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Was the Assyrian 'Rimu' mistranslated as unicorn? The bible does not refer to fantasy animals Creation Archive > Volume 14 Issue 2 > The unicorn by Carl Wieland [Addendum added March 2004] In the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible we read of God questioning Job (Chapter 39:9,10): 'Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee?' The unicorn is also mentioned in Deuteronomy 33:17, Numbers 23:22 and 24:8; Psalm 22:21, 29:6 and 92:10; and Isaiah 34:7. Nowhere in these passages is there any suggestion that anything other than a real animal is being described. But the unicorn is well known to be a product of legend, a creature whose remains have never been found and about whom fabulous tales have been told. Some have used this to attack the Bible-this proves that the writers were simply retelling widely believed myths, they say. Unicorn ('one horn') stories have been told in many parts of the world, including Syria, China, India, ancient Greece and medieval Europe. Although always having one horn, its body (usually shown in European stories as a horse, albeit with cloven hooves) has also been depicted in many other ways, including resembling a sheep, a goat or even something like a hare. A recurring theme was its association with virtue and virginity; though wild, it liked to cradle its head in devotion in a virgin's lap, while its horn ensured a skewered end for all who tried to falsely pass themselves off as so undefil So what was the animal described in the Bible as the 'unicorn'? The word used in the Hebrew is ??? (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. 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. It appears that the reason it was shown in Assyrian (but not Egyptian) art as one-horned was as an artistic way of expressing the beauty of the fact that these horns on the rimu/re'em were very symmetrical, such that only one could be seen if the animal was viewed from one side. The first to translate the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek probably knew that the rimu/re'em was depicted as one-horned, so they translated it as monoceros (one horn). The real re'em or wild ox was also known as the aurochs (Bos primigenius). This was the original wild bull depicted in, for example, the famous Lascaux (Cro-magnon) cave paintings. This powerful, formidable beast is now extinct, though its genetically impoverished descendants lived on as domestic cattle. For more information, see the feature article on the aurochs, 'Recreating the extinct Aurochs?' in this issue of Creation magazine, pages 25­28). ----

Who are the Christians of Iraq?  May = Ayar  Was the Assyrian 'Rimu' mistranslated as unicorn? May 13, 06 Kurdish Selective Amnesia & the Endless Genocide of the Assyrians May 11, 06 Assyrians Face Escalating Abuses in "New Iraq" May 11, 06 Who will save Iraq's Christians May 10, 06 Iraqi Police Station Set Up Near Mosul Church May 9, 06 What Arab Civilization? May 9, 06 Seyfo 1915: Lecture about The Missing Chapter of Ottoman History May 7, 06 Assyrian Village in Syria Under Siege by the Security forces May 6, 06 Lamassu, ancient Assyrian Evil repellent May 6, 06  An in-depth profile of Narsai David the food guru May 5, 06 "Ninavah al Hurra", Arabic For "Free Nineveh" May 4, 06 Assyrians Face Escalating Abuses in "New Iraq" May 3, 06  The Dangers of Being Christian: Religious Freedom in the Islamic World May 3, 06 Iraqi Christians seek asylum here May 3, 06 No Talabani! Assyrians are an imprtant part of Iraq's roots May 2, 06 April = Neesan The Friodil Institute and the Assyrian Seyfo April 30, 06 Threats Force Cancellation of Assyrian Genocide Conference in Holland April 29,06 European Parliament Meets Assyrian Politician on Assyrian Question April 28, 06 The West vs. Christianity? April 28, 06 Teenager charged with shooting murder of the Assyrian April 28, 06 Assyrian Geoncide Seyfo Monument in Sweden  April 28, 06 Northern Iraq city's fragile ethnic mix perseveres April 27, 06 Angered Copts March to Break Their Long Silence April 25, 06 Stolen Away: Girls of Iraq Gone Missing April 25, 06 Islamists Down Under April 25, 06 Assyrian Delegation Visits Iraq  April 21, 06 Assyrians hope to dispel myths April 21, 06 `Idol'-style contest spotlights music for a new generation April 21, 06 Assyrian Dutch politician Gamri visits the Assyrian's in Iraq during Ha b Nisan. April 20, 06 A Day Dedicated to St. Ephrem the Assyrian April 18, 06 Iraqi Christians brave violence to celebrate Easter April 17, 05 Iraqis Find Respite in Faith, Priest Says April 16, 06  US Colonel Offers Iraq an Apology of Sorts for Devastation of Babylon April 14, 06  Unesco intends to put the magic back in Babylon April 14, 06 Christian Killed in Islamist Raids on Egypt Churches April 14, 06 Shore Senior Center chooses 7 directors April 14, 06 Assyrians of Australia Divided By Fear