“The Horns of the Altar” and bulls?

[JairCrawford]

One of the first things that stuck out to me as a potential parallel when I first started reading about old Canaanite and ANE religion, were the various descriptions of the “horns of the altar” in scripture. Using my Bible app search, the search phrase “horns of the altar” yields 16 result verses; Exodus 29-12, 37:25, Leviticus 4:7, 4:18, 4:25, 4:30, 4:34, 8:15, 9:9, 16:18, 1 Kings 1:50-51, 2:28, Psalm 118:27, Amos 3:14, and Revelation 9:13.

Based on the description of the altar and it’s horns being covered by gold, I couldn’t help but think about the golden/bronze bulls used in ANE religious iconography. I came across this article that discusses how the golden calf incident is a polemic against various northern temple practices: https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-gol...el-worship

However from my online searching and digging I have yet to find any writings that attempt to connect the bull iconography with the biblical horns of the altar. I’m wondering if any of you have come across resources that have, or if any of you have any insights on the topic?

[Belacqua]

One of the first things that stuck out to me as a potential parallel when I first started reading about old Canaanite and ANE religion, were the various descriptions of the “horns of the alter” in scripture. Using my Bible app search, the search phrase “horns of the altar” yields 16 result verses; Exodus 29-12, 37:25, Leviticus 4:7, 4:18, 4:25, 4:30, 4:34, 8:15, 9:9, 16:18, 1 Kings 1:50-51, 2:28, Psalm 118:27, Amos 3:14, and Revelation 9:13.

Based on the description of the altar and it’s horns being covered by gold, I couldn’t help but think about the golden/bronze bulls used in ANE religious iconography. I came across this article that discusses how the golden calf incident is a polemic against various northern temple practices: https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-gol...el-worship

However from my online searching and digging I have yet to find any writings that attempt to connect the bull iconography with the biblical horns of the altar. I’m wondering if any of you have come across resources that have, or if any of you have any insights on the topic?

Have you checked the original Hebrew word that gets translated as "horns"? The range of nuance might be different from the English, perhaps with multiple meanings. I don't know if that's relevant....

(It occurs to me because the Japanese word 角 means both "horn" and "corner," depending on context. Possibly something similar in Hebrew..?)

[JairCrawford]

One of the first things that stuck out to me as a potential parallel when I first started reading about old Canaanite and ANE religion, were the various descriptions of the “horns of the alter” in scripture. Using my Bible app search, the search phrase “horns of the altar” yields 16 result verses; Exodus 29-12, 37:25, Leviticus 4:7, 4:18, 4:25, 4:30, 4:34, 8:15, 9:9, 16:18, 1 Kings 1:50-51, 2:28, Psalm 118:27, Amos 3:14, and Revelation 9:13.

Based on the description of the altar and it’s horns being covered by gold, I couldn’t help but think about the golden/bronze bulls used in ANE religious iconography. I came across this article that discusses how the golden calf incident is a polemic against various northern temple practices: https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-gol...el-worship

However from my online searching and digging I have yet to find any writings that attempt to connect the bull iconography with the biblical horns of the altar. I’m wondering if any of you have come across resources that have, or if any of you have any insights on the topic?

Have you checked the original Hebrew word that gets translated as "horns"? The range of nuance might be different from the English, perhaps with multiple meanings. I don't know if that's relevant....

(It occurs to me because the Japanese word 角 means both "horn" and "corner," depending on context. Possibly something similar in Hebrew..?)

The Hebrew word for “horns” shows as “qeren” in the interlinear portion of my app. But it only shows the root word in the interlinear. That being said, the same word is used for when the rams horns get caught in the thicket in Genesis.

[Huggy Bear]

The horns of the altar were at the corner

Animal sacrifice was simply a temporary measure put in place until a more permanent solution arrived, which was Christ (lamb of God), as symbolized by Abraham sacrificing the ram, caught in a thicket by his horns, and sacrificed in the place of Isaac.

Therefor I believe the horn symbology has more to do with the ram than the bull.

[JairCrawford]

The horns of the altar were at the corner

Animal sacrifice was simply a temporary measure put in place until a more permanent solution arrived, which was Christ (lamb of God), as symbolized by Abraham sacrificing the ram, caught in a thicket by his horns, and sacrificed in the place of Isaac.

Therefor I believe the horn symbology has more to do with the ram than the bull.

I believe that as well, as far as the spiritual symbology is concerned. But that doesn’t mean there also can’t be any connections to earlier ANE religion. The two, imo, are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

[GrandizerII]

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.

[JairCrawford]

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.

I’m not sure if my lack of finding resources is due to a lack of resources, or if I just wasn’t looking in the right places. For instance, I didn’t go to any scholarly sources behind paywalls so for all I know there could be sources/books that mention it. But the only place I really looked was for scholarly articles or blogs that were free to read online, hence, why I’m curious if anyone here who may be a bit better read on some of these things, may have come across something in their readings.

[onlinebiker]

Do you think that in a couple thousand years - people will still be arguing if Batman could kick Superman' s ass?


I expect they will.....

[JairCrawford]

Do you think that in a couple thousand years - people will still be arguing if Batman could kick Superman' s ass?


I expect they will.....

I expect so too but what’s that got to do with horns of the altar? XD

[GrandizerII]

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.