Another King James Bible Believer

UNICORNS

A typical Bible Agnostic (he doesn't know for sure what God said in many places) and unbeliever in the inerrancy of ANY Bible in ANY language - including "the" Hebrew and much less in "the" Greek - named Jared N. mocks the King James Bible, saying:  "One of the best things about not being KJV only is I don't have to believe in unicorns."  Then he posted this picture seen here below.

I respond to his post, saying: 

So, Jared N., can you tell us what is the best thing about you being a Bible Agnostic and an unbeliever in the inerrancy of ANY Bible?

Oh, and by the way, unicorns DO exist. They just aren't what you think they are.

Here is a good 26 minute video by a Christian brother showing the Hebrew word Reem, refers to the rhinoceros which was known as the unicorn. Many Bible translations both old and new, in English and foreign languages, refer to the unicorns.  Here is the video -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElCKaOs2sS8

My continued response -

U'NICORN, noun [Latin unicornis; unus, one, and cornu, horn.]

1. an animal with one horn; the monoceros. this name is often applied to the RHINOCEROS.

Webster's Dictionary 1828.
https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/unicorn

Rhinoceros 

RHINOC'EROS, noun [Latin rhinoceros; Gr. nose-horn.]

A genus of quadrupeds of two species, one of which, THE UNICORN, as a single horn growing almost erect from the nose. This animal when full grown, is said to be 12 feet in length. There is another species with two horns, the bicornis. They are natives of Asia and Africa.

https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/Rhinoceros

Is the word “unicorn” an erroneous translation in the King James Bible? The English word unicorn occurs nine times in the KJB, and is found in Numbers 23:22; 24:8; Deut. 33:17; Job 39:9,10; Psalms 22:21; 29:6; 92:10; and Isaiah 34:7. 

It is translated from the Hebrew word reem, which comes from a verb used only once, and found in Zechariah 14:10 “Jerusalem, and ‘it shall BE LIFTED UP and inhabited in her place.” This animal is characterized by something lifted up or high and in a prominent position. 

It is very strong - “God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an UNICORN.” Numbers 23:22. 

It is also used in a symbolic way in our Lord’s prophetic prayer as recorded in Psalms 22:21 “Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.” 

There was no literal lion present when Christ died, but Satan, as a roaring lion, was present, for it was his hour and the power of darkness. There were no literal unicorns present either, but they symbolically or spiritually were present and assisted our Lord Jesus in His greatest hour of need.

This animal was untamable, as can be seen in Job 39:9 - 12, where God asks Job “Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?” 

This passage shows that the unicorn, whatever it was, could not be tamed at all, nor used in farming to plow the fields like an ox can. This, as well as other verses soon to be discussed, shows that many modern versions, like the NKJV, ESV, NIV, NASB, Jehovah Witness NWT and modern Catholic versions like the St. Joseph NAB and New Jerusalem bible are incorrect in their rendering of this word as “wild ox” or a "wild bull". 

The wild ox is nothing more than a “wild guess” and pure speculation on the part of the modern bible editors. A wild ox is like a wild horse. It can be tamed, by castration or placing a yoke on its neck, and bind him with his band in the furrow to bring home thy seed. God’s question to Job is intended to produce a definite NO, not a ‘Yeah, I can do that.’

Brother Teno Groppi writes in his article about the Unicorn -

http://av400.blogspot.com/2012/11/unicorn-was-on-ark.html

"Observe -In Isaiah 34:7 in the 1611 edition the AV translators wrote two slashes || in front of the word UNICORN. Those slashes are known as a siglum, and the 1611 edition makes use of sigla throughout. In the adjacent margin - directly across from this siglum - the AV translators repeat that same siglum, i.e., they write the same two slashes ||, and then immediately after that they write - "or Rhinocerots"

which was the term for the RHINOCEROS in 1611, derived from the Latin UNICORNIS and the Greek MONOKEROS, both meaning ONE-HORNED, and both referring to the RHINOCEROS type creature.

In other words, the AV translators themselves stated that they were equating UNICORN with RHINOCEROS or a type of animal resembling a rhinoceros. They employed UNICORN as a specific type of RHINOCEROS to further indicate that they were referring to a RHINO with a SINGLE HORN, for the SINGLE HORN has spiritual significance in the Bible. That is how everyone understood the passage until scholars arose who can't speak Latin and who know absolutely nothing about the subject of the Bible, all their pretensions notwithstanding. 

The Hebrew has another word for ox (sowr), so that is hardly a valid alternative in light of the historic interpretation of re’em as “unicorn.” Furthermore, we find unicorns together WITH bullocks and bulls in Isaiah 34:7, thus ruling out that re’em was a bull or bullock

Now since the AV translators made it plain that they were talking about the RHINOCEROS - for it comes from their own lips - only a complete ignoramus would assert that they were referring to a mythical creature.

