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The Identity of the Unicorn
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Q:
Can you give me some information about the strength of a
unicorn and the horn of a unicorn as mentioned in scripture?
A : The Identity of the Unicorn
The unicorn is mentioned 9 times in the Bible (Numbers
23:22; 24:8; Deuteronomy 33:17; Job 39:9, 10; Psalm 22:21;
29:6; 92:10; Isaiah 34:7). Most modern versions of the Bible
identify the unicorn as a wild ox. However, the biblical
descriptions do not fit a wild ox. The characteristics of
the unicorn are as follows:
- The strength of the unicorn is a major theme of the
Bible record about unicorns (Numbers 23:22; 24:8; Job
39:11)
- The unicorn is wild and cannot be tamed (Job
39:9-12)
- The unicorn is a dangerous animal (Psalm 22:21)
- The name unicorn means one-horned, although this
could possibly refer to one prominent horn.
The Bible is clearly not speaking of a wild ox. However,
there is more than one possibility as to its identity.
- First, there is the possibility that the mythical
tales of a horse with a prominent forward horn are not
completely mythical. Perhaps the unicorn is yet to be
discovered. This is not to say that the Bible is
teaching a myth. It is not. And, as the biblical
description demonstrates, the unicorn in the Bible is
not the unicorn of mythology in any way.
- Second, this could be a rare species of rhinoceros
that has only one horn. There is actually such a species
known to zoologists today. Perhaps it was much more
common at one time. Julius Caesar (according to Unger's
Bible Dictionary) described a unicorn that was immense
in size, of great strength and speed, ferocious, and
untamable. This perfectly matches the biblical
description of the unicorn.
- Third, the name, unicorn, could refer to the
prominent horn of the more common rhinoceros.
Deuteronomy 33:17 compares the horns of Joseph to the
horns of unicorns. With them (the horns) he pushes the
people together. They (the horns) are compared to the
ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.
Ephraim and Manasseh are the two tribes that come from
the two sons of Joseph. The younger son (Ephraim) was
given the greater blessing by Jacob (Genesis 48:17-20).
This may be portrayed in Deuteronomy 33:17 by ascribing
ten thousands to Ephraim but only thousands to Manasseh.
How better to picture these two disproportionate tribes
than with an animal that had one prominent horn (the
unicorn) but also had a second much lesser horn. As
further evidence, Psalm 92:10 refers to the horn of the
unicorn as being exalted. This sounds like a forward
pointing horn that naturally points upward—or is
exalted--as the prominent horn of the rhinoceros. These
passages are not absolute proof, but they strongly point
to the rhinoceros as the animal that matches the unicorn
in the Bible. At least until another unicorn is
discovered, the rhinoceros is the most probable identity
of the unicorn. The Bible description matches this
animal very well.
Till He comes,
Pastor David Reagan
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