El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-10
w WASHINGTON, D. C., Aug, 10.

w TASHINGTON, D. c., Aug. 10
M Recent researches IN ancient
Hebrew literature, contempt
rary with the books of the Scriptures
have shed much interesting light upon
the zoology of the especially in
regard to certain animals, such as the
leviathan. the behemOth and the unicorn
whose identity has been IN more or less
dispute.
It is popularity supposed that the levia-
than of the Bible was whale, but for
this belief there IS not the slightest basis
IN fact. The animal in question was
the crocodile If proof be wanted, one
may find it in book of Job, wherein 1t Is
described as having scales which are
''shut up together as with a close seal, y
which cannot be sundered,' and which
neither sword, spear, nor arrow can pen
citrate
One should realize that in 1911, when
the authorized version" OF the Bible
was first published. the study of natural
history was IN its infancy, and many OF
the Scriptural animals had never been
heard of in Europe. Thus the tTansla-
tors were much puzzled by the names OF
some OF the Scriptural beasts as found in
the original Hebrew and Greek. They
knew not the crocodile, and with the
hippOpotamus they were wholly unac-
quainted. Hence, when they came upon
mention of the behemOth Ia Hebrew
world, they left it alone.
The fact that tins animal was the
hippopotamus is so well established that
nowadays any captive specimen IN a
circus is sure to be placarded with a
sign stating that it is the behemoth OF
Scripture But it was not known until
recently that the unicorn was the "ad-
daX7 antelope beast as tig as fair
sized pony. which was dOmesticated BY
the ancient Egyptians. Represented IN
sculptural profile on Egyptian mOnu-
ments, 200 horns appear as one-thus
giving rise to the mistaken notion OF q
creature with a single horn springing
from the middle of its forehead. The
ence to Deuteronomy. where Joseph is
compared to unicorn, his two horns
being Ephraim and Manasseh.
The Unicorn of the Bible.
The unicorn of the Bible IS even to
this day found wild IN considerable num-
bers in the deserts of northern Africa
1t is white, with a brownish-graY mock,
and heavy tuft of hair on its forehead
almost black in color, which looks rs If
curled by a hair dresser. Egyptian kings
and deities on the ancient monuments
are often shown wearing its horns,
which have the peculiar spiral form
that IS carefully copied in the single
horn of the fabulous beast immortaIiked
in the cOat-of-arms of ;3rea@ Britain
as the antagonist of the lion.
The dragons of the Bible were like
wise crOcodiles. Ezekiel refers to their
scales and speaks of their lying out in
the rivers watching for prey Doubtless
he had seen them by thousands. But the /
makers OF the authorized version could |
not have been expected TO understand |
what the creatures were ike. They were /
not naturalists, and the task of transla- |
ton which they undertook was suffi- !
siently difficult in other respects The I
books OF the Old Testament. originally /
written in Hebrew. were first collected /
md arranged by the prophet Ezra about
800 B. c: These are the Scriptures so 4
,ften referred to in the New Testament.
the Law and the Prophets"
The books Of the New Testament were