20 The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.”
23 Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”
24 The Lord replied, “Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against them.”
25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
by JAMES TISSOT
“The Camp Before Sinai”
by JAMES TISSOT
“Moses Forbids the People to Follow Him”
X
MOSES CLIMBS
MT. SINAI
“Moses Ascends Sinai”
by DAVID LEE THOMPSON
“Moses on Mount Sinai”
by EDWARD ROWAN
“Moses on Mount Sinai”
by TED LARSEN
"Moses on Mt. Sinai"
by JAMES TISSOT
“Moses and Aaron Climb Mount Sinai”
by EL GRECO
“Mt. Sinai”
by JEANNETTE HALEY
A Special Exclusive Investigative Report
Only Here On EYEWITNESS BIBLE
MOSES HAD HORNS!?
Good evening, Hal and Lindsey. It is this reporter’s painful duty tonight to report on what confidential sources are telling me, about an artistic and biblical scandal of many centuries’ duration. They say it all began with an honest translation error, which finally got straightened out about 400 years ago—although some artists didn’t seem to have gotten the memo as recently as a century ago (I’m looking at you, Doré and Tissot).
When Michelangelo extracted this magnificent statue from a block of Carrara marble of Moses the Lawgiver that you see behind me,
the Bible in use there in Rome in 1515 was the Latin Vulgate, translated by Jerome 1,200 years earlier. My expert sources say Jerome simply goofed. When Moses returned from forty days on the mountain top with God, his countenance shone, as you'd expect. Our biblical experts explain that the Hebrew word describing his appearance was “qeren,” which has two related meanings: “radiant” and “horned.”
One can see the problem readily: to radiate is to project outward, just as horns do. Jerome chose poorly (here is Wikipedia’s account), inducing Michelangelo into this preposterous blunder—along with any number of gullible painters.
And that’s EYEWITNESS BIBLE’s exclusive investigative report tonight, Hal and Lindsey. Reporting live direct from the scene of the horned statue of Moses in Rome, Italy, this is Andy Knowsitall. Back to you in the studio.
In fact, if you’ve been following this series, you’ve already seen several silly examples, perhaps without even noticing, of painters dutifully recording what they thought was Holy Writ. Or perhaps you did notice but could only stare uncomprehendingly—but now you finally you get an explanation. Here are some examples of this tragic malady:
by JEAN-LEON GEROME
“Moses on Mount Sinai”
by GUIDO RENI
“The Fall of the Manna”
In fact, the manna fell--and Moses struck water from the rock (see below)--
before Moses ascended and descended Mt. Sinai all-aglow,
so ol' Guido got it doubly wrong--but hey, the brush strokes are magnifico!
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by VALERIO CASTELLO
"Moses striking Water from the Rock"
"MOSES CLIMBING MT. SINAI IN ART”,
showing various painters' conceptions.
Several are serious works worthy of interest,
by unknown artists except as noted.
who painted Biblical scenes prolifically:
(241 wood engravings for
La Grande Bible de Tours)
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