Wild Ox

A wild ox (Bos primigenius) was a large, fierce, agile, stubborn animal. It had a long, lean rump, a straight back, and a long, narrow head. The animal described in Job 39:9–12 is clearly the wild ox. The two horns were its most noticeable feature (Deuteronomy 33:17). They were straight and as long as the head (Numbers 23:22; 24:8; Psalm 22:21). Kings often symbolized their rule by wearing a helmet with two wild ox horns (compare Psalms 92:10; 132:17–18). The Israelites often used horns as drinking vessels. Some could hold 15 liters (four gallons).

Hunting the wild ox was a favorite sport of Assyrian kings. Tiglath-pileser I hunted in the Lebanon Mountains around 1100 BC (compare Psalm 29:6). Some thought that Job 39:9–12 referred to the oryx or antelope because the Hebrew word in Job and Arabian name for oryx are similar. The King James Version translators called the wild ox a "unicorn." They chose that translation because of Babylonian mosaics and Egyptian drawings. These showed the animal in profile with one horn, thus the term "unicorn." Similarly, Jerome's fourth-century Vulgate and Martin Luther's German translation also did.