Could such a creature be possible?
The legend of unicorns has been surfacing abroad for centuries with many different descriptions. The most heard of today are mystical stories which have described the unicorn as being a beautiful, sleek, mysterious, horse-like creature which possesses magical capabilities. Most people that I have met and discussed this matter with can agree and think that the unicorn was just a mythical creature which came into being by the imaginative minds of the past. Of course then there are those few who would like to still believe such creatures did exist at one time. I however do believe there was a creature that at one point in time, was known by the name of "unicorn". Now you are probably wondering by now, "Truth Seeker, why in the world are you bringing up such a subject as this...mythical creatures? Such silly nonsense! I thought your blog was more specifically related to scripture topics!". So to answer such a question, yes, this post is indeed related to the scriptures and for which reason I chose to bring it up!
I have come across articles and posts in the past in which people have made to scoff the bible for being a book of fairy tales since it mentions unicorns, flying serpents and dragons (I shall get on the subject of dragons in the near future if I am able to!). Many newer versions of the bible have changed the text even to say "oxen" in replacement of the word "unicorn". But does the bible really describe mythical creatures? Or is it just oxen? Well, the word unicorn literally means "one horn" and was indeed accurately translated. Notice this verse in Psalm 92:10 "But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil." Notice that it uses the singular word "horn" instead of "horns". An ox has two horns, so there is a problem here with using "ox" to replace it.
You are now probably thinking, "well well now, so you actually believe there is a mythical creature that once upon a time romped about loose in the wild?" Well no, I do not believe in it as in the sense of a mythical creature. I believe that there is a perfect and plausible explanation for what creature this is. Now in our modern English, our idea of what a "unicorn" is has changed drastically over the past hundred years. Just like many words used today mean something completely different than they had in the past, and so has the word for "unicorn" changed. Now this means that when we look up the word "unicorn" in dictionaries, we will no longer get an accurate understanding of what the word means. If we wish to understand a word that was used back in the 1600s, we need to find a dictionary that was closer to that time period so that we cac see the reason why they used such a word in the first place.
In the old 1828 edition of Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language, we can find that there was a different use of the word "unicorn" during that time period. Here in this dictionary it says:
"U'NICORN, n. [L. unicornis; unus, one, and cornu, horn.]
1. an animal with one horn; the monoceros. this name is
often applied to the rhinoceros."
When I first read this, I found it extremely interesting, here in the old language it does not even refer to it as a mythical creature, but to a known animal! So now I would like to look up and show you the word "rhinoceros", it says:
"RHINOC'EROS, n. [L. rhinoceros; Gr. nose-horn.]
A genus of quadrupeds of two species, one of which, the
unicorn, as a single horn growing almost erect from the nose. This animal when
full grown, is said to be 12 feet in length. There is another species with two
horns, the bicornis. They are natives of Asia and Africa."
So here it distinctly says that there are two species of rhinoceros! One is the unicorn, which has one horn, and the other is a bicornis with two horns! So they are not made up mythical creatures after all! !
There still is a type of rhinoceros today which has only one horn that is called the Indian (greater one-horned) rhino. Then there was also another a long time ago that was a type of rhinoceros called the "Elasmotherium sibiricum" (depictions of it bellow) which went extinct. I think that perhaps some of these types were around the holy land during the time of Israel and when king David ruled, and I believe that these where the "one horned" creatures spoken of in scriptures, and not oxen. I think it makes much more sense within the context of the verses.
Elasmotherium sibiricum
Elasmotherium sibiricum
If you are interested in learning more, this person explains the origin of these words very well and does a good job with the history and also showing different verses! He explains it much better. :)
Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you have a wonderful day!
