unicorn

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(one-horned). A fabulous animal pictured as having one horn on its forehead and the body of a horse. The Hebrew word re’em, which is translated “unicorn” (Num. 23:22; 24:8²²God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. (Numbers 23:22)
⁸God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. (Numbers 24:8); Deut. 33:17¹⁷His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. (Deuteronomy 33:17); Job 39:9⁹Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? (Job 39:9); Psa. 22:21; 29:6²¹Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. (Psalm 22:21)
⁶He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. (Psalm 29:6); Isa. 34:7⁷And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. (Isaiah 34:7)), does not refer to the one-horned creature of fable, but evidently to a two-horned animal (Deut. 33:17¹⁷His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. (Deuteronomy 33:17)), possibly the now nearly extinct wild ox, auroch or urus of naturalists.

Concise Bible Dictionary:

The Hebrew word is reem, translated in the LXX by ἁδρός, and μονοκέρως, from the last of which the AV adopted the rendering “unicorn.” There is nothing in the scripture to intimate that the animal had but one horn, indeed Deuteronomy 33:17¹⁷His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. (Deuteronomy 33:17) speaks of the horns of a “unicorn” (see margin), and it must have been some animal with which the Israelites were familiar. Its great strength and untamableness are the main characteristics: it cannot be utilized, as the tame ox, for agricultural purposes (Num. 23:22²²God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. (Numbers 23:22); Num. 24:8⁸God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. (Numbers 24:8); Deut. 33:17¹⁷His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. (Deuteronomy 33:17); Job 39:9-10⁹Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? ¹⁰Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? (Job 39:9‑10); Psa. 29:6⁶He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. (Psalm 29:6); Psa. 92:10¹⁰But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil. (Psalm 92:10); Isa. 34:7⁷And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. (Isaiah 34:7)). The Lord asked to be saved from the lion's mouth, for Jehovah had heard Him from the horns of the unicorns (Psa. 22:21²¹Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. (Psalm 22:21)), to which His implacable enemies are compared. It is most probable that a species of wild ox, the Bos primigenius, is referred to; these may have been known in Palestine, as was the lion, though they are now extinct. This is confirmed by the wild ox being sculptured in an Assyrian bas-relief, with the name reem or rim over it.

Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:

Number:

7214 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)

Transliteration:

r’em

Phonic:

reh-ame’

Meaning:

or rieym {reh-ame'}; or reym {rame}; or rem {rame}; from 7213; a wild bull (from its conspicuousness)

KJV Usage:

unicorn