Unicorns in Christianity
By: Elena Bagwell
"The Winter Walker" by Indigo Wake
Image Link
I continued my travels by catching a
flight to the Ukraine after spending a good portion of my time
traveling throughout China. Why I chose the Ukraine I have no
idea, but I saw a vacation package that was being offered at a special
price so I thought: "Why not?" For those of you who
are unfamiliar with the geography of the world the Ukraine is located
directly west of Russia. It shares a border with Romania,
Hungary, and Poland just to name a few. It is a winter wonderland
so I planned to commit a few days to one of my favorite pastimes,
which is skiing.
I flew into the capital city of Kiev and before setting out on any of my planned excursions I decided to relax by going to get a cup of coffee and finding an internet cafe to email a few of my girlfriends. After getting my coffee and setting out to find the nearest internet cafe I came across a beautiful white marble fountain with a statue of a gorgeous, blinding white unicorn. The fountain was situated in front of a small, quaint shop. The fountain intrigued me so I decided to take a look inside the store. It turned out to be tiny Christian store, which was privately owned by an old man with a fragile body. I could tell that this man had experienced a lot in his long life because his shop was full of religious items from around the world. As I was browsing through his collections I couldn't help but notice an old book whose cover appeared to be richly decorated in gold leaf. The room was lit by a soft, gold light that came down from a single, well-used bulb on the ceiling. The light kept reflecting off the gold leaf of this book, causing a glitter that I could no longer ignore.
I approached the book and opened the cover cautiously so as not to tear the delicate pages. I began to turn the pages and noticed that it was a book about the history of Unicorns. I came across a beautifully elaborate page whose text seemed to pop out of the page. I found a dusty leather chair and sank into it, getting myself quite comfortable to read the book.
The page whose appearance captivated me ended up containing a Ukrainian folktale about Unicorns. I can remember its contents as if it were before my very eyes:
" All of the beasts obeyed Noah when he admitted them into the ark. All but the Unicorn. Confident of his strength, he boasted 'I shall swim!' For forty days and forty nights the rains poured down and the ocean boiled as in a pot, and all the heights were flooded. The birds of the air clung onto the ark and when the ark pitched they were all engulfed. But the Unicorn kept on swimming. When, however, the birds emerged again they perched on his horn and he went under-- and that's why there are no more Unicorns now."
The Ukrainian story had a great impact on me. I thought to myself that if the Unicorn had the strength, endurance, and heart to fight out a flood then I surely shared the same qualities and could survive a messy divorce. The story became the first of many inspirations to come that would help me survive my problems.
I began picturing the story of the Unicorn in my head and just as I was about to slip off into some fantastic adventure I was interrupted by the owner of the shop, the little old man.
"Did you know that the Unicorn is mentioned many times in the Bible, specifically in the King James version?" he asked.
"No, I had no idea. Unfortunately I have not had the time to read the Bible as closely as I would like to," I replied.
"Oh yes! And it is believed that often times the Unicorn has been mentioned under another animal's name, the ox. I have spent much of my life traveling all over the world learning about all the religions that people practice. It is a subject that has always interested me. If you aren't as busy as everyone else in the world seems to be I could tell you about a few of those biblical references that might help you get started on reading the Bible," the old man responded.
"Please, if you wouldn't mind," I answered. "Unexpectedly, I have discovered a new found interest in Unicorns so I would love to find out more."
He began:
"Well...let's see. My old age has slowed my memory down significantly [thinking] Ahhh...yes...here are a few that I am remembering. One such phrase that really struck me and I have yet to forget it all these years. It comes from the book of Numbers in the Bible : 'God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce [them] through with his arrows.' Is that not so powerful!!! How could someone forget that?" he said.
"I agree, what you have told me so far is very powerful and beautiful. I had no idea that there were any references of unicorns in any Bible, especially comparing them to God and/or Jesus!!" I replied.