Further still, the AV translators were masters of the patristic literature, including Jerome, who in the 4th century translated the Hebrew word REEM as RHINOCEROTIS five times and UNICORNIS four times. Did you get that? Jerome translated this SAME Hebrew word as RHINOCEROTIS and UNICORNIS. Jerome studied Hebrew for years under the Jews before he began his translation of the OT, thus it is from the Jews that Jerome derived his definitions.

As just stated, the AV translators were EMINENTLY familiar with all of this, as well as statements by others, such as Tertullian in ca 200 who also mentions the RHINOCEROS in the OT passage which the AV translates as UNICORN.

Finally, the UNICORN symbolizes the strength of Israel. A wild ox simply doesn't fill the bill. For example, observe this rhetorical question -

Job 39:9-10 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? 10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?

 This passage clearly indicates that the animal in question is UNTAMABLE. Modern bibles such as the NKJ, NASB, NIV, et cetera, use the term WILD OX here, which once again demonstrates the incompetence of modern translators. In fact, wild oxen are tamed every day. Wild oxen do not symbolize anything but servitude.

The UNICORN symbolizes the strength of Israel, and this is how the word is employed in this passage and the others."

The term unicorn is used in the exact way it is intended. Not in the erroneous sense of a horse like creature with one horn that shoots rainbows out of it's behind. That creature exists only in the minds of people with creative imaginations.

Notice what the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge says about this matter -

"The REEM, most probably denotes the RHINOCEROS, so called from the horn on its nose. In size he is only exceeded by the elephant; and in strength and power inferior to none. He is at least twelve feet in length, from the snout to the tail; six or seven feet in height; and the circumference of the body is nearly equal to his length. He is particularly distinguished from all other animals by the remarkable and offensive weapon he carries on his nose; which is very hard horn, solid throughout, directed forward."

Jamieson-Faussett-Brown concur -

"Israel is not as they were at the Exodus, a horde of poor, feeble, spiritless people, but powerful and invincible as a REEM --THAT IS, A RHINOCEROS."

Only in the past hundred years or so, when scholars no longer understand Latin and the cognitive relationship of Latin and Greek to English, as well as a virtual bankruptcy of knowledge of the patristic and rabbinic literature, not to mention that their Hebrew grammars are all based on theories which postulate that Moses didn't write the Pentateuch, that Daniel wasn't written until the Maccabean period, ad nauseam, have scholars substituted the utterly absurd WILD OX for the glorious UNICORN, which alone symbolizes the strength of Israel in these contexts.

In summary, the UNICORN is NOT a mythical creature. The UNICORN from the earliest times has meant ONE-HORNED and has ALWAYS referred to the Rhinoceros.  [End of Teno's comments]

Those who criticize the KJB’s unicorns try to muster a group of “scholars” who give their opinion as to what this animal was. But listen carefully to their words. Henry Morris - “The Hebrew word translated unicorn is believed by most Hebrew scholars to refer to the huge and fierce aurochs, or wild ox now extinct.” 

W. L. Alexander (Pulpit Commentary) “the reem is supposed to be the aurochs, an animal of the bovine species, allied to the buffalo, now extinct.” 

Charles Spurgeon wrote “The unicorn may have been some gigantic ox or buffalo now unknown and perhaps extinct.” 

William Houghon “WE THINK THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT (how is that for certainty !) that some species of wild ox is intended.”

Eastons’ Bible dictionary says: “The exact reference of the word is doubtful. Some have supposed it to be the buffalo, others the white antelope called by the Arabs rim. Most probably, however, the word denotes Bos Primigenius, which is now extinct.”

All of this is pure speculation. The fact is the modern bible translators do not know what this animal was, and many of them say that whatever it might have been, it is now extinct. 

Wild oxen still exist, and they can be tamed and domesticated. In fact some bibles like The Wellbeloved Scriptures 1862, The Revised English Bible 1877, Darby 1890, Rotherham's 1902 Emphasized bible and the Spanish of 1960 translate this word as “BUFFALO"

while the Douay Rheims of 1610 read "unicorn" (Deut. 33:17) but the revised Douay-Rheims of 1821 and 1950 have "rhinoceros" (Deut. 33:17) but "unicorn" in some of the other verses. 

The 1950 Douay Version has "rhinoceros" in Numbers, Deuteronomy and Job, but "unicorn" in Psalm 22:21; 29:6; 92:10 and Isaiah 34:7.

