>A ridiculous thread trolling Korean heritage deserves this kind of treatment.

>thread trolling Korean heritage

>Korean heritage

>Claiming to discover a unicorn lair is "Korean heritage"

holy shit

HOLY SHIT

"that those parts of the Bible in which the alleged "unicorn" appears WERE all written in Hebrew"

Irrelevant to the point that the Greeks compiled the Bible. Did the Hebrews know of anything called a "Bible" in Ancient Babylonia/Persia? No. That book was compiled by the Greeks, with extensive Greek writings in addition to the translated Hebrew. I mean good grief, the word "Biblia" is a Hellenic word!

The point is, why would the Greeks call it Monokeros if it had more than one horn?

Unless putin is perhaps suggesting that the original article was tongue in cheek? I can't judge in this instance, but for example, American scientists will not infrequently speak in public or even post online about "Santa Clause's route" or some such, very obviously as a joke / playing into cultural traditions for the sake of kids. Was the Korean article in question potentially intended in such a jocular manner?

"compiled by" the Greeks, yes, putin. That's not what you said.

"The point is, why would the Greeks call it Monokeros if it had more than one horn? "

I'll answer your question, but only after you answer mine: were the Greeks write to translate the Hebrew word in Isaiah as "virgin"?

I mean, we could assume that, I suppose. We'd just have to assume the state news is trolling, too:

http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2012/201211/news29/20121129-20ee.html

But that's the thing, PE -- news outlets do always pick up the Santa Clause stories.

I mean, to me, I tend to interpret this as not being a joke, so far as I can tell. I'm just trying to remain as open minded as possible.

The Ancient Hebrews knew of no book/collection of books called the Biblia.

"
I'll answer your question, but only after you answer mine: were the Greeks write to translate the Hebrew word in Isaiah as "virgin"?"

Most young unmarried women were virgins, no?

"The Ancient Hebrews knew of no book/collection of books called the Biblia. "

Yes, I've already agreed. Why are we still talking about this point? You said "wrote," though, not "compiled."

"Most young unmarried women were virgins, no? "

That wasn't the question. Was the translation correct? Keep in mind -- the verse in question talks about the [virgin/young woman] HAVING A CHILD, and while most young unmarried women may have been virgins (wouldn't know, wasn't there), most mothers were decidedly not.

The press release refers to the king/unicorn story as a legend. This legend is held in common by Korea. It's not as if the Kingdom only existed in North Korean history books. So yes you're mocking Korean heritage/legends at large. Not really funny, actually.

"most mothers were decidedly not. "

But many legends from that same era involved virgin births. I don't see why virgin is altogether incorrect.

Also, a village in Serbia says it is being haunted by a vampire. OMG let's laugh at them.

"But many legends from that same era involved virgin births. I don't see why virgin is altogether incorrect. "

But it is partially incorrect? Or are you saying it's plausibly completely correct?

The latter.

If there's one thing Putin33 really knows nothing about, it's translation. Which is kind of surprising since he seems to speak some Slavic language.

The KJV also mentions satyrs, but not really. Satyr is used to translate se‘ar, which means a male goat. Not a satyr. The bilingual Jews who translated the Hebrew Bible into the Septuagint used satyr to describe what was actually just a goat in the original text. The same thing happened with re'em and unicorn. The Bible isn't claiming unicorns and satyrs ran around ancient Palestine. Serious scholars know this, too-clever-by-half atheists who get a rod at the slightest opportunity to mock religion don't.


I have to say though, I'm very disappointed n you all. You let Putin33 get away with derailing this thread rather than making him try to defend the fact that in 2012 North Korea is claiming to have found a unicorn cave. It's almost too perfect of a chance to further expose him for the craven apologist for that wicked regime, but it's being blown on his Bible tangent.

Forget about whatever the Bible may or may not say, Putin33. How can you not condemn this obvious hoax by the North Korean government?

"The press release refers to the king/unicorn story as a legend. This legend is held in common by Korea. It's not as if the Kingdom only existed in North Korean history books. So yes you're mocking Korean heritage/legends at large. Not really funny, actually."

Do you even listen to yourself? It's not funny that there are unicorns in Korean legend. It's that *some people are [apparently] seriously claiming to have found their lair*, that *these people are [allegedly] reputable archaeologists* and that *the state news is announcing this as though it's some grand discovery to be praised.*

I find it compelling argument that you compare to the Bible, because if any archaeologists claimed to find the skeleton of a Leviathan and the major news media reported it as some great discovery for America, it would similarly be derided. And deservedly so.

