The Horned Moses

Abstract

THE transfiguration of Moses, as related by the writer of Exodus, is one of the most impressive scenes of the Old Testament. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of testimony, 'Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with In the following verse we read: 'And when Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.' At the end of the chapter the same manifestation is repeated: 'And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone; and Moses would put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak to him (God).' First we must note that the word 'shone' is repeated three times, a fact that lends special emphasis to this feature of what has generally been called the theophany of Moses. We must also bear in mind that the attribute is applied to the skin, which implies that the shining brilliance covered his whole body and no doubt shone through his drapery; it was manifest not only on the head or a particular area of the head. We are also told that it frightened the people of Israel. When this light is compared with that of the sun or with a light even more dazzling, we must admit it could be startling, even blinding, but why should it frighten the people? One might turn his eyes away from a bright light but not necessarily in horror. To mitigate the effects of the light Moses put a veil on his head, which was not necessary when he spoke with God, implying that Moses had become so imbued with divinity, he and he alone could stand within the radiance of the light of God. Such a manifestation of light we are also familiar with from the account of the arming of Achilles2 and the presence of the Arthurian Grail,3 where it also has a terrifying effect.