Young's 'literal' translation shows that he simply did not know what the animal in question referred to, so he merely transliterated the Hebrew word, and did not translate it at all. His version consistently reads "the rheem" except in Psalm 22:21 where Young translated it - "Save me from the mouth of a lion: -- And -- from the horns of THE HIGH PLACES Thou hast answered me!", while the Ferrar Fenton translation done in 1910 had "bulls".  

Let's see now...unicorns, buffaloes, rhinoceros, rheem, the high places and bulls.  Yep, all pretty much the same things, right? ;-) 

Whenever you hear the phrase "All scholars agree" you should know right away that the guy has no idea what he is talking about.

Who is changing the Greek Lexicons?

Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon

I recently discovered something that I think is very interesting and quite enlightening about how modern scholars are changing the definitions that words once had. I have in my study two different printings of the well known Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon. One is from 1887 and the other one is from 1976, which was a reprint of the 9th edition of 1940. The more modern Liddell and Scott defines the word monokeros as "a wild ox". However the 1887 edition gives only one definition of the word - A UNICORN!!!

The same thing occurs with the word translated as "LUNATICK" in the King James Bible (and many others as well) two times in the N.T. In Matthew 4:24 and in Matthew 17:15 we read "lunatics" and "he is a lunatic". The 1887 Liddell and Scott edition page 632 clearly defines this word as "to be moon struck or lunatic."  But the 1976 edition now has as the definition - "to be moonstruck, i.e. EPILEPTIC"  So again, who changed this?  

A third example I have found is in the definition of the Greek word monogenes - or "only begotten". Liddell & Scott's Lexicon 1887 on page 451 defines monogenes as "ONLY-BEGOTTEN".  Yet the 1976 edition of Liddell & Scott completely omits any reference to "only begotten" and NOW has as the definitions "UNIQUE", "ONLY, or SINGLE".

Now, it should be obvious that Liddell and Scott themselves were not alive in 1976 so that they could suddenly change their minds about what this word meant. So who changed the definition of this word for future generations?

Using the Correct Definition

Unicorn means literally “one - horned”; it was a one horned animal.  If you look in Websters’ 1828 Dictionary of the English Language for the definitions of these two words - unicorn and rhinocerous - here is what you find.

unicorn

U'NICORN, n. [L. unicornis; unus, one, and cornu, horn.]

1. an animal with one horn; the monoceros. this name is often applied to the rhinoceros.

2. The sea unicorn is a fish of the whale kind, called narwal, remarkable for a horn growing out at his nose.

3. A fowl.

fossil unicorn, or fossil unicorn's horn, a substance used in medicine, a terrene crustaceous spar.

Notice there is no mention of a mythical horse like creature.

rhinoceros

RHINOC'EROS, n. [L. rhinoceros; Gr. nose-horn.]

A genus of quadrupeds of two species, one of which, the unicorn, as a single horn growing almost erect from the nose. This animal when full grown, is said to be 12 feet in length. There is another species with two horns, the bicornis. They are natives of Asia and Africa.

See pictures and history of Single horned Rhinoceros and other animals

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/indian-rhinoceros/ 

12 Second video of baby rhino “skipping”  

"He maketh them also to skip like a calf: Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn." Psalm 29:6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buBS8joKYSs

Baby Rhino skips around while playing with a lamb.

Really cute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx0uAhwPFHE

 Check out this fascinating short You Tube video about the correct definition of a unicorn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWHJMz2Neog&feature=player_embedded

Bible Translations that say UNICORN 

The King James Bible is not at all alone in translating this specific Hebrew word as unicorn. In fact the word unicorn is found in the Latin Vulgate of 382 A.D. - "et a cornibus unicornium", Wycliffs translation 1395, Tyndale 1525 (he translated part of the Old Testament before he was killed), Coverdale?s Bible 1535, the Great Bible 1540, Matthew's Bible 1549, the Bishops Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1599, the Douay-Rheims bible of 1610 (Psalm 22:21; 29:6; 92:10 and Isaiah 34:7), The Bill Bible 1671, The Smith Bible 1876, George Lamsa's 1933 translation of the Syriac Peshitta (Deut. 33:17; Job 39:9-10 and Isaiah 34:7), the so called Greek Septuagint version, Las Sagradas Escrituras of 1569 by Cassiodoro de Reina, as well as the Spanish Cipriano de Valera of 1602, all of which preceded the King James Bible. 

