Years ago, I was watching a debate between a Christian and an atheist, and the atheist said something to the effect of: 'why would I believe in a book that mentions unicorns?'. This intrigued me, so I decided to look into the claim, as it certainly did seem peculiar. The list below may not be every KJV verse mentioning a unicorn, but it least gives you the general idea of how it is used:
[Num 23:22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it
were the strength of an unicorn.].
[Num 24:8 God 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.]
[Job 39:9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve
thee, or abide by thy crib?].
[Job 39:10 Canst thou bind the
unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the
valleys after thee?].
[Psa 92:10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be
anointed with fresh oil.].
The only unicorn I was aware of is the one most of us are familiar with, so this was strange indeed. When I looked it up in the Webster's Dictionary, I found the following definition:
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Merriam-Webster - Modern
Main Entry: uni·corn
Pronunciation: \ˈyü-nə-ˌkȯrn\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English unicorne, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin unicornis, from Latin, having
one horn, from uni-
+ cornu horn — more
at horn
Date: 13th century
: a mythical animal generally depicted with
the body and head of a horse, the hind legs of a stag, the tail of a lion,
and a single horn in the middle of the forehead
This made no sense to me whatsoever, but then I looked into my Webster's 1828 edition dictionary, and things became crystal clear: 'Unicorn' was referring to a rarely mentioned (at least in modern times,) single-horned rhinoceros - scientific name being Rhinceros Unicornis, while the two-horned rhino most of us are familiar with is termed Rhinoceros Bicornis:
 Webster's
1828 Definitions
U'NICORN,
n. [L. unicornis; unus, one, and cornu, horn.]
1. an animal with one horn; the monoceros. this name
is often applied to the rhinoceros.
2. The sea unicorn is a fish of the whale kind,
called narwal, remarkable for a horn growing out at his nose.
3. A fowl.
fossil unicorn, or fossil unicorn's horn, a substance used in
medicine, a terrene crustaceous spar.
RHINOC'EROS,
n. [L. rhinoceros; Gr. nose-horn.]
A genus of quadrupeds of two species, one of which,
the unicorn, has a single horn growing almost erect from the nose. This animal
when full grown, is said to be 12 feet in length. There is another species with
two horns, the bicornis. They are natives of Asia and Africa.
RHINCEROS UNICORNIS
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RHINOCEROS BICORNIS
I found it interesting that - unlike its 1828 edition - Webster's modern dictionary made no reference to the historical context of a single-horned rhinoceros, and instead presented the mythological unicorn as the sole meaning.
The lesson I learned: when something the bible says seems unclear, contradictory, or whatever, it's essential to consider the historical context. It certainly doesn't surprise me that most modern dictionaries don't include the historical usage of the term unicorn, as the modern world will do anything it can to create a smoke screen which leads people away from God and towards atheism.
It can be all too tempting for anyone to see the word 'unicorn', and immediately dismiss the entire bible as being nothing more than a silly book of fairy tales. Please, don't make that mistake! Remember that God promised to preserve His Word:
[Isa 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.]
[Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.].
And always remember that God fulfills all of His promises, though Satan will utilize every tool at his disposal to convince you otherwise and inspire doubt:
[1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:]
When the world condescendingly mocks and ridicules your faith in He who created all things, just remember this:
[Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.].
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