"Another favorite verse of mine can be found in Deuteronomy. It says: 'His glory [is like] the firstling of his bullock, and his horns [are like] the horns of a unicorn: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they [are] the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they [are] the thousands of Manasseh,'" he revealed to me.
"Wow! Those words practically take my breath away!" I said.
"There are so many more passages throughout many different versions of the Bible. You wouldn't even believe!! And every one of them seems to refer to the Unicorn as powerful, untamable, pure, and superior to all others," he said.
We talked awhile longer about his experiences seeing the world. The old man wrapped up his talk with me by telling me a little more about the Ukrainian folktale I had read earlier.
He explained to me that there existed a Jewish folktale similar to the Ukrainian story I read. Both mention Unicorns on board the ark, but the Jewish tale states that Unicorns demanded so much space and attention that Noah banished them. They were said to either have drowned or managed to swim and still survive in the world, evolving into narwhales. I thought that was so interesting, but I couldn't imagine that a creature so highly regarded as the Unicorn would be banished by Noah because they demanded too much space and attention.
As we wrapped up our conversation the man said to me something that I will never forget:
"To convince you that Unicorns have always existed and still do to this day is not my job. Whether you believe me or not is your choice, but what I am saying is that history proves that it is possible," the wise old man concluded.
With that said, the little old man disappeared behind the corner at the sound of a delicate and beautiful wind chime that sings every time with the opening and closing of the door.
Author's Note:
I found a really great website that contained lots of general information about Unicorns. With story 3 I took some facts about Unicorns in the Bible and turned them into a story told by the shopkeeper. Juliet narrates the first portion of the story as she continues to explain to us her adventures traveling. The reader gets to read the Ukrainian folktale when Juliet sees it vividly in her mind as she remembers her travels in Kiev. I researched more in depth the references to the Bible that I found on this website and found other wonderful sites that list psalm by psalm the words of the King James Bible. It is all very interesting stuff and I recommend that you look into it too!! I had no idea that Unicorns were spoken of so much , or at all, in the Bible!!
Bibliography:
"Numbers 24, 8"
Website: The King James Bible
Weblink: http://www.godrules.net/library/kjv/kjvnum24.htm
I flew into the capital city of Kiev and before setting out on any of my planned excursions I decided to relax by going to get a cup of coffee and finding an internet cafe to email a few of my girlfriends. After getting my coffee and setting out to find the nearest internet cafe I came across a beautiful white marble fountain with a statue of a gorgeous, blinding white unicorn. The fountain was situated in front of a small, quaint shop. The fountain intrigued me so I decided to take a look inside the store. It turned out to be tiny Christian store, which was privately owned by an old man with a fragile body. I could tell that this man had experienced a lot in his long life because his shop was full of religious items from around the world. As I was browsing through his collections I couldn't help but notice an old book whose cover appeared to be richly decorated in gold leaf. The room was lit by a soft, gold light that came down from a single, well-used bulb on the ceiling. The light kept reflecting off the gold leaf of this book, causing a glitter that I could no longer ignore.
I approached the book and opened the cover cautiously so as not to tear the delicate pages. I began to turn the pages and noticed that it was a book about the history of Unicorns. I came across a beautifully elaborate page whose text seemed to pop out of the page. I found a dusty leather chair and sank into it, getting myself quite comfortable to read the book.
The page whose appearance captivated me ended up containing a Ukrainian folktale about Unicorns. I can remember its contents as if it were before my very eyes:
" All of the beasts obeyed Noah when he admitted them into the ark. All but the Unicorn. Confident of his strength, he boasted 'I shall swim!' For forty days and forty nights the rains poured down and the ocean boiled as in a pot, and all the heights were flooded. The birds of the air clung onto the ark and when the ark pitched they were all engulfed. But the Unicorn kept on swimming. When, however, the birds emerged again they perched on his horn and he went under-- and that's why there are no more Unicorns now."