Foreign Language Bibles

Today, other more modern versions that contain the word unicorn are the Spanish Reina Valera of 1909, the Spanish Las Sagradas Escrituras 1999 edition "unicornio", the 2004 Spanish Reina Valera Gomez bible, the Portuguese A Bíblia Sagrada - Job 39:9-10 "Querer-te -á servir o UNICORNIO ou ficará na tua cavalariça? 10 Ou amarrarás o UNICORNIO ao rego com uma corda, ou estorroará após ti os vales?", the Italian Diodati 1649 - "liberandomi dalle CORNA DE' LIOCORNI.", the French Martin 1744 "licornes", the Finnish Bible 1776 - "ja päästä minua yksisarvillisista.", Swedish Bible 1917 - "undan vildoxarnas horn.", Luther's German 1545 (Einhorn) and the updated Luther German Bible of 1912 "EINHORNSHOMER", the Ukranian Bible - "Чи захоче служити тобі одноріг? = "Will the UNICORN be willing to serve you?", the Russian Synodal Translation 1876 - "и от рогов единорогов", the Dutch Staten Vertaling Bible - "Zal de EENHORN", the Czeck Bible Kralicka - "Svolí-liž jednorožec", The Portuguese Almeida Corrigida 2009 - “Querer-te-á servir O UNICORNIO ou ficará na tua cavalariça? 10 Ou amarrarás O UNICORNIO ao rego com uma corda, ou estorroará após ti os vales?”, the Romanian Fidela Bible of 2014 - "Va voi UNICORNUL sa te serveasca" = "Will the UNICORN be willing to serve you?" 

Bibles that have UNICORNS in them.

Other Bibles that read UNICORN are The Modern Greek translation of the Old Testament "monokeros" (not to be confused with the so called LXX), 

The Modern Greek Bible - Psalms 22:21 -  Σωσον με εκ στοματος λεοντος και εισακουσον μου, ελευθερονων με απο κερατων μονοκερωτων. = horns of unicorns.

https://newchristianbiblestudy.org/bible/greek-modern/psalms/22/

The Modern Greek Bible also has UNICORNS in Numbers23:33; Deuteronomy 33:17 -  και τα κερατα αυτου ως τα κερατα του μονοκερωτος·  = and his horns as the horns of the unicorn., and in Job 39:9-10, Psalms 29:6, 92:10 and in Isaiah 34:7 - Και οι μονοκεροι θελουσι καταβη μετ' αυτων - And the UNICORNS will come down with them

This Online Hebrew Interlinear Bible - "Be willing will THE UNICORN to serve thee?, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind THE UNICORN in the furrow?

https://studybible.info/IHOT/Job%2039:9-10

The Jewish Virtual Library  The Tanakh [Full Text] 1994 

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-tanakh-full-text

has UNICORNS in Psalms 22:21 - "Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.",  Psalms 29:6,  Psalms 92:10;  Job 39:9-10 and in Isaiah 34:7 

The Bill Bible 1671, The Smith Bible 1876, The Brenton Translation 1851, The Thompson Bible 1808, Daniel Webster?s translation of the Bible 1833, The Longman Version 1841, Darby's translation of 1890, Lamsa's 1933 Bible translation of the Syraic Peshitta, the 1936 edition of the Masoretic Scriptures put out by the Hebrew Publishing Company of New York, the Catholic Douay version of 1950, The Word of JAH translation 1993, the 21st Century King James Version 1994, The Revised Webster Bible 1995, the Third Millennium Bible 1998, God's First Truth 1999, the Apostolic Bible Polyglot English of 2003 - "Shall be willing And to you the UNICORN to serve? (Job 39:9), The Revised Geneva Bible 2005, the Complete Apostles' Bible of 2005 - "And will THE UNICORN be willing to serve you, or to lie down at your manger?", the Apostolic Bible 2006 - "will be willing THE UNICORN to serve you?", English Jubilee Bible 2010, Biblos Interlinear Bible 2013, the Hebraic Transliteration Scriptures 2010 by Yerusha Shen "from the horns of the UNICORNS" (Ps. 22:21), the Work of God's Children's Illustrated Bible 2011 - "from the horns of THE UNICORNS." and The New Brenton Translation 2012, and The New English Septuagint Translation 2014 - "Save me from a lion's mouth, and my lowliness from the horns of UNICORNS!" Psalm 22:21

The New Brenton Translation 2012 -

http://www.katapi.org.uk/katapiNSBunix/master.html?http://www.katapi.org.uk/katapiNSBunix/Versions/versionsBookChrs.php?Cv=1&version=NBr

Numbers 23:22 - “he has as it were the glory of THE UNICORN”

Numbers 24:8 - “God led him out of Egypt; he has as it were the glory of a unicorn”

Deuteronomy 33:17 - “His beauty is as the firstling of his bull, his horns are the horns of a UNICORN”

Job 39:9 - “And will the UNICORN be willing to serve you, or to lie down at your manger?”

Psalms 22:21 (Psalms 21:22) - “Save me from the lion's mouth; and regard my lowliness from the horns of the UNICORNS.”

