Habakkuk 3:4 And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power. The use of the word "horn" as a metaphor to express strength and honour is of very ancient origin. It appears to have arisen from the expression in Exodus 34:29, Moses' "face shone," or, literally, "emitted rays," where the Hebrew word karan — from keren, a horn — means "to shoot forth horns," hence applied to the horn-like rays of light. But it was frequently translated, as in the Latin Vulgate, "put forth horns"; and from this absurd translation arose the belief that Moses actually had horns, and, as we know, he is always so depicted in mediaeval paintings when bearing the tables of stone, and the grotesque error has been too often followed by modern artists. The horn was naturally a symbol of strength; for in its horns lay the strength of the aurocks or bison, long since extinct, erroneously translated "unicorn" in our version, and which was the strongest and mightiest land animal known to the Israelites. When represented as worn by Moses, horns became naturally an emblem also of honour, and thus of royal power and dignity. One of the daily prayers of the Jews at the present day is, "Soon may the Branch, the Root of David, spring up, and His horn be excellent." This petition may have been in use before the time of Zacharias, and may have suggested this utterance. The metaphor was also used among others than the Jews. An Arabic expression speaks of the sun's rays as the horns of a deer. The horn on either side of the head is employed on the coins of Alexander the Great, and of some of his successors, the Seleucid kings of Syria, as well as by the Ptolemies. From his well-known coins is doubt. less derived the Arabic epithet of Alexander the Great, "the two-horned king." In the prophetical books of the Old Testament, as well as in the Apocalpyse, the horn is frequently used as a metaphor for a king or kingdom, as in this song of Zacharias; for example, the two horns of Media and Persia, the horn of the king of Grecia, the ten horns or kingdoms, the horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake great things. In former times, a single horn, generally of silver, fastened over the forehead, was not an uncommon Syrian decoration of great men; but the fashion now lingers only in the Lebanon, where on gala days the married women of rank wear a silver horn about a foot long, fixed upright on the head, over which is thrown the veil. I have only once seen the horn worn, though specimens have several times been offered to me for sale by the villagers. In the vision in Habakkuk 3:4, "He had horns coming out of His hand," the rendering should be, as in Exodus, " rays of light, or lightnings, darted from His hand." (H. B. Tristram, D.D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.WEB: His splendor is like the sunrise. Rays shine from his hand, where his power is hidden. |
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