mustard

There is by no means full agreement about the precise identity of the plant in Jesus’ famous references to the mustard seed. Two types of mustard grow in the Holy Land and probably grew there in Bible times: Black Mustard Brassica nigra and White Mustard Sinapis alba. Both species were either cultivated or gathered in Bible times, probably more for the oil, which was used in medicine and cooking, than as a spice. Both types are cultivated today.

Mustard plants are related to some other well-known food plants, such as collards, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, rutabaga, and Chinese cabbage. They are planted and harvested each year. They grow to 2 meters (7 feet) in height and have branches like a tree. At the ends of the branches there are bright yellow flowers with four petals, like nearly all the members of the Brassicaceae family. The seeds are small among the seeds of garden plants, being about 2 millimeters (1/12 inch) in diameter, but they are not by any means the smallest of all seeds.

The point of the mustard seed parable of Jesus is that something small can produce something very large and complex, like the kingdom of God, or like the amazing deeds of a person with faith.

At least thirty kinds of mustard are known in the world, twenty-one of them in Europe. Others are found in Northeast Africa, India, Japan, and China. The quality in focus in all of the Gospel references is the smallness of the mustard seed compared to the large size of the resulting plant. The translator must keep that in mind, even if a relative of the mustard is found. If no effective equivalent is available, it will be necessary to transliterate “mustard” from a major language.

White mustard plants, photo by Nigel Hepper
Mustard seeds with pin, photo by Ray Pritz

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

See also mustard seed.

mint

The Horse Mint Mentha longifolia is the most common of the mint plants in the Holy Land, found on the banks of streams throughout the country. The Jews called it dandanah, a Hebrew word that does not occur in the Old Testament. They served its leaves along with milk and cucumbers, made a hot drink by boiling them, or used them, as the Romans and Greeks also did, in medicine and cooking. According to Moldenke (Plants of the Bible. Chronica Botanica. Ronald Press, 1952), people scattered mint leaves on the floors of synagogues, and the fragrance was released as people entered and stepped on them.

The horse mint is larger than the other kinds of mint, reaching up to 2 meters (7 feet). It has small, soft leaves with sawlike margins, and lavender-colored flowers.

In Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 Jesus accuses the Pharisees of legalistically tithing not only from their major food crops—olives, dates and wheat, for example — but even from the leaves they pluck for their soup, including mint, and then ignoring issues of justice and poverty.

At least twenty-five kinds of mint are found in temperate areas of the world. It is well known in West Africa as an additive to tea. Depending on what translators do with the other species mentioned in Matthew and Luke (dill, cumin, and rue), if they do not have these species locally, they may transliterate “mint” from a major language. In simplified versions they may cover all these species with a generic phrase such as “all kinds of little plants in the garden.”

Horse mint, photo by Nigel Hepper

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

dill

The King James Version translates the Greek word anēthon in Matthew 23:23 as “anise,” but scholars now agree that the plant Jesus refers to is the dill Anethum graveolens, a garden herb. The translation of the Hebrew word qetsach (קֶצַח) as “dill” by New Revised Standard Version, updated edition and others in Isaiah 28:25 and 27 is now seen as erroneous (see nigella).

Dill is an annual plant that can reach 50 centimeters (20 inches) in height. Like the carrot, parsley and fennel, it has fine leaves. Its yellow flowers form a shape like a covered cup. The leaves and seeds have a pleasant, spicy smell.

As in the case of cumin and mint, Jesus used dill to condemn the skewed values of the religious leaders, who were blind to the misfortunes of the poor but fastidiously tithed even small garden seeds.

Dill is known in western Asia and in India as well as in Europe and America. Depending on what is done with the other plants in Matthew 23:23, namely mint and cumin, the translator may choose to transliterate “dill” from the original Greek anēthon or from a major language. It is debatable whether the context here is rhetorical or not, so transliteration of the three species is acceptable, although substituting cultural equivalents is also possible and effective. It is important to keep in mind the parallel passage of Luke 11:42, which does not include dill.

Dill, Wikimedia Commons

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

cumin

Two controversial seeds are mentioned in Isaiah 28:25 and 27: qetsach (see nigella) and kammon. The seeds referred to as kammon are probably those of cumin (also spelled “cummin”), which takes its Latin scientific name Cuminum cyminum from the Greek. It was common to the Mediterranean area (especially in Syria) and Ethiopia, possibly even native to Egypt, where it was used in cooking and also as medicine.

The cumin plant belongs to the same family as the carrot. It branches abundantly from the base and has similar leaves and flowers. However, the seeds have a much sharper smell than those of the carrot. Cumin is planted and harvested each year, reaching a height of perhaps 50-60 centimeters (20-24 inches).

In Isaiah 28 cumin is cited with other garden plants to show how different plants and their fruits require different care and processing. (Cumin and nigella, for example, are more easily damaged in threshing than hard cereal grains would be). It is part of a parable Isaiah tells to the proud Israelite leaders who thought they knew how God