Shofar as a Weapon

In Volume 3 of Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram's Horn, a footnote says:

A shofar can be used as a club; that is afterall, the function of horns on an animal. A large shofar should be at least as effective a weapon as the jawbone of an ass used by Samson to slay 1000 people. (Judges 15:15-16) Perhaps this is why Gideon’s troops held their shofar in their right hand – the stronger hand for most people. Viewed this way, the battle cry, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon” takes on a literal meaning. (Judges 7:20-21). Zangla, Dominick, (1998). Jewish Roots, Part One: Shofar and Prayer Shawl, MV Press says that a, “…ram's horn was affordable to every family and not only could be blown in battle, but also made an excellent weapon.”

Aluf Abir with jawbone.

I asked Yehoshua Sofer Ma'atuf-Do'hh to share his insight on this. He is the current Aluf Abir (grand master) of the Abir Qesheth Hebrew Warrior Arts, a martial arts tradition that traces its roots to ancient Hebrews and was preserved by Jews in Yemen until its recent revival in Israel.

Here is what he sent me today in an email:

Anyone can see the remarkable likeness of the common shofar to a jawbone of an ass, and anyone who grasps the two can feel the similar form and aerodynamic that a swipe of the two have. The jawbone is considerably heavier but the two are similar to the sickle sword and the Jambiyah dagger. The shofar was used to call all warriors to battle, as it was by Ehud Ben Gera to gather his troops on Har Ephraim to converge on the army of the freshly assassinated Moabite king Eglon in the book of Judges. The shofar that we use is good to hammer an opponent like a bludgeon and it is used to hook and disarm swords, bats, and spears.

If a straight horn such a gemsbuck horn, or a curved horn that is straightened, is fabricated into a side blown shofar, the tip of the horn can be sharpened so the horn can be used as a dagger or thrusting sword.