Why does Job 39:9-12 talk about trusting unicorns?

Question

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2039:9-12;&version=9;

Answer 1

The word used in the Hebrew is ראם (re’em). This has been translated in various languages as monoceros, unicornis, unicorn, einhorn and eenhorn, all of which mean ‘one horn’. However, the word re’em is not known to have such a meaning. Many Jewish translations simply left it untranslated, because they were not sure which creature was being referred to.

Archaeology has in fact provided a powerful clue to the likely meaning of re’em. Mesopotamian reliefs have been excavated which show King Assurnasirpal hunting oxen with one horn. The associated texts show that this animal was called rimu. It is thus highly likely that this was the re’em of the Bible, a wild ox.

Answer 2

9 Does a wild bull want to serve you,
Or will it spend the night by your manger?

10 Will you bind a wild bull fast with its ropes in the furrow,
Or will it harrow low plains after you?

11 Will you trust in it because its power is abundant,
And will you leave your toil to it?

12 Will you rely on it that it will bring back your seed
And that it will gather to your threshing floor?




This is what Job 39:9-12 in my bible .

The answer to these questions is No.

What farmer would dare? The wild bull was not like the cattle used for agricultural purposes, even though similar in appearance. Job once had five hundred spans of cattle, which he used for plowing. (Job 1:3, 14) But he could not harness the greater strength of the wild bull for the same purpose. The pictorial representations on monuments show that the ancient Egyptians bound their oxen to the plow by a cord fastened around the horns and tied to the yoke and the handle. But could any man bind a wild bull fast with its ropes in the furrow? No.

Then the question: “Will you trust in it because its power is abundant?” No, indeed. The greater wonder, then, that man could not avail himself of this strength to do his work. The wild bull was one of the most powerful animals known to the Israelites. The Hebrew word for this animal, reem, is mistranslated in the King James Version Bible as “unicorn”; but the reem was no one-horned mythological beast. It had two horns, “the horns of a wild bull.” (Deut. 33:17) Apparently related to domesticated cattle, the reem was not serving man, plowing his fields or hauling home grain.

The ancients considered the wild bull to be a most formidable creature, an Assyrian king calling it “strong and fierce.

Little wonder the psalmist David linked the lion and the wild bull together: “Save me from the mouth of the lion, and from the horns of wild bulls you must answer and save me.” (Ps. 22:21) What farmer would trust this wild bull?

Answer 3

You know, it's a sin to change the wording of the Bible.

Job 39:9-12 says:

9"Will the (A)wild ox consent to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your manger?
10"Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with ropes,
Or will he harrow the valleys after you?
11"Will you trust him because his strength is great
And leave your labor to him?
12"Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?

Answer 4

You heathen! You need a bible decoder ring. See? It's a PROPHECY, but since you're not filled with the holy spirit, you can't see prophecies.

The "unicorn" (or "one corn") predicted the discovery of the New World and the transformative powers of maize.

Answer 5

funny in my bible it says wild ox, can't imagine why they changed it. oh wait yes i can. Unicorns (just like the bible stories) are not real!!!

Answer 6

Because fuzzy pink unicorns are teh speshullll!

Answer 7

Because it's a book of mythology, not reality.