From <https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/silver-trumpets-numbers-10>:linebreak[go there for full article and pix]linebreak=======================linebreaklinebreakThe Silver Trumpets of Numbers 10linebreakGary A. Rendsburg, Rutgers UniversitylinebreaklinebreakEarlier this year (January 2026), I led a tour of Egypt, sponsored by the Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS), with 38 engaged and enthusiastic participants. The timing was perfect, since the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), located in Giza on the outskirts of Cairo near the pyramids, opened with great fanfare in November 2025. The GEM is simply staggering: c. 100,000 artifacts are on display, including at least 20,000 items displayed for the first time ever, including the complete King Tutankhamun collection comprising 5,398 pieces, on display in two dedicated halls. The GEM is now the second largest museum in the world (only the Louvre is larger), covering 470,000 sq.m. (5,100,000 sq.ft.), and is certainly the largest dedicated to a single civilization.linebreaklinebreakPrior to 2025, the artifacts from the tomb of King Tutankhamun (r. c. 1332 – 1323 B.C.E.), along with everything else now on display in the GEM, were housed at the Egyptian Museum, built in 1901 in central Cairo. That museum is still definitely worth a visit, with the star attraction being the Merneptah Stele, with its mention of Israel – the earliest attestation of the term in the historical record. But the GEM is a true gem, not only for its size, as just described, but also for its outstanding state-of-the-art presentation of the c. 100,000 objects.linebreaklinebreakMy visit earlier this year provided me the opportunity to inspect the famous silver trumpet found in King Tut’s tomb (officially KV 62, found in 1922 by Howard Carter and George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon) and to consider anew the mention of the two silver trumpets in Numbers 10:1‒10. King Tut’s silver trumpet is one of two trumpets found in the tomb, the second one is made of bronze; moreover, both trumpets were discovered with their wooden stoppers. Naturally, bronze is more expected for a musical instrument; silver, much more precious, is rather unexpected.linebreaklinebreak[…]linebreak