A re'em, also reëm (Hebrew: רְאֵם, romanized: rəʾēm), is an animal mentioned nine times in the Hebrew Bible. It has been translated as "unicorn" in the Latin Vulgate, King James Version, and in some Christian Bible translations as "oryx" (which was accepted as the referent in Modern Hebrew), "wild ox", "wild bull", "buffalo" or "rhinoceros". Natan Slifkin has argued that the re'em was an aurochs, as has Isaac Asimov before him.
Translation
The King James Version of the Book of Job followed the Septuagint and Jerome's Vulgate in the translation of re'em into unicorn:
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?
— Job 39:9–12
Some Bible translations into English, including the American Standard Version and New American Standard Bible, interpret re'em as "wild ox" or "wild bull".
References
- Job 39:9–10, Deuteronomy 33:17, Numbers 23:22 and 24:8; Psalms 22:21, 29:6 and 92:10; and Isaiah 34:7.
- "Numbers 23:22 - Bible Gateway". www.biblegateway.com. Retrieved 2021-02-07.
- Slifkin, Natan (2015). "Aurochs". The Torah Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom. Maggid Books. pp. 277–286. ISBN 9781592644049.
- Asimov, Isaac (1978). Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare. Avenel Books. ISBN 978-0-517-26825-4.
- "Bible Gateway passage: Job 39:9-12 - American Standard Version". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
- "Bible Gateway passage: Job 39:9-12 - New American Standard Bible". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2023-06-28.