Anchor passage
1Thess.4.16
Doctrinal connections
- G4536: gathered worship should communicate intelligibly so that the church receives instruction, encouragement, and edification.
- G4536: Christ personally returns in sovereign authority rather than remaining a distant principle or private spiritual idea.
- G4536: the dead in Christ are raised, grounding comfort in resurrection rather than denial of grief.
- G4536: Sinai's terrifying blast witnesses to divine holiness and the seriousness of God's spoken covenant word.
- G4536: heavenly Zion is approached through Jesus the mediator, not through human emotional intensity or ritual sound.
- G4536: a signal's usefulness depends on clarity and recognized authority, providing an ethical pattern for responsible teaching.
G4536 is a feminine Greek noun for a trumpet and can stand metonymically for the sound it produces. Genitive phrases identify its source or association, and comparison language in Revelation can describe a voice as trumpet-like without equating the voice with an instrument.
From Old to New Testament
Trumpets in the Old Testament summon Israel, warn cities, accompany worship, announce kingship, and frame the Lord's awe-inspiring presence. New Testament uses inherit those associations while focusing gathered-church clarity, Christ's return, resurrection, and apocalyptic judgment.