Bible Review

French, corné; German, Hornhaut, hornig; Latin, cornus; Arabic qarniµ, ’aqran, ’istaqrana; Syriac qarnaµ’.

On “Hiwi,” see Judah Rosenthal, Hiwi al-Balkhi (Philadelphia: Dropsie College, 1949).

Called ’al tiqreµ, “do not read,” this method substitutes one reading for another. “Do not read” is short for “Do not read X, but rather Y,” where X and Y are similar words. To this punning interpretation of Exodus 34:29, modern Hebrew owes the phrase qeren ’oÆr, “horn of light,” in other words, “light ray.”

The aleph (’) and the ayin (‘), though not distinguished by many speakers of modern Hebrew, were originally distinct consonants; Jews from Arabic-speaking countries still pronounce the ayin as a voiced construction of the throat.

H. Schirmann, Hebrew Poetry in Spain and Provence, Book 2, vol. 2 (Hebrew, Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1960), p. 375, line 174. I owe this reference to M. Saperstein.

An extremely informative and readable treatment is Ruth Mellinkoff, The Horned Moses in Medieval Art and Thought (Berkeley: Univ. of California, 1970).

“Veil” is the probable meaning of the Hebrew word masweh, which occurs only in this context.

“Yahweh” is believed to be the original pronunciation of the name of Israel’s god. In most English translations it is rendered “the Lord.”

Josephus, Jewish War, 2.154f.