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Bulletin articles
The Bible and Unicorns
“The Bible is full of Jewish myths and legends and certainly not some divinely delivered revelation.” Perhaps you have heard this or similar statements before. Did this shake your faith or plant serious questions in your mind? That is exactly what Satan intended such statements to plant in your mind. He does not have to convince you to abandon God or His Word, just seriously question it.
In an attempt to prove the “Bible is full of myths” hypotheses some critics point to a statement in Numbers 23:22 (KJV). There Barak’s attempt to persuade Baalam to curse Israel is recorded. That passage reads: “God brought them out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of a unicorn.”
At the risk of shattering some childhood notions, unicorns are not real. Horse-like creatures with a single large horn protruding from their head is the product of man’s imagination -in other words a myth. So, there you have it. The Bible contains myths so how can we trust anything it says and how do we determine truth from myth. Since myths have no counterpart in historical truth, they are considered to be worthless sources of truth.
The KJV speaks of unicorns 9 times. Only two early English translations speak of a unicorn (King James Version and the Geneva Bible). More recent translations speak of an oxlike creature. When read and understood in the context of 17th century English the problem disappears. Even as late as the end of the 19th century this word was commonly used to speak of the rhinoceros. Even the scientific name for rhinoceros reflects the same (“rhinoceros unicornis”).
However, unicorns were never mentioned in the original languages of the Bible. The Hebrew word re’em (also reëm) is “wild ox.” The word re’em refers to a long horned animal. Psalm 92:10 in the KJV reads: “But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.” Unicorns in the Bible are not like the fairy tales. Unicorns are actual animals; they are powerful with either one or two horns.
Does the Bible speak of unicorns? Yes, it does. Are these the mythical horse-like creatures with a single horn riding on rainbows? Absolutely not. When the critics objections are placed under the microscope of truth they fall and hold no truth. Embrace your Bible with faith and trust. Read it for what it is, the inspired Word of God.
- 20240811_The_Bible_and_Unicorns.pdf (596.08 kB)
