Why does Moses have horns in some ancient statues / sculptures?

Response

Michelangelo’s renowned sculpture of Moses, exhibited in Vincoli, Rome, at the Basilica of St. Peter in Chains, portrays Moses with two horns on his head. This depiction of Moses with horns, seen in Michelangelo’s work and other pieces of art and literature, originates from a passage in the book of Exodus.

When Moses descended from Mount Sinai with the initial stone tablets, he discovered the idolatry and immorality of the people. In anger, Moses threw down the tablets, shattering them. After the people repented, God summoned Moses to ascend Mount Sinai once more, carrying new stone tablets to replace the ones he had broken: “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God” «And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. », (Exodus 34:29, ESV). When the people saw Moses’ radiant face, they were afraid to approach him (verse 30). Therefore, Moses veiled his face (verse 33). There is no indication in this passage that Moses had horns, yet this misconception originated from a Latin translation.

The original Hebrew word used to describe the glowing skin of Moses’ face is qaran. A related term, qeren, translates to “horns,” as it denotes something that “projected outward” like horns. However, the word qaran accurately means “to shine” or “to emit rays.” The Hebrew wording in Exodus 34 was intended to convey that Moses’ face “radiated light” or “emitted light.”

The Latin Vulgate translation by Jerome in the fourth century utilized

The Latin word “cornuta” was used to describe Moses’ face. “Cornuta,” related to the word “cornucopia” (“horn of plenty”), means “horned.” Jerome, in stating that Moses was unaware that “his face had become horned,” was most likely expressing that the skin of Moses’ face radiated with “strong horns of light.” However, his phrasing led to overly literal interpretations by artists who assumed that Moses had actual horns protruding from his face when he descended Mount Sinai.

One English translation retains the “horns” wording in Exodus 34. The Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible translation of Exodus 34:29 says, “When Moses came down from 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” (emphasis added). The reason Moses is described as having “horns” in the Douay-Rheims Translation is that the DRT was translated directly from the Latin Vulgate and not from the original Bible languages.

The Septuagint (280–100 BC), the Ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, refers to Moses’ face as “glorified.” The apostle Paul confirms that this is indeed the correct meaning: “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory” «But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: », (2 Corinthians 3:7).

It’s possible that Michelangelo and other ancient artists used horns symbolically, in the same way Jerome did in the Latin Vulgate, to visually illustrate rays of light in the form of horn-like protrusions. Although some anti-Semitic propaganda has since depicted Jews as having horns, Michelangelo’s sculpture of Moses did not represent an.

Anything negative or demonic.

In the Bible, horns often symbolize power, expressing domination of the weak «Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; », (Ezekiel 34:21), the power of destruction (Zechariah 1:18-21), and deliverance from oppression (1 Kings 22:11;2 Chronicles 18:10). The seven horns of the Lamb of God represent His infinite power «And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. », (Revelation 5:6).

Moses did not have horns on his head. He had “a face of strength,” emanating rays of light after he talked with God. The Bible is clear about this, but a faulty translation of one verse—some would say an overly literal translation—amplified by classical artwork, has led to some confusion and puzzlement.