After Shooting Death April 12, 06 County Legislators Endorse Assyrian Candidate April 12, 06 The Shattering of the Syriac Orthodox Church! April 12, 06 Islamizing American Schools April 10, 06 Cry unheard - Genocide and Me April 9, 06 Should We Constantly Be Victims? April 7, 06 European Parliament Report; Iraq: Situation in prisons and the Assyrian community April 7, 06 Assyrian new Year in the Advance News paper Australia April 6, 06 Neglect of Iraqi Christians by President Bush  April 6, 06 Ignoring Christians and Ethnic Minorities in Arab Muslim Countries April 6, 06 Iraq's Greatest Treasure to Start World Tour in Washington April 6, 06 Lifetime Detention of an Assyrian in Syria Violates Human Rights April 5, 06 Substitution of Civilizations Is the Real Risk: European MP April 5, 06 Assyrian New Year Celebrations in Sweden April 5, 06 A Tribute to Nuri Kino April 4, 06 Outside View: Condoleezza's Folly April 4, 06 Petition aksing for Assyrian Territory in Iraq April 4, 06 Killings Stoke Fear Among Assyrian Shopkeepers April 4, 06 The West Versus Christianity? April 3, 06 Assyrian New Year Celebrations in Iraq April 2, 06 The Ghost in the Baghdad Museum April 2, 06 Conversations with the Assyrians of Mardin April 1, 06 Turlock's Assyrian community rings in year 6756 with dinner, dance April 1, 06 Italians find ancient Ur tablets April 1, 06 March = Addar (a's as in Art)  Mortar Shell Kills Three Women in Baghdad Assyrian Market March 31, 06 Creulty of Nations and the Hollier than thou preaching  Mrch 31, 06 Violence Spreads in Turkey's Kurdish Region March 30, 06 Iraqi Commander Says, 'We Didn't Find a Mosque' March 30, 06 Brussels Prosecutes Immigrant Priest for Islamophobia March 30, 06 Iraqi Chaldean Prelate Says Christians Feel Desperate March 28, 06 Press Release about ASSYRISKA: the Movie  March 29, 06 Who will save Iraq's Christians? March 28, 06 Leader of the Assyrian Democratic Organization summoned to apear in Court March 27, 06 Therefore Jews call their script 'ketuv Ashuri'; Assyrian script March 27, 06 The Future of the Assyrians of Iraq: A Safe Haven vs. Self-Administrative Region Mach 27, 06 A Child in need of help March 26, 06 3 Years of War Wither a Family's Seed of Hope March 26, 06 Kurd's - Persian New Year and its Assyrian - Babylonian origin March 26, 06 US government report on Syria's human rights March 25, 06 Turkey to Renovate Churches and Synagogue  March 25, 06  When Islamic Laws Contradict the Universal Declaration of Human Rights March 23, 06 The Foolishness of imposing Oppressive Arab Nationalism on None Arabs March 23, 06  Afghan Man Faces Death for Being a Christian March 21, 06  THE QUR'AN: MISINTERPRETED, MISTRANSLATED, AND MISREAD March 21, 06 Human tragedy of the Syrian citizen Yacoub Hanna Shamoun March 21, 06 The Treasure Hunter March 19, 06  Kha b'Nissan Assryian New Year Celebrations in Los Angeles The American Premiere of ASSYRISKA: A National Team Without A Nation March 18, 06 Sectarian divides and violence distress Many Bay Area Iraqis March 18, 06 Trouble in Kurdistan March 17, 06  'TALAT PASHA RALLY' GATHERS 15 CHAUVINISTIC TURKS March 17, 06 Investigating Assyrian canals across time, from space March 17, 06 Turkey Should not Deny the Truth if it wants to be believed March 16, 06 Assyrian Genocide on The Liberal Party's Agenda in Sweden March 15, 06 Turkish Large-Scale campaign Project 2006 - so called "The Lie of the Armenian and Assyrian Genocide." March 15, 06 Announcing the American Premiere of ASSYRISKA: A National Team Without A Nation March 14, 06 Turks' planned demonstration in Berlin stopped March 14, 06 US government report on Iraq's human rights Iraq, Politics March 13, 06 Another Priest attacked in Turkey March 13, 06 Assyrian Elected President of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences March 13, 06 In Syria's prison without cause for More than 20 Years  March 12, 06 Muslim's Blunt Criticism of Islam Draws Threats March 11, 06 An Interview with Rosie Malek-Yonan by akitu.de.vu March 11, 06 IRAQI CHRISTIANS: CAUGHT IN A REFUGEE WEB  March 9, 06 Will You be an Assyrian Actor? March 8, 06 In Turkey Assyrians/Syriacs are being robbed of property they owned for thousands of years March 8, 06 Iraqi Women Attacked for Removing Headscarves, NGO Says March 7, 06 Car bomb in Turkey injures Assyrian March 6, 06 ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS KEEP THE FAITH  March 5, 06 "Christians do not wants to leave Iraq for good" March 4, 06 Iraqi Catholics Donate to Rebuild Samarra Mosque March, 3, 06 Relatives and friends gather at store where 2 were slain March 3, 06 A Preliminary Investigation into Assyrian Identity March 3, 06 Firodil Institute Meets The Christian Fair Trade Group March 2, 06  UNESCO funding reconstruction of destroyed mosques but not Churches March 2, 06 Christian Churches in Iraq Subjected to Synchronized Terrorism March 1, 06       January- February 06  Archives