Loading ...In Madrid, Moses Has Horns
flockwoodI was visiting one of Madrid’s great museums back in February 2005 and came upon a painting of Moses the Law Giver. As I recall, he was holding the Ten Commandments and sprouting horns.
Yes. Horns.
The painting, which was hundreds of years old, really puzzled me.
[This isn't the painting I saw, but it'll do.]
The Madrid painting seemed awfully anti-Semitic — even by 15th century Spanish standards. I asked around and nobody at the museum could explain why Moses had horns.
The painting continued to mystify me. Until today. Reading Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, by Diarmaid MacCulloch, I learned how Moses got his horns. Apparently, St. Jerome gave them to him.
The translator of the Vulgate version of the Bible misinterpreted a Hebrew word in the book of Exodus. Instead of saying that Moses’ face “shone” after his descent from Mt. Sinai, the Vulgate said that Moses’ face “had horns.”
Mystery solved.
(The Jewish Encyclopedia offers more details.)
September 1st, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Same with Michelangelo’s great sculpture of him — horns on top. I never knew why.
September 1st, 2010 at 2:30 pm
There is a window at Harcourt Parish at Kenyon College that depicts Moses with horns. It is a freaky yet helpful visual re: the pitfalls of literal interpretation.
September 1st, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Yes – it’s quite a common way for Moses to be depicted. The Catholic seminary University of St. Mary on the Lake has a statue of a horned Moses.
@madgebaby,
No, it’s more about the perils of poor translation and lack of “peer review,” so to speak. The Hebrew never said Moses had horns – it was Jerome’s mistake.
September 1st, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Mike–do you think most fundamentalists read the Hebrew? What smacks of fundamentalism is reading something that makes no sense in context (Like Jerome’s translation that left Moses having horns) and making a piece of art that depicts it.
September 1st, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Trinity Episcopal Church in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, has a carved altar (ca. 1930)which depicts Moses with horns—Hand worked in Italy. For all the reasons you mention…
September 1st, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Moses was raised Egyptian and the horns of the ibus bull in Egyptian iconography were the cradle of the sun. This is a very old image. For the ancient Egyptians and all the ancient Afro-Asiatics, the Sun was the emblem of the Creator. So the image depicts the presence of God with Moses. The horned altar with its curved basin is another such image. Read more here:
http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2010/06/bulls-head-in-antiquity.html
September 2nd, 2010 at 12:57 pm
J.M.J.
Protestants, protestants, protestants…
“…I learned how Moses got his horns. Apparently, St. Jerome gave them to him.
The translator of the Vulgate version of the Bible misinterpreted a Hebrew word in the book of Exodus. Instead of saying that Moses’ face “shone” after his descent from Mt. Sinai, the Vulgate said that Moses’ face “had horns.”…”
St. Jerome hardly made this as a mistake. If you will first check out Hab 3:4 you will see a context for the word in question. I have taken the liberty of providing a link to the Vulgate/Douay side by side at http://www.latinvulgate.com/verse.aspx?t=0&b=40&c=3
The word in question is cornua. Dom Matthew Britt, OSB, in his excellent Dictionary of the Psalter (Benzinger 1928) for use with the Breviarium Romanum provides this context in entry 4 for Cornu.
“(4) Hab 3:4 Splendor ejus ut lux erit: cornua in manibus ejus. His brightness shall be as the light (sun). Horns (rays, lightning-flashes) are in His hands. The horns were manifestations of God’s power revealed on Sinai. Cf. Exod 34:29-35
http://www.latinvulgate.com/verse.aspx?t=0&b=2&c=34
I don’t think the mystery is solved in the manner presented. Why artists have chosen this I can’t say, but it is not because of a mistranslation by St. Jerome. Before we second guess his work, we should be familiar with the texts and the subtleties of the Latin, and judge him based upon his work in Latin, not upon mis-representations of what the English is trying to convey.
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:10 pm
J.M.J.
Haydock’s Commentary also tells us:
http://haydock1859.tripod.com/id412.html
Ver. 29. Horned. That is, shining, and sending forth rays of light like horns. (Challoner) — Septuagint, “encircled with glory.” St. Paul (2 Corinthians iii. 7,) says, the Hebrews could not look steadfastly at the face of Moses, on account of the glory of his countenance. Hence, he was forced to have a veil, which, the apostle observes, was not taken off from the old law till Christ appeared. The Jews and heretics still read the law and the gospel with a veil over their eyes and heart, without understanding them, as they are hidden to those who perish, 2 Corinthians iv. 3. The Jews are much enraged at some Christians, who have represented Moses with horns, as if, they say, he were a devil, or his wife an adulteress. (Stacchus and Drusius.) — Hebrew, “his skin was radiant” all over his face. These rays commanded respect and awe from the people, who had before said contemptuously, Moses—the man, (chap. xxxii. 1,) as they shewed that God was with him. They had not appeared before, though he had often conversed with the Lord: but now, having seen the glorious vision, they adhered to him during the remainder of his life, particularly when he enforced the obligations of the law to the people. (Haydock) — The Arabs make their hair stand up like little horns, when they are about 40 years old. (Patric. ii. 4. Navig.) Homer mentions the like custom, and Diomed laughs at Paris calling him the pretty-horned. (Iliad xi.) Many of the ancient heroes and gods are represented with horns, particularly Bacchus, whose history reminds us of many particulars, which belong to Moses. He was born or educated in the confines of Egypt, was exposed on the waters, in a box; had two mothers, and very beautiful. While his army enjoyed the light, the Indians were in darkness. He was preceded by a pillar, had women in his train, dried up rivers with his thyrsus or wand, which had crawled, like a serpent, &c. (Huet. &c.) St. Epiphanius (her. 55,) says the Idumeans adored Moses. Their idol is called Choze by Josephus, (Antiquities xviii. 11,) which may be derived from Chus, the ancestor of Sephora, as Bacchus and Iacchus may denote “the son Bar, or the god Chus,” Jah-Chus, who was adored in Arabia; so that Moses, Choze, and Bacchus, probably mean the same person. Chus peopled that part of Arabia where the Hebrews sojourned, Numbers xii. 1. (Calmet)
Also, The whole Douay-Rheims Bible was revised and diligently compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner in 1749-1752 A.D. The notes included in the text were written by Dr. Challoner. Here is what he had to say at: http://www.drbo.org/chapter/02034.htm
[29] “Horned”… That is, shining, and sending forth rays of light like horns.
