{"id":4449,"date":"2025-03-17T22:48:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T22:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parquediscovery.pt\/de\/?p=4449"},"modified":"2026-04-30T10:02:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:02:27","slug":"aurochs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parquediscovery.pt\/en\/aurochs","title":{"rendered":"Aurochses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the Bible, aurochs stand for untamable wildness and strength. Sadly, these impressive cattle have long been extinct in the Near East and probably were no longer living there by the time of the New Testament. In Europe they survived longer, but even here the last specimen died in 1672 in Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In German Bible translations, aurochs are also referred to as wild oxen, wild bulls, or buffalo, and they are considered the ancestral form of domestic cattle. In Israel, the ranges of the European aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius<\/em>) and the African aurochs (Bos primigenius africanus<\/em>) overlap. The exact course of their domestication by humans is unclear; various scenarios are conceivable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Genetically, the different forms are so close to one another that they can readily be understood as different breeds of a single species (in the sense of a \u00abbiospecies\u00bb). It is also possible that the aurochs were feral forms of domestic cattle. In any case, in terms of build and temperament they were so far removed from their tamed cousins (Job 39:9\u201310) that agricultural use was out of the question. Possibly (depending on the dating), the wild ox described as untamable in Job 39 was also an extinct steppe bison \u2013 up to 2 meters tall and weighing 700\u2013800 kilograms \u2013 whose fossils have been documented in Israel and the surrounding region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Heck cattle are indeed a breed of domestic cattle (Bos taurus<\/em>), but outwardly they come quite close to the aurochs\u2019 appearance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although context and description in Job 39:9\u201312 had, since antiquity, clearly pointed many scholars to a bovine representative, the identification remained uncertain for a long time. In 1846, the British archaeologist Sir Austen Henry Layard uncovered a relief at Nimrud showing the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II hunting aurochs. The animals are labeled in Akkadian as rim<\/em> \/ rimu<\/em>, which provided philologists with clear proof of the connection to the Hebrew re\u2019em<\/em>. This word probably derives from ra\u2019am<\/em> with the meaning \u00abexalted, raised, mighty\u00bb (cf. Zech 14:10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Spanish fighting bulls, deliberately bred for traits such as aggressiveness, irritability, and endurance, may have had a temperament similar to that of aurochs in former times. In a traditional bullfight (corrida de toros<\/em>), the matador repeatedly evades the impetuous attacks of the wounded bull and finally kills the exhausted animal with a long rapier.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Critics of the Bible, who largely regard it as myth and legend, take delight in the fact that the unicorn can be found in some older translations. Martin Luther relied on the Greek LXX, in which the Hebrew re\u2019em<\/em> is translated with monokeros<\/em>, as well as the Latin translations Vetus Latina, where it is rendered as unicornis<\/em>, and the Vulgate, which gives it as monoceros<\/em>. All three terms denoted the \u00abunicorn\u00bb \u2013 a horse- or goat-like animal of extraordinary wildness and strength, with a long, straight horn in the middle of its forehead, whose existence contemporary scholars were firmly convinced of. Various medical books spoke of the wondrous effects of its horn and medicines prepared from it, and world travelers such as Marco Polo (1254\u20131324) reported having seen it on the island of Sumatra. The Englishman Edward Webbe (1554\u20131590) claimed to have observed three unicorns in the private zoo of an Indian prince, and the Portuguese explorer Jer\u00f3nimo Lobo (1593\u20131678) states that he encountered a specimen in Ethiopia. Luther therefore had no reason to doubt the existence of unicorns \u2013 especially since the anatomy attributed to them lies well within the bounds of biological possibility and \u00abeyewitness reports\u00bb are documented even after his time (into the 18th century!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner (1516\u20131565) was among the most important scholars of his time. His ambitious goal was to record the entire body of Western books and to bring together the knowledge of his age. He set to work with zeal and, in his relatively short productive life, was unbelievably prolific. In his natural history, which he titled Historia animalium<\/em> \u2013 a title already used by Aristotle \u2013 one also finds the unicorn. As a painstaking scholar, however, Gessner stated that the depiction was based on imprecise, partly contradictory reports, and that he personally harbored doubts about its existence. In his memory, a \u00abstuffed unicorn\u00bb was exhibited at the Zoological Museum in Zurich.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The earliest known indication of the faulty nature of this translation comes from Professor Heinrich Sander (1754\u20131782) of Karlsruhe. Since the author of land:l\u00e4ufer feels deeply committed to the concern articulated by this theologian, an extended quotation may be permitted: \u00abBy the light of natural history I am convinced that one will one day search in vain for the unicorn of the ancients in the whole of creation, as far as we know it; and further, that in all passages of the Bible where Luther and others think of the unicorn, one must understand no other animal than a kind of ox. \u2013 Whoever would regard this investigation as useless and superfluous should remember that it is the task of teachers to study the entire content of the Bible, and to apply everything that human sciences can accomplish to the clarification of this rich book, written for all people; so that we may also confront the scoffer, the doubter, and the ill-disposed and save the honor of these divine writings.