The Identity of the Unicorn
Can you give me some information about the strength of a unicorn and the horn of a unicorn as mentioned in scripture?
The Identity of the Unicorn
The unicorn is mentioned 9 times in the Bible (Numbers 23:22God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
See All...; 24:8
See All...; Deuteronomy 33:17His 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.
See All...; Job 39:9Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?
See All..., 10; Psalm 22:21Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
See All...; 29:6
See All...; 92:10
See All...; Isaiah 34:7And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.
See All...). 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 23:22God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
See All...; 24:8
See All...; Job 39:11Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
See All...) - The unicorn is wild and cannot be tamed (Job 39:9-12 [9] 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?
[11] Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
[12] Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
See All...) - The unicorn is a dangerous animal (Psalm 22:21Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
See All...) - 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 33:17His 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.
See All... 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 [17] And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. [18] And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. [19] And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. [20] And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
See All...). This may be portrayed in Deuteronomy 33:17His 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.
See All... 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 92:10But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
See All... 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.