Psalms 29:6 (28:6) - “And he will beat them small, even Libanus itself, like a calf; and the beloved one is as A YOUNG UNICORN.”  

Psalm 92:10 (91:11) - “But my horn shall be exalted as the horn of a UNICORN; and mine old age with rich mercy.”

The Biblos Bible 2013 - 

Numbers 23:22 - “he has as it were the strength of A UNICORN”, also in Numbers 24:8, 

Deuteronomy 33:17 - “his horns are like the horns of UNICORNS”

UNICORN also in Job 39:9-10 “will the UNICORN be willing to serve you?….Can you bind the UNICORN in a furrow with his band?”

Psalms 22:21 and 29:6 and Psalms 92:10 - “But my horn you shall exalt like the horn of A UNICORN.”  

Isaiah 34:7 - “And shall come down THE UNICORNS with them and the bulls… and their land shall be soaked with blood”

Interlinear Hebrew Old Testament

Psalms 22:21 etc. "thou hast heard me from the horns of THE UNICORNS"

http://studybible.info/IHOT/Psalms%2022:21

The Modern Greek Bible (totally different from the so called Greek Septuagint) has the word monokeros in these same Old Testament passages, and if you look at a Modern Greek dictionary, the word simply means a UNICORN! Here is an online Greek dictionary with both Greek and English.  http://www.kypros.org/cgi-bin/lexicon  

Just type in the word monokeros for Greek to English, or on the other side (English to Greek)  type in the word unicorn.  There you will clearly see that the way to say unicorn is this same Greek word, and the Modern Greek Bible has unicorns in these same Old Testament passages.

The Greek Septuagint (LXX). Regardless of when you think this Greek translation of the Old Testament was made or by whom, this version is chock-full of satyrs, devils, dragons, and unicorns. The word unicorns is found in Numbers 23:22; Deuteronomy 33:17; Job 39:9; Psalms 22:21; 29:6; 78:69, and 92:10.  Brenton's translation of the Greek Septuagint Job 39:9 - "And will THE UNICORN be willing to serve thee, or to lie down at thy manger?"

Some King James Bible critics hypocritically tell us that the KJB translators followed the so called Greek Septuagint (LXX) when they translated the word as "unicorn".  This objection is both hypocritical and false.  Hypocritical because all modern versions like the NASB, RSV, ESV, NIV frequently reject the clear Hebrew readings and follow one of the various LXX readings, and  false because in Deut. 33:17 where the KJB and others rightly have the plural "unicorns" the KJB margin says: "HEBREW - an unicorn". Notice that it does NOT say "LXX - an unicorn".

One other verse that puts the lie to the modern versions use of “wild ox”, besides the reference in Job, is Psalms 92:10. ‘But my HORN shalt thou exalt like the HORN of AN UNICORN.” The NASB, NIV, NKJV read: “You have exalted my HORN like THAT OF A WILD OX.” Now, I ask you a simple question. How many horns does a wild ox have? Not one, but two.

Psalm 92:10 Wycliffe 1395 - And myn horn schal be reisid as an VNICORN; and myn eelde in plenteuouse merci.

Bishop's Bible 1568 - But my horne shalbe exalted lyke the horne of an VNICORNE: for I am annoynted with excellent oyle.

Coverdale 1535 - But my horne shalbe exalted like the horne of an VNICORNE, & shal be anoynted with fresh oyle.

The Great Bible 1540 - "Psalm 92:10 But my horne shalbe exalted like the horne of an UNICORNE, for I am anoynted with fresh oyle."

Matthew's Bible (John Rogers) 1549 - "Psalm 92:10 But my horne shalbe exalted like þe horne of an VNICORNE, & shalbe anoynted wyth fresh oyle.

Geneva Bible 1599 - But thou shalt exalt mine horne, like the VNICORNES, and I shalbe anoynted with fresh oyle.

Douay-Rheims version of 1610 - Psalm 92 - "But my horn shall be exalted like that of the UNICORN"

Douay Version of 1950 - Psalm 92:10 (91:11) - "But my horn shall be exalted like that of the UNICORN..."

Brenton's English Septuagint Translation - "But my horn shall be exalted as the horn of a UNICORN"

Complete Apostles Bible 2003 - "my horn shall be exalted as the horn of a UNICORN"

Third Millennium Bible 1998 - But my horn shalt Thou exalt like the horn of a UNICORN; I shall be anointed with fresh oil.