September 2nd, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Sean W. Reed: Thanks for your post. I have been further researching the horns issue and plan to write more about this topic in the future. The bottom line — the majority position, as far as I can tell, is that Jerome mistranslated the text. But there is a minority position that Jerome got the text absolutely, precisely right. Pharaohs were sometimes portrayed as having horns and it may be that the writer of Exodus was using the horns imagery to make a point: Pharaoh could claim to be a deity — a horned deity even — but Pharaoh was insignificant compared to the God of Israel. Merely being in the presence of the God of Israel would elevate Moses to the status of a divine Pharaoh…
September 2nd, 2010 at 2:03 pm
By the way, the New Jerusalem Bible and the Reina Valera Bible which is favored by Spanish-speaking Catholics both have translated the verse to say that Moses’ face shone, eliminating references to horns.
September 2nd, 2010 at 2:10 pm
J.M.J.
Please substantiate your allegation. What specifically do you think is mistranslated? You don’t seem to see the conflict with the Hab passage?
The King James renders it:
4. And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.
The Douay:
His brightness shall be as the light; horns are in his hands: There is his strength hid:
Exodus 34 King James:
35. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
The Douay
And they saw that the face of Moses when he came out was horned, but he covered his face again, if at any time he spoke to them.
The sentence context is the same for the word in question. By your standard, did the King James get it wrong for Habakkuk passage. It seems the answer is quite clear when we simply consider the Latin word.
By the way, further light is shown by the Haddock Commentary text I provided, but I still see that comment hung up in moderation?
Faithfully,
SWR
September 2nd, 2010 at 2:11 pm
J.M.J.
Haydock’s Commentary also tells us:
http://haydock1859.tripod.com/id412.html
Ver. 29. Horned. That is, shining, and sending forth rays of light like horns. (Challoner) — Septuagint, “encircled with glory.” St. Paul (2 Corinthians iii. 7,) says, the Hebrews could not look steadfastly at the face of Moses, on account of the glory of his countenance. Hence, he was forced to have a veil, which, the apostle observes, was not taken off from the old law till Christ appeared. The Jews and heretics still read the law and the gospel with a veil over their eyes and heart, without understanding them, as they are hidden to those who perish, 2 Corinthians iv. 3. The Jews are much enraged at some Christians, who have represented Moses with horns, as if, they say, he were a devil, or his wife an adulteress. (Stacchus and Drusius.) — Hebrew, “his skin was radiant” all over his face. These rays commanded respect and awe from the people, who had before said contemptuously, Moses—the man, (chap. xxxii. 1,) as they shewed that God was with him. They had not appeared before, though he had often conversed with the Lord: but now, having seen the glorious vision, they adhered to him during the remainder of his life, particularly when he enforced the obligations of the law to the people. (Haydock) — The Arabs make their hair stand up like little horns, when they are about 40 years old. (Patric. ii. 4. Navig.) Homer mentions the like custom, and Diomed laughs at Paris calling him the pretty-horned. (Iliad xi.) Many of the ancient heroes and gods are represented with horns, particularly Bacchus, whose history reminds us of many particulars, which belong to Moses. He was born or educated in the confines of Egypt, was exposed on the waters, in a box; had two mothers, and very beautiful. While his army enjoyed the light, the Indians were in darkness. He was preceded by a pillar, had women in his train, dried up rivers with his thyrsus or wand, which had crawled, like a serpent, &c. (Huet. &c.) St. Epiphanius (her. 55,) says the Idumeans adored Moses. Their idol is called Choze by Josephus, (Antiquities xviii. 11,) which may be derived from Chus, the ancestor of Sephora, as Bacchus and Iacchus may denote “the son Bar, or the god Chus,” Jah-Chus, who was adored in Arabia; so that Moses, Choze, and Bacchus, probably mean the same person. Chus peopled that part of Arabia where the Hebrews sojourned, Numbers xii. 1. (Calmet)
Also, The whole Douay-Rheims Bible was revised and diligently compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner in 1749-1752 A.D. The notes included in the text were written by Dr. Challoner. Here is what he had to say at: http://www.drbo.org/chapter/02034.htm
[29] “Horned”… That is, shining, and sending forth rays of light like horns.
September 4th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Frank, I use the Valera version of the Bible. The Spanish is good but the translation isn’t always good. It uses Jehovah for the Lord. Jehovah is a mistranslation of YHW.
September 6th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Could it be a reference to the good and evil that a mortal man will fight with himself during his lifetime? The horns being a reference to the beast in man.