“461. HORNS—JOB 16:15”

Horns—Job_16:15

The speech of Eliphaz has the effect of lashing Job into renewed vigor of defence. With considerable warmth and resentment, he tells them, what in substance amounts to the homely phrase used by ourselves in the like circumstances, that “it is easy to talk.” He himself could be no less sage, were their positions reversed, but he is sure that he should have been more humane and considerate than such “miserable comforters,” and “physicians of no value,” as they had shown themselves to be. He gives a moving account of his condition, with the view of making them feel that their treatment of him was at least barbarous, if not unjust. But he protests that it was unjust, and much of their talk irrelevant. The picture which Eliphaz had given of a tyrannous oppressor, he treats as altogether foreign to the points in debate, unless he could prove that any part of the description applied to him, or that he had been guilty of any one of the like atrocities, and this he defies him to do; and he then again makes new and warm protestations of his correct and blameless deportment towards his fellow-creatures, and of his sincere affection, as well as reverential regard, for his Maker. He takes comfort, however, in the thought that God knows the truth of his assertion, and once more he appeals from their partial judgments to his awful tribunal for acquittance. This occupies the sixteenth chapter; in the seventeenth, he goes over nearly the same points, though in a somewhat different order, and closes his speech with very strong expressions of grief and despair.

It is in this speech of Job that we find the first allusion to “the horn” as a symbol of dignity and honor: “I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust.” If, as some not unreasonably suppose, this comprises an allusion to the custom of wearing a horn on the forehead, this custom, which still subsists, must be reckoned among the most ancient usages of adornment in the world. Generally, the horn appears in the Bible as a symbol of strength and power. The figure is undoubtedly taken from horned animals, whose power in attack or defence rests in their horns; and hence the word came to be used to denote the qualities which confer greatness on man—his honor, dignity, and strength. At length the horn itself, commuted eventually for a representation of it, came to be worn as a sign of power; and as such it appears in the most ancient figures of gods and spiritual existences, and was also worn by princes, and leaders of men. Of this there is now no question, for the representation of two, and often four horns, two on each side, enfold the turbans or crowns of the most exalted beings represented in the sculptures of Nineveh.

Head with Horns from Nineveh

Male and Female Figures with Horns on Forehead

This distinguishing and symbolic ornament is still in use as a mark of power among the military chiefs or leaders of the Abyssinians, in the shape of a sort of cubical spike projecting from the front of a circlet of metal worn around the head. These horns attracted the attention of Bruce, who observed that in a cavalcade the governors of provinces were distinguished by this head-dress. It consisted of a large broad fillet tied behind, from the center of which projected a horn or conical piece of silver gilt, and about four inches high, having in general appearance much resemblance, as he ignobly represents, to a candle extinguisher! In Western Asia it is now chiefly known as in use among the women of Lebanon, especially of the Druses. There is no indication of this use of the horn by women in the Bible; and it would seem in the nature of things that it could only have come into use among women, after men had ceased to wear it as an honorary distinction. The horn is of silver, sometimes studded with jewels, worn on the head in different positions, so as to distinguish the condition of the wearers, and so far serving the ancient purpose of this appendage. A married woman has it affixed to the right side of the head, a widow on the left, and a virgin is indicated by its being worn on the crown. It is used to support the long veil with which, when out of doors, they so completely conceal their faces that seldom more than one eye is visible. It is not always of silver. Ladies of distinction have it of gold, and the poorer sort of tin. It is usually about twelve inches long, and of the size of a common post-horn. It is not confined to Lebanon; being also in use among the Christian women in the towns of the coast; and, although more rarely, in Damascus. Indeed, something of the same sort, and in like manner used to support, may be found in remote places; and we remember many years ago to have been much astonished to witness it in general use in one of the principal towns in the heart of Russia. Note: At Tver; not commonly in any other town; but, if memory fail not, we saw it occasionally in Moscow. Among the Lebanon women this singular appendage, from its height, and from its own weight, as well as that of the veil it is designed to support, needs as many backstays and forestays to keep it in position as the main-mast of a seventy-four. It is worn night and day, being taken off only once in every week or ten days, in order that the hair may be combed. An ornament so ambitious is not attained but at the expense of bodily pain and detriment. It is a fruitful source of ophthalmic complaints. The pressure being chiefly over one eye, relaxes the eyelid nerves, and causes that eye to appear smaller than its fellow. Those who wear the horn are continually complaining of headaches and colds. One of the fastenings of the horn passes under the chin, and necessarily limits the motion of the jaw. Dr Van Dyck Note: “On the Present Condition of the Medical Profession in Syria,” in the Journal of the American Oriental Society. Reprinted in the Journal of Sacred Literature, No. xi. mentions the case of a woman who could not open her mouth more than the eighth of an inch; and upon examination it was found, that the band alluded to, where it pressed upon the lower jaw, had formed a groove in the bone capable of containing the little finger. After merely laying aside the horn for a few days, the woman could open her mouth more than an inch.

Autor: JOHN KITTO