The Catholic Sacred Scriptures Public Domain Version 2009 - Psalm 92 - "And my horn will be exalted like that of the single-horned beast" 

This latest Catholic bible version has "rhinoceros" in Numbers, Deuteronomy, Job, but "single horned beast" in Psalm 22, 29, 92 and the Isaiah 34:7 passage. And what exactly is a "single horned beast"? It's a unicorn!  

The Catholic Connection

Previous Catholic Bibles - Unicorns 

The Catholic Douai-Rheims 1610 and the 1950 edition of the Douay Version.

Unicorns -

Psalm 22:21 - Save me from the lion's mouth; and my lowness from the horns of the UNICORNS.

Psalm 29:6 - And shall reduce them to pieces, as a calf of Libanus, and as the beloved son of UNICORNS.

Psalm  78:69 - And he built his sanctuary as of UNICORNS, in the land which he founded for ever.

Psalm 92:10 - But my horn shall be exalted like that of the UNICORN: and my old age in plentiful mercy.

Isaiah 34:7 - And the UNICORNS shall go down with them, and the bulls with the mighty: their land shall be soaked with blood, and their ground with the fat of fat ones.

The Douay Version 1950

Psalms 21:22 - Save me from the lion' s mouth; and my lowness from the horns of the UNICORNS.

Psalms 28:6 - And shall reduce them to pieces, as a calf of Libanus, and as the beloved son of UNICORNS.

Psalms 77:69 - And he built his sanctuary as of UNICORNS, in the land which he founded for ever.

Isaias (Isaiah) 34:7 - And the UNICORNS shall go down with them, and the bulls with the mighty: their land shall be soaked with blood, and their ground with the fat of fat ones.

BUT NOW, the modern Catholic Versions - The Catholic St. Joseph New American Bible 1970 and the New Jerusalem bible 1985 -

Psalm 22:21 - “save me from the horns of THE WILD BULLS”

Psalm 29:6 - “He makes Lebanon leap like a calf and Sirion like A YOUNG BULL.”

Psalm 92:11 - “You give me the strength of THE WILD OX” (New Jerusalem)  St. Joseph - “like the WILD BULL’S”

Isaiah 34:7 - “THE WILD OXEN will fall with them, the bullocks with the bulls.”

Many other modern versions can't even agree among themselves how to translate this word. Compare these other translations of Psalm 92:10

Rotherham's Emphasized bible 1902, Darby's translation - Thou wilt exalt, as those of THE BUFFALO, my horn, I have been anointed, with fresh oil.

Young's 'literal' - And Thou exaltest as a REEM my horn, I have been anointed with fresh oil.

Green's 'literal' - But You will lift up my horn as THE WILD OX, and I will be anointed with fresh oil.

Bible in Basic English 1960 - But my horn is lifted up like the horn of THE OX

Some would criticize the KJB in Deuteronomy 33:17 where Moses is blessing Israel. He says: "His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his HORNS are like the HORNS OF UNICORNS: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth."

The Oxford and Cambridge KJB editions say in the marginal note: Hebrew - unicorn. This is a masculine singular absolute noun. Yet it is rendered as a plural "unicorns" not only by the KJB but also by Lamsa's 1936 translation of the Syriac Peshitta - " his horns are like the horns of unicorns",  Websters Bible 1833, the Third Millennium Bible 1998, the 21st Century KJV 1994, the Jubilee Bible 2010, and The Biblos Bible 2013. 

This online Hebrew interlinear - “and his horns of unicorns”

https://studybible.info/IHOT/Deuteronomy%2033:17

Those who criticize the KJB for rendering a singular noun as a plural are showing their selective use of the Hebrew language.

Brother in Christ and fellow King James Bible believer Dr. Larry Bednar points out - "The KJV horns of unicorns is literally horns of unicorn, horns of him in the Hebrew, but Hebrew for singular unicorn and him does not apply to a single wild ox noted in the NIV. The Hebrew suffix of horns signifies the regular plurality of a group, not dual plurality of one ox with two horns. Context refers to Joseph, so the Hebrew singular sense refers to the unicorn as a single species, and him has the singular sense of a group that this pronoun frequently displays, so horns of unicorns is correct. Horns of a wild ox in the NIV is not acceptable grammatically since it indicates one animal. Horns of the wild ox (the species), as the NASV has it, is the correct grammatical sense, but the isn't in the text, and resultant error confuses readers about the identity of the animal that fits the context. Modern versions sacrifice literality of language unnecessarily by use of a or the to justify use of wild ox."

 Even in English we sometimes us a singular noun that refers to a species rather than to just one individual animal.  “Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam, and the skies are not cloudy all day.”

Here the word buffalo refers not to just one individual buffalo but to the species in general.

