RE: “The Horns of the Altar” and bulls?
March 6, 2022 at 1:23 pm
(This post was last modified: March 6, 2022 at 1:23 pm by GrandizerII.)
(March 6, 2022 at 1:09 pm)JairCrawford Wrote:(March 6, 2022 at 9:40 am)GrandizerII Wrote: Whatever the horns may be, I don't think they were meant to be connected specifically to bulls in ANE religions at the time. Obviously there's some symbolic meaning to them, but if you can't find [trustworthy/legit/scholarly] resources online to expound upon their meaning, then you're just going to get speculations here.
Well, the phrase “horns of the altar” in the Amos 3:14 verse appears to be a polemic specifically against the altar at Bethel, which is one of the places we know that a golden calf/bull was erected.
“On the day I punish Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
As you say, it's probably a polemic against altars erected/readopted for other gods.
It's not about bulls or calves, no matter what connection you may have thought about with regards to these altars.