I'm honestly saddened that someone as smart as you will stoop to backing this as fact. Even accounting for your beliefs, which makes some degree of defense of NK understandable, this is ridiculous.

@Invictus: Even despite the tangent we got that done. See the second post on this page (pg 3) of the thread. It's over.

Semck, your virgin argument is a rather poor red herring. Stop ignoring Putin's argument and discuss the matter at hand.

http://navercast.naver.com/contents.nhn?contents_id=7922&path=%7C458%7C539%7C&leafId=806

That is the Korean Unicorn of legend. Perhaps not so fantastical if it is an endangered species. Maybe in a thousand years the Carrier Pigeon will be considered a legend. Or at least it would be if we didn't have such modern records of it's use.

I'm not saying this creature existed. I'm just pointing out it could have and became as extinct as the Dodo or the Carrier Pigeon.

Sorry, not endangered species, but extinct species. Friday night brainfart.

Oh, and there can be no doubt this is intended as a political story and any such findings were funded by the North Korean government and the archeologists in question were ordered to make it so...

I see it. Well done. But it's not enough. Putin33 is defending actual, official North Korean government belief in unicorns and trying to pull the old switcheroo by saying that sloppy translation choices thousands and hundreds of years old that everyone, EVERYONE, knows are sloppy translation choices is the same thing. It's breath taking.

"That is the Korean Unicorn of legend. Perhaps not so fantastical if it is an endangered species."

It could be that the legend is based off of a real animal or a misinterpretation of a real animal. I seem to remember that there's a Chinese legendary animal that is described as a black-and-white cat that doesn't eat meat. Sounds ridiculous until you realize it's probably a degenerated description of a panda.

But North Korea isn't claiming that they found proof that their "unicorn" was actually some weird Asian deer. They're claiming they found the lair of a specific unicorn which backs up the legitimacy of Pyongyang as the capital of Korea. And that it's really a unicorn like legend says. That's ludicrous and deserves only to be mocked. A lot.

"Also, a village in Serbia says it is being haunted by a vampire. OMG let's laugh at them."

I missed this gem. We should laugh at them.

You make good points guys, but I did promise putin an answer to his question if he answered mine, so I'll have to briefly derail again. Sorry.

@putin,

Thank you for answering my question directly.

To answer yours: there are various theories for why the LXX translators rendered the word as "unicorn." One is that they may have made a mistake. Sometimes the meanings of old words and names are lost. There are old names in English that we can no longer identify at all, like the Battle of Mons Badonicus. Though it refers to some actual place, we have no idea what.

Probably more likely, the translators utilized convenient Greek concepts of the time, for reasons of their own (perhaps the animal was unfamiliar where they were writing in Alexandria). As Invictus has pointed out, "wild goat" was elsewhere translated "Satyr," thought Satyr is Greek mythology. In that instance, it's clear the Hebrew word really does mean "wild goat," as it's used elsewhere in the Bible, so we do know that the LXX translators sometimes used very fanciful translations for animals.

A key point to remember: _The Bible actually refers to this animal having plural horns._ For some rather obscure discussion of this point, see here:

http://www.zootorah.com/VirtualTour/oryx.html

(The page's argument that the animal was the oryx seems interesting but not, to me, that compelling).

Correction: please ignore the above Satyr argument, which is mistaken.

"And that it's really a unicorn like legend says."

Please regale us with what the legend actually says about the animal, Invictus. The press release is barely two paragraphs and has two sentences from the archaeologist. You're just making shit up because you have this hysterical obsession with bashing the DPRK every waking moment of your life.

North Korea should be bashed constantly. It's the worst place on Earth and my biggest hope is that you're alive when the rotten thing collapses and the world sees the extent of the horrors that go on there.

"North Korea should be bashed constantly."

So everything you say about it can be and should be completely ignored as hysterical propaganda.

"It's the worst place on Earth "

And you would know this, how?

I know of few "worst places on earth" which are hailed by the WHO for being the envy of the developing world.

Also, "Se'ar" does not mean Male Goat according to any dictionary I can find. It means hairy. So much for your translation prowess.

"I'm honestly saddened that someone as smart as you will stoop to backing this as fact. Even accounting for your beliefs, which makes some degree of defense of NK understandable, this is ridiculous. "

I didn't "stoop to backing this as fact" anywhere. In fact I compared it to the silliness of Christianity and Islam, which I do not regard as 'fact' in the least.