All Bible translations frequently translate a singular masculine absolute noun as a plural. In this same book of Deuteronomy, in just the first 10 chapters, the NKJV, NIV and NASB do this very thing. Deut. 8:15 “nachash” & “aqrab” (singular nouns) are translated by all as “serpents & scorpions”, in Deut. 1:19, 20 “har” is mountains in the NKJV, Deut 1:1, 2:37 “bahar” and “har” as hills or mountains in NKJV, KJB, and NIV. Deut. 1:23, 35 and in many other places “ish” as “men”; Dt. 3:3 “sarid” as survivors in NIV, NKJV; Deut. 5:15 “ebed” slaves in NIV, Deut. 7:9 “dowr” generations in NIV & NKJV; Deut. 8:8 “rimmown” as pomegranates in NASB, NIV and NKJV; Deut. 9:ll, 18, 25 “layil” as “nights” in NASB, NIV and NKJV; and Deut. 10:19 “gare” as strangers or aliens in NIV, NKJV, and NASB.

So the person who tries to attack the KJB for rendering a singular noun as a plural, just doesn’t know what he is talking about. Because of the "horns" plural, the KJB has made the singular noun as plural in the context. There are many words like this in English which can be either singular or plural like: deer, sheep, moose, elk, fish, buffalo and trout etc.

The historic rabbinic commentary (Ibn Ezra, Radaq, Rashi, Saadi Gaon et. al.) views on Deuteronomy 33:17, and the re'em question in general support the King James reading in Deuteronomy.  As an example Radaq (Kimchi) is considered, historically, as the single most important Hebrew linguist and grammatical expert.  Go to the link (it is still active as of Feb. 2010) and scroll down to Discussion #115 where he talks about the Lion and the Unicorn.

http://britam.org/proof3.html

Rabbi David Kimchi (Safer HaShorashim, RAEM): His horns are like the horns of UNICORNS (Deuteronomy 33:17). "It is intended to mean that his horns are like the horns of (several) UNICORNS for the Raem has only one horn."

The Unicorn was a one horned animal of some kind. I don't think we know for sure what it was, but it was not a wild ox as the NKJV, NASB, NIV have it. It could not be tamed (Job 39: 9, 10) and Psalm 92:10 is speaking of a one horned animal, while the "wild ox" of the NKJV, NIV, NASB has two horns; not just one.

One definite possibility is the Indian rhinoceros, of which there are still about 2000 alive today. They used to cover large areas, but are now limited to India and Nepal. They weigh about 4,500 pounds, can run at over 20 miles an hour; they have one large horn on the snout and their scientific name is Rhinoceros UNICORNIS.

In the original 1611 edition of the KJB, the editors placed “or Rhinoceros” in the margin of Isaiah 34:7 where it reads: “And the unicorns shall come down with them.” It is still in the modern editions of the KJB. So the KJB editors were not ignorant of the possibility of the unicorn being a rhinoceros. I do not know, nor does any one else but God, what the unicorn was or is.

Jerome in the 4th century translated the Hebrew word Reem as Rhinocerotis five times and Unicornis four times. Jerome studied Hebrew under the Jews before he began his translation of the OT, thus it is from the Jews directly that Jerome derived his definitions.

The Unicorn was a one horned animal of great strength; it could not be tamed, and it is always used in a good and positive sense in Scripture. The KJB is not in error by translating this word as unicorn, but the modern versions are just taking a wild guess with their ?wild oxen? and the other scriptures show their wild guess to be wrong.

All we know for sure is that the unicorn was a one horned, very powerful animal, and since the KJB translators themselves, some Bible commentators, both the Greek and the Syriac translations have “unicorns” and the English dictionary lists one of the definitions of the word “unicorn” as being the one horned rhino, I think that it probably what it is referring to. 

But it is not a “wild ox” or a “buffalo” because these have two horns and that ends up contradicting Psalms 92:10 that says: “But my HORN (singular) shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.”

Will Kinney

See also the related article called "Satyrs, Dragons, Unicorns and Cockatrices

http://brandplucked.webs.com/satdragunicorns.htm

Return to Articles - http://brandplucked.webs.com/articles.htm

 The King James Bible is right, as always.

All of grace, believing The Book,

Will Kinney

Objection Raised by the Bible Critics.

Some Bible critics I have run into tell us that the KJB's "unicorns" meaning "rhinoceros" is wrong because there are no rhinos in Israel.  BUT the fact remains, they have discovered the bones of rhinos in the land of Israel, proving that they did in fact live in that area of the world in the past.

Rare Paleolithic Site Filled With Animal Bones Uncovered at Israeli Quarry.


https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-israeli-quarry-yields-prehistoric-site-1.5341603

(Note: though I disagree with their timeline of 170,000 years ago, the fact remains that Rhinos once lived in the land of Israel.)


