Horned Moses
Emails & Questions
Horned Moses
Q: Moses had horns like a devil. Exodus 34:29, says
so. why is that, do you think?
A: Moses did not have any horns, that is, unless you are
reading the Catholic Bible -- Douay-Rheims Bible -- basically, the Latin
Vulgate translation handed down from Saint Jerome, around the 3rd-4th century.
Here is the quote that you are most likely making reference:
(Exo 34:29) And when Moses came down from
the Mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not that his
face was horned from the conversation of the Lord.
This word, horned, should have been translated, radiant, but
simple mistake led to the famous statue, by Michelangelo, depicting Moses with
two horns coming out of his head. Yes, even Michelangelo can be wrong.
Check any other translation and you will see that this error has been corrected.
(Exo 34:29) And it came to pass, when Moshe
came down from Mt. Sinai with the two Luchot HaEdut in the yad Moshe, when he
came down from HaHar, that Moshe had no da'as that the ohr (skin) of his
face had become radiant when he had spoken with Him. OJB
-- (This Orthodox Jewish Bible, says it best, NIV, ESV and KJV all agree)
(Exo 34:29) When Moses came down from Mount
Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his
face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD . NIV (LORD should read, YHWH, or YaHWeH – His Name replaced
by the Translators)
The Hebrew does say to "shoot out horns", but this is to
say, "shoot our rays", as bright light shoots out in many different
directions. The context also makes this clear. It was difficult for
the people to look on him because of the brightness of his face.