A piercing sound of warning echoes through Jerusalem, calling the people to wake up to a severe and inevitable divine decree. The blast of the horn is not merely a technical alert of approaching danger, but an urgent plea for soul-searching and repentance right before disaster strikes. The primary approach among commentators is that this loud call on the holy mountain is specifically designed to awaken the hearts of the people to return to God.
There are different ways to understand the nature of this alarm. Some view the dual call as a repetition that emphasizes a single idea, highlighting that Zion and the holy mountain are one and the same [רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. In contrast, others draw a distinction between the specific actions and their locations. According to this view, one blast is a continuous sound meant to gather and assemble all the residents of the city, while the second is a broken, frantic sound of panic echoing from within the Temple itself [מלבי״ם]. Taking a different perspective, another approach views this sounding of the horn as a tragic declaration of the Temple's destruction and the impending exile. It acts as a devastating reversal of the Jubilee year horn; instead of announcing that every person may return to their ancestral land, this blast signals that the people are about to be uprooted from their home [אברבנאל].
As a result of this terrifying sound, all the inhabitants of the land will tremble and be shaken with deep fear [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, שטיינזלץ]. This intense panic stems from the arrival of the day of God, a time of judgment when God will strike the land. The exact nature of this disaster is debated; it may take the form of a devastating plague of locusts [רש״י, שטיינזלץ], or it could manifest as national destruction and exile [אברבנאל].
A question arises regarding the timing of this great day—whether it has already arrived or is merely approaching. Commentators explain that unlike human plans, which can be delayed or altered, an imminent divine decree is unstoppable. Because nothing can stand in its way, it is considered so absolutely certain that it is as if it has already occurred [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם, אברבנאל]. Yet, the very instruction to sound the alarm, even at this late stage when the disaster is already unfolding, reveals a profound message of hope. It is never too late to return to God. Even in a time of immediate crisis, when the great day is already at the threshold, the power of repentance remains strong enough to awaken divine mercy and bring about miracles [אבן עזרא, אברבנאל].