Historians, art historians, and Bible students have several explanations for the depiction of the prophet Moses with horns in some paintings and sculptures. A prime example is the famous creation of Michelangelo, located in the Sistine Chapel. As the primary source of stories about the prophet Moses, the authors of such images used the Latin translation of the Bible from Hebrew (Vulgate), made about 345-420 by Jerome the Blessed.
Moses' "horns" appeared due to inaccuracy of Bible translation
Some scholars believe that when translating from Hebrew into Latin, Jerome the Blessed made a mistake in describing the moment when Moses descended from Mount Sinai. He wrote: "… Moses did not know that his face became horned because God spoke to him."
Bruges, Belgium.
In the Hebrew version of the Bible from which the translation was made, the word “qrn” (written according to the Simite tradition without vowels) was used to describe the “face” of Moses. It could be read as "qeren" and translated in two ways: as "horn" or as "ray". In another version of the reading, the word "qaran" meant "to shine", "to radiate". According to the supporters of this theory, the incorrect interpretation was the reason for the subsequent perception of Moses as a bearer of horns.
Sculpture of Moses on the Plaza de España in the center of Rome.
In translations of the Bible into other languages, made later (for example, in the Russian Synodal translation), Moses is no longer “horned”, but “radiant”, and the text says that “… his face began to shine with rays because God spoke with him . For example, above the forehead of Moses, whose sculpture adorns one of the famous fountains in Bern, is depicted not horns, but rays.
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Wood carving.
Could Moses still be horned
There is an assumption that there was no mistake in the translation, and it was the horns that appeared in Moses, which were symbols of the power given to him by God, the ability to perform miracles. Biblical stories were closely intertwined with the myths of Egypt, in which some deities were horned. Similar decorations were found on the crowns of the Egyptian pharaohs. The divine heroes of Indian and ancient Chinese myths were depicted with horns.
Stained glass window of the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli.
There are other interpretations that Moses actually became "horned". He could be identified with the Selenes (spirits of rivers and life-giving water sources), as well as satyrs (spirits of mountains and forests, deities of fertility), who were worshiped by the peoples of Asia Minor and ancient Greece. Horns were considered Satanic attributes only during the Middle Ages.
Bible page in Latin.
Some historians suggest that horned mythical creatures could exist in reality, be representatives of an ancient civilization who participated in the events described in the Bible. Archaeologists have repeatedly reported that strange human skulls with horns have been found in various parts of the Earth (for example, in North China, Mongolia, the Caucasus). It is likely that the appearance of people has changed radically in the course of evolution and mixing of races that occurred over millions of years. Perhaps not all ancient people had horns. Those who had them were venerated as saints.
This special sign God endowed Moses - his chosen one.