I read today that while Michelangelo followed a tradition that depicted Moses as having horns , this tradition apparently derives from a mistranslation in the Latin Vulgate of Exodus 34:29 :

34:29 cumque descenderet Moses de monte Sinai tenebat duas tabulas testimonii et ignorabat quod cornuta esset facies sua ex consortio sermonis Dei

34:29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with two tables of testimony in Moses' hand that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone because of speaking with the Lord.

The Vulgate rendered "his face shone" as "his face was horned" (cornu).

Can anyone tell me which two Latin words (for "horn" and "shine" I guess) were likely confused?

Thanks.

No Latin words were confused in suggesting that Moses was horny. The mistranslation is from the Hebrew "qaran." This word can mean to grow horns or to send out rays. Saint Jerome opted for the former, without due regard to the context, creating the basis for Michelangelo's assumption that Moses had protrusions growing out of his head rather than light emitting from his head. Jerry shudda looked at II Corinthians 3:13, where Saint Paul got the Hebrew right.

Great question and great answer! Thanks to both of you. Now here's another question: is the Hebrew "qaran" related to the name of the Muslim holy book "Koran"?

The Qur'an is usually glossed as 'the recitation'. It does not seem to be related to q.r.n 'to grow horns' (denominated from qeren in the sense 'horn') or q.r.n (denominated from qeren in the sense 'ray'). Both verbs are from the same noun qeren 'horn; shofar, ram's horn; strength, power, might; corner, point, peak; ray; damage done by an animal's horn (post-Biblical Hebrew)'. Cognates include: Ugaritic qrn 'horn', qarn 'horn', qurnah 'salient angel', Akkadian qarnu 'horn'. (Seems similar to the Latin cornu 'horn'.) From Klein's dictionary.

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The Qur'an is usually glossed as 'the recitation'. It does not seem to be related to q.r.n 'to grow horns' (denominated from qeren in the sense 'horn') or q.r.n (denominated from qeren in the sense 'ray'). Both verbs are from the same noun qeren 'horn; shofar, ram's horn; strength, power, might; corner, point, peak; ray; damage done by an animal's horn (post-Biblical Hebrew)'. Cognates include: Ugaritic qrn 'horn', qarn 'horn', qurnah 'salient angel', Akkadian qarnu 'horn'. (Seems similar to the Latin cornu 'horn'.) From Klein's dictionary.

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keratin