Sheep vs Goats....Translation Says "Unicorn"

by cameo-d 13 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  cameo-d

  "The word unicorn appears nine times in the King James version of the Bible.

  In more modern editions, these instances have mostly been changed to “aurochs” (a type of wild ox) or “goat.”

  The unicorn first appeared in the Bible in an edition called the Septuagint, which was an attempt by a group of scholars in Alexandria around 300-100 B.C. to translate the Hebrew writings into Greek.

  http://www.dianapeterfreund.com/books/unicorns/research/

  During the middle ages, the unicorn became symbolic of Jesus. In christian art and allegorical stories Jesus is represented by the unicorn.

  Attributes of the unicorn are uniqueness, unable to be tamed, and independent (thinking).

  Attributes of sheep are those who follow whoever is leading. Sheep will follow goats, wolves, top dog...whoever is in front of the herd. They don't look beyond the other sheep in front of them. Sheep run in packs and accept the rule of conformity.

  When scripture has been misapplied and the word termed as "goats" the followers have been led to believe that 'goats' is symbolic of the wicked.

  If the goat is actually meant to be translated as "unicorn" and is used symbolically to represent Jesus, would this not give a very different meaning to separation of sheep (followers) and unicorns (independents)?
• 

  bluecanary

  I don't know the liklihood of such a thing, but I certainly appreciate the sentiment.

  "A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves."--Edward R. Murrows
• 

  cameo-d

  Bluecanary: "but I certainly appreciate the sentiment."

  Beyond the sentiment....what is the purpose of the actual showdown of a separation?

  What is supposed to happen to the sheep/unicorns after they are separated?
• 

  DJK

  Not long ago I learned that the Hebrew word re'em was translated, "one horned". Hence, Unicorn. All the creatures were named in the bible and identified except this one. No one is really certain what the re'em looked like.

  You might find this interesting.

  http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v2/n1/unicorns-in-bible
• 

  Leolaia

  I don't know where you got "goat" from; Hebrew re'em has nothing to do with goats and I know of no translation that renders it so.

  You are right to highlight the qualities of independence and fierceness; these however more strikingly contrast with the shor, the domesticated bull. It is the shor that is weak, that is slaughtered in sacrifice, and which is generally eaten.

  The aurochs is extinct btw. Its identity as the re'em as quite well established archaeologically.

  The re'em likely was a messianic symbol in the Animal Apocalypse of 1 Enoch, which was influential in early Christianity (cited as scripture in ch. 16 of the epistle of Barnabas). This draws on Deuteronomy 33:17, which was also a messianic prooftext in the Messiah ben-Joseph traditions.
• 

  cameo-d

  Leolaia: "I don't know where you got "goat" from; Hebrew re'em has nothing to do with goats and I know of no translation that renders it so."

  excerpt:

  The Biblical Unicorn

  The word unicorn appears nine times in the King James version of the Bible. In more modern editions, these instances have mostly been changed to “aurochs” (a type of wild ox) or “goat.” The unicorn first appeared in the Bible in an edition called the Septuagint, which was an attempt by a group of scholars in Alexandria around 300-100 B.C. to translate the Hebrew writings into Greek.

  These scholars came across the Hebrew word re’em, and knew it meant a large horned beast. Because of the context in many of the passages, that spoke of these creatures as noble, impossible to tame, and due to the fact that they were also familiar with the unicorn legends, the scholars translated the word monokeros (literally “one horn.”) Monokeros, in Greek is Unicorn, and thus the unicorn remained a part of the Bible for centuries.

  

  The civilizations of Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Babylon depicted unicorns as large, ox-like creatures or wild asses called — depending on the tradition — rimu or alim.

  In the fifth century B.C., during the time of the Persian Kingdom of Darius II, a Greek physician named Ctesias wrote of this unicorn: “There are in India certain wild asses which are as large as horses, and larger. Their bodies are white, their heads are dark red, and their eyes dark blue. They have a horn on the forehead which is about eighteen inches in length. The dust filed from this horn is administered in a potion as a protection against deadly drugs.”

  The oryx, a type of antelope, looks similar to this unicorn, as the oryx’s symmetrical horns look like one horn when viewed from the side.

  (Pictured is an ancient seal from the Indus Valley.)

  http://www.dianapeterfreund.com/books/unicorns/research/#art
• 

  bob1999

  "What is supposed to happen to the sheep/unicorns after they are separated"

  The sheep go to a resurrection of life and the goats to a resurrection of death.

  John 5:28-29 Matthew 25:46

  Peace
• 

  cameo-d

  Bob: " "What is supposed to happen to the sheep/unicorns after they are separated" The sheep go to a resurrection of life and the goats to a resurrection of death. John 5:28-29 Matthew 25:46

  What the hell is a "resurrection of death"?
• 

  Leolaia

  The association with the goat is quite odd to me, so I had to do some additional digging to see what the source is. It looks like the association is original to Sa'adia Gaon:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saadia_Gaon

  Gaon referred to the 'akko "wild goat" as the male of the re'em. It must be said that Gaon was a medieval writer who worked with obscure terms without the kind of lexicographical precision we have today. The term 'akko is a hapax legomenon, occurring only in Deuteronomy 14:5, and the re'em itself was becoming extinct and given to legendary elaboration. So it looks like Gaon made a guess without reliable information, whereas today we have evidence that he did not have, such as the Akkadian cognate rimu that can be linked directly with aurochs specimens.
• 

  bob1999

  " What the hell is a "resurrection of death"?"

  ".......that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked." Acts 24:15

  "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment."

  John 5:28-29

  Peace