?The large pit, settled 170,000 years ago, contains BONES OF RHINOS  and an extinct species of wild cattle.

The newest finding is an enormous quantities of auroch bones ? an extinct species of large wild cattle that is the ancestor of domestic cattle ? which were found, together with the bones of other large mammals such as horse, RHINOCEROS and fallow deer, and of smaller animals including gazelles and land turtles. They were uncovered in 2010 and 2011 in rescue digs carried out by Yossi Zaidner of the University of Haifa?s Zinman Institute of Archaeology.? 

Notes from the Internet -

A couple of years after writing this article, someone at Answers in Genesis posted this

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v6/n1/unicorn-controversy?utm_source=aigsocial12052013unicorn&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=facebooktwittergooglelinkedin 

Some writers who hold to the two-horned identity think that the KJV translators substituted the plural unicorns for the singular an unicorn in Deuteronomy 33:17 because they were uncomfortable with the idea of a two-horned unicorn. 

However, the KJV translators themselves noted the literal translation an unicorn in their own margin note. They likely chose the plural rendering to fit the context of the verse. Deuteronomy 33:17 (KJV) states, "His [Joseph's] glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh." 

The verse compares the tribal descendants of Joseph's "horns", meaning descendants of his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, with the strong horns of unicorns. A possible interpretation is that horns is plural because there are two sons in view, and unicorn is referenced because the unicorn's horn is so incredibly strong. 

As Rabbi David Kimchi noted in the 13th century, several horns belonging to several unicorns are in view here because the Hebrew word refers to a one-horned animal. Another possible interpretation is that the two-horned rhinoceros was in view here. This two-horned animal has one larger horn and one smaller horn, just like the number of descendants of Ephraim was larger than the number of Manasseh?s descendants.

Incidentally, the translation of a singular noun as a plural is actually a common practice in all translation work when the context and linguistics so warrant, not only in secular translation but in the King James Version we have in view here. The idea that the King James translators were trying to do something sneaky with the language is wrong; they were simply using the context to make sure the meaning was clear and correct, and they even made note of what they were doing in their own margin notes.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkPk69Fa_n8

Giant 'Siberian unicorn' existed much more recently than previously thought, experts say.

Unicorn or Wild oxen in Numbers 23:22 et al.

"God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn." (Numbers 23:22, KJV)

From KJV Today -
http://www.kjvtoday.com/home/unicorn-or-wild-oxen-in-numbers-2322-et-al

The KJV has been criticized for mentioning creatures that are supposedly mythical. Unicorns are one of them. However, unicorns are not mythical creatures. They are called Rhinoceros Unicornis (Indian Rhinoceros) and each one has one horn on its head. “Unicorn” simply means “one horn.” The KJV margin for “unicorns” in Isaiah 34:7 reads “Or, Rhinoceros” so the KJV translators were not foolish as to think of the unicorn as the mythical horse with a magical horn.

Image by Albrecht Dürer (1515): from Wikipedia entry on "Indian rhinoceros"

Some critics point to Deuteronomy 33:17 and assert that the KJV erroneously translates a singular noun in the plural by translating  (reem) as "unicorns." These critics allege that the KJV translators fudged the numbers of the unicorns from singular to plural in order to accommodate the fact that "horns" in the plural are mentioned (a unicorn should have only one horn). 

These critics do not understand the generalizing use of the singular noun, in which case a singular noun could give the sense of the plural. There are clear examples of this in Isaiah 11:7. This is another passage in the Bible that mentions animals in the singular. The Hebrew has a singular cow (פּרה), bear (דּב), lion (אריה) and ox (בּקר). 

This is the familiar passage that say, "And the cow and the bear shall feed... and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." Notice the singular nouns. However, the NCV says, "Cows and bears will eat together in peace... Lions will eat hay as oxen do." The CEV says, "Cows and bears will share the same pasture... Lions and oxen will both eat straw." 

Notice the plural nouns. The NCV and CEV are not literal translations; however, their translations of the singular nouns in Isaiah 11:7 properly convey the correct sense that pluralities are implied. 

Anybody can see that when the KJV says "the lion shall eat straw" the passage is not speaking of a single lion, but of the entire specie, which consists of not one lion but many lions. Thus when the KJV translates the singular ראם(reem) as plural "unicorns" in Deuteronomy 33:17, it is neither wrong nor dishonest. The ראם (reem) in Deuteronomy 33:17 is clearly a generic reference to the specie and not to any specific single creature. 

If the KJV translators identified this creature as the one-horned Indian Rhinoceros, then they were justified in translating ראם (reem) in the plural so that readers would not mistakenly think that a single Indian Rhinoceros has more than one horn.