Texts in Conversation
In Deuteronomy, Joseph receives the horns of a wild ox to defeat the nations. In his Dialogue with Trypho, Justin interprets the horns as parts of the cross, connecting victory over nations with their conversion.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Deuteronomy 33:17
Hebrew Bible
13 Of Joseph he said: “May the Lord bless his land with the harvest produced by the sky, by the dew, and by the depths crouching beneath; 14 with the harvest produced by the daylight and by the moonlight; 15 with the best of the ancient mountains and the harvest produced by the age-old hills; 16 with the harvest of the earth and its fullness and the pleasure of him who resided in the burning bush. May blessing rest on Joseph’s head, and on the top of the head of the one set apart from his brothers. 17 May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor, and may his horns be those of a wild ox; with them may he gore all peoples, all the far reaches of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
Date: 6th century BCE (final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 91.2–3
Early Christian
1 “And God shows the power of the mystery of the cross in another way through Moses, when He said in the blessing with which Joseph was blessed, ‘His land is from the blessing of the Lord: from the seasons of heaven and the dews, and from the deep springs below, and from the seasonal fruits of the sun, and from the coming together of the months, and from the heights of the everlasting mountains, and from the heights of the hills, and from the ever-flowing rivers, and from the fruits of the richness of the earth; and let the things acceptable to Him who appeared in the bush come on the head and crown of Joseph. Let him be glorified among his brothers; his beauty is [like] that of a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a unicorn; with them he shall gore the nations together, from one end of the earth to the other.’ 2 Now, no one could say or prove that the horns of a unicorn represent any other thing or shape than the type that portrays the cross. For one beam stands upright, and its topmost part rises up into a horn when the other beam is fitted onto it, and the ends appear on both sides like horns joined to the one horn. And the part fixed in the middle, on which those who are crucified are held up, also sticks out like a horn, and it too looks like a horn shaped and fixed together with the other horns. 3 And the phrase ‘With them he shall gore the nations together, from one end of the earth to the other’ points to what has now come about among all the nations. For people from all the nations, having been gored in this way through this mystery, that is, pierced to the heart, have turned from worthless idols and demons to the worship of God. But to unbelievers the same shape is shown for their destruction and condemnation, just as among the people who came out of Egypt Amalek was defeated and Israel was victorious through the type of Moses’ outstretched hands and the name Jesus (Joshua), which the son of Nave (Nun) was given.
Date: 155–160 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... horns are the horns of a unicorn; with them shall he push the
nations even to the ends of the earth.’28
2. “Now, no one can assert or prove that the horns of a
unicorn represent any other matter or figure than that of the
cross.29 The one beam of the cross stands upright, from which
the upper part is lifted up like a horn when the crossbeam is
fitted on, and the ends of the crosspiece resemble horns joined
to that one horn. And the part that is fixed in the middle of
the cross, on which the bodies of the crucified are supported,
also projects like a horn, and it, too, looks like a horn when it is
shaped and joined to the other horns.
3. “And the words ‘With them shall he push the nations
even to the ends of the earth’30 clearly describe what is now
taking place in all the nations. For, men of all nations have
been pushed by the horns, that is, goaded to compunction, by
means of this mystery, and have abandoned their vain idols
and demons to turn to the worship of God. But to unbelievers,
the same sign is shown to be the cause of their destruction
and condemnation, as when the people had come out of Egypt,
and Israel was victorious over conquered Amalek by the sign of
Moses’s outstretched hands and by the imposition of the name
Jesus [Joshua] upon the son of Nun. ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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