The Ukrainian story had a great impact on me. I thought to myself that if the Unicorn had the strength, endurance, and heart to fight out a flood then I surely shared the same qualities and could survive a messy divorce. The story became the first of many inspirations to come that would help me survive my problems.
I began picturing the story of the Unicorn in my head and just as I was about to slip off into some fantastic adventure I was interrupted by the owner of the shop, the little old man.
"Did you know that the Unicorn is mentioned many times in the Bible, specifically in the King James version?" he asked.
"No, I had no idea. Unfortunately I have not had the time to read the Bible as closely as I would like to," I replied.
"Oh yes! And it is believed that often times the Unicorn has been mentioned under another animal's name, the ox. I have spent much of my life traveling all over the world learning about all the religions that people practice. It is a subject that has always interested me. If you aren't as busy as everyone else in the world seems to be I could tell you about a few of those biblical references that might help you get started on reading the Bible," the old man responded.
"Please, if you wouldn't mind," I answered. "Unexpectedly, I have discovered a new found interest in Unicorns so I would love to find out more."
He began:
"Well...let's see. My old age has slowed my memory down significantly [thinking] Ahhh...yes...here are a few that I am remembering. One such phrase that really struck me and I have yet to forget it all these years. It comes from the book of Numbers in the Bible : 'God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce [them] through with his arrows.' Is that not so powerful!!! How could someone forget that?" he said.
"I agree, what you have told me so far is very powerful and beautiful. I had no idea that there were any references of unicorns in any Bible, especially comparing them to God and/or Jesus!!" I replied.
"Another favorite verse of mine can be found in Deuteronomy. It says: 'His glory [is like] the firstling of his bullock, and his horns [are like] the horns of a unicorn: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they [are] the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they [are] the thousands of Manasseh,'" he revealed to me.
"Wow! Those words practically take my breath away!" I said.
"There are so many more passages throughout many different versions of the Bible. You wouldn't even believe!! And every one of them seems to refer to the Unicorn as powerful, untamable, pure, and superior to all others," he said.
We talked awhile longer about his experiences seeing the world. The old man wrapped up his talk with me by telling me a little more about the Ukrainian folktale I had read earlier.
He explained to me that there existed a Jewish folktale similar to the Ukrainian story I read. Both mention Unicorns on board the ark, but the Jewish tale states that Unicorns demanded so much space and attention that Noah banished them. They were said to either have drowned or managed to swim and still survive in the world, evolving into narwhales. I thought that was so interesting, but I couldn't imagine that a creature so highly regarded as the Unicorn would be banished by Noah because they demanded too much space and attention.
As we wrapped up our conversation the man said to me something that I will never forget:
"To convince you that Unicorns have always existed and still do to this day is not my job. Whether you believe me or not is your choice, but what I am saying is that history proves that it is possible," the wise old man concluded.
With that said, the little old man disappeared behind the corner at the sound of a delicate and beautiful wind chime that sings every time with the opening and closing of the door.
Author's Note:
I found a really great website that contained lots of general information about Unicorns. With story 3 I took some facts about Unicorns in the Bible and turned them into a story told by the shopkeeper. Juliet narrates the first portion of the story as she continues to explain to us her adventures traveling. The reader gets to read the Ukrainian folktale when Juliet sees it vividly in her mind as she remembers her travels in Kiev. I researched more in depth the references to the Bible that I found on this website and found other wonderful sites that list psalm by psalm the words of the King James Bible. It is all very interesting stuff and I recommend that you look into it too!! I had no idea that Unicorns were spoken of so much , or at all, in the Bible!!
Bibliography:
"Numbers 24, 8"
Website: The King James Bible
Weblink: http://www.godrules.net/library/kjv/kjvnum24.htm
Website: The King James Bible
Weblink:
Website: The Mystical World of Unicorns
Weblink:
http://www.angelfire.com/ar/callisto72/refrences.html
"Famous Unicorn Sitings"
Website: The Mystical World of Unicorns
Weblink:
http://www.angelfire.com/ar/callisto72/sightings.html