Mosesbrunnen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Moses with the Ten Commandments

The Mosesbrunnen (Moses Fountain) is a fountain on Münsterplatz in the Old City of Bern, Switzerland. It is a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance[1] and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Old City of Bern.

History

The statue dates from 1544. After storm damage it was rebuilt in 1790-1791. The Louis XVI style basin was designed by Niklaus Sprüngli. The statue represents Moses bringing the Ten Commandments to the Tribes of Israel.[2] Moses is portrayed with two rays of light projecting from his head, which represent Exodus 34:29-35 which tells that after meeting with God the skin of Moses' face became radiant. The twin rays of light come from a longstanding tradition that Moses instead grew horns.

This is derived from a misinterpretation of the Hebrew phrase karan `ohr panav (קָרַן עֹור פָּנָיו). The root קרן Q-R-N (qoph, resh, nun) may be read as either "horn" or "ray of light", depending on vocalization. `Ohr panahv (עֹור פָּנָיו) translates to "the skin of his face".[3]

The correct interpretation of these two words is that Moses was enlightened, that "the skin of his face shone" (as with a gloriole), as the KJV has it.[3]

The Septuagint correctly translates the Hebrew phrase as δεδόξασται ἡ ὄψις, "his face was glorified"; but Jerome translated the phrase into Latin as cornuta esset facies sua "his face was horned".[3]

With apparent Biblical authority, and the added convenience of giving Moses a unique and easily identifiable visual attribute (something the other Old Testament prophets notably lacked), it remained standard in Western art to depict Moses with small horns until well after the mistranslation was realized in the Renaissance. In this depiction of Moses, the error has been identified but the artist has chosen to place horns of light on Moses head to aid in identification.

References

  1. ↑ "Kantonsliste A-Objekte:Bern". KGS Inventar (in German). Federal Office of Civil Protection. 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2010. 
  2. ↑ Flüeler (1982). Kulturführer Schweiz. Zurich, CH: Ex Libris Verlag AG. pp. 72–73. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Moses horns".  accessed April 25, 2008

External links

Principal sights
Neighbourhoods
Main streets
Squares
Fountains
Lists

Coordinates: 46°56′51″N 7°27′02″E / 46.947365°N 7.450525°E / 46.947365; 7.450525 (Mosesbrunnen)

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.