\u00bb \u2013 In view of these early objections (and many that followed later), it is surprising that the necessary correction of Luther\u2019s translation was delayed so long that even the 1912 edition still read: \u00abDeliver me from the mouth of the lion; and from the horns of the unicorns rescue me!\u00bb (Ps 22:22; Luther 1912).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aurochs is described most impressively by its Creator Himself: \u00abWill the wild ox be willing to serve you, or will he spend the night at your manger? Can you hold the wild ox in the furrow with a rope, or will he harrow the valleys after you? Will you trust him because his strength is great, and leave your labor to him? Will you rely on him to bring home your seed and gather it to your threshing floor?\u00bb (Job 39:9\u201312).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Although female Heck cattle are noticeably smaller and lighter than the bulls, they bear horns that are just as impressive. Both sexes, however, are probably nowhere near as irritable as their wild ancestors. Aurochs were also among those wild animals that were captured for baiting in amphitheaters. Julius Caesar reports in De Bello Gallico<\/em> about the uri<\/em> of the Hercynian Forest that they were exceedingly aggressive and could not be tamed. The Germans would make great efforts to catch them in pits and kill them. Successful hunters then adorned themselves with their horns, which was said to have brought them great honor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In His \u00abspeech about creation\u00bb (Job 38\u201341), God repeatedly points Job to the autonomy of the animals. Originally, all of them were placed under human dominion (Gen 1:28; 2:19), but after the Fall he could exercise this dominion only in a limited way, although he was feared by the animals (Gen 9:2). Thus, although the aurochs is a cousin of domestic cattle, it would never allow itself to be tamed or become dependent on human provision (its fodder \u00abmanger\u00bb) (Job 39:9). Of course, it would have been practical if Job could have harnessed its immense physical strength for heavy field work such as plowing or harrowing (Job 39:10), but that would have been a foolhardy undertaking. The question whether he would not want to try it, given that it is such a strong animal (Job 39:11), is meant ironically. Even if one managed to yoke the wild ox to a cart, it would neither pull it obediently along the desired path (Job 39:12) nor bring in the harvest with it but would disappear for good. Thus, the great strength of the aurochs remains unused. God did not intend it for humans and instead wants to show Job that humans can exercise dominion over creation and make use of it only up to the boundary God has set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unbridled strength of the aurochs can no more be tamed than the sinful nature of man. What is impossible with people is, however, possible with God (cf. Mt 19:26). Saul of Tarsus, for example, was like a destructive wild ox, working with all his strength against God (Acts 9:1; Gal 1:13). When God subdued him, He used the image of an oxgoad (Acts 26:14), by which He made him \u00abthe apostle Paul\u00bb \u2013 a mighty messenger, ready to place all his strength in the service of his Lord and not shrinking even from suffering. As a servant of the gospel, Paul himself applies the image to himself (1Cor 9:9\u201310). He brought in a mighty harvest from all nations for God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On this relief from his palace in Nineveh, the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II had himself depicted hunting aurochs. An adult animal was killed with arrows, and a young animal was captured with ropes and bound to the chariot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Five Bible verses refer to the mighty horns of the aurochs. In three cases, God uses them to portray His own power: \u00abHis horns are the horns of the wild ox; with them he shall gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth\u00bb (Deut 33:17; cf. Num 23:22; 24:8). In one verse He describes the power He grants to the one who trusts in Him: \u00abBut you will exalt my horn like that of the wild ox \u2026\u00bb (Ps 92:10), and in another psalm, how the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, is delivered from the power of His enemies: \u00abYes, you have answered me from the horns of the buffalo\u00bb (Ps 22:21).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The far-spreading horns of today\u2019s Watusi cattle are the closest match to those of the extinct aurochs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Horns were used as instruments (Ezek 7:14; Dan 3:5, 7, 10, 15) or as drinking vessels and for storing liquids (1Sam 16:1). The name Keren-happuch (Job 42:14) means \u00abhorn of eye-paint\u00bb and points to a special purpose, and the Greek name Cornelius (Acts 10) is also derived from \u00abhorn\u00bb. From the horn substance (keratin), obtained not only from horns but also from claws and hooves, many useful everyday objects \u2013 such as spoons, combs, sewing needles, and similar tools \u2013 could be carved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sadly, the aurochs is extinct, but the preserved skeletons allow us to imagine its impressive appearance. Here the mighty horns can be seen in comparison with two horns of domestic cattle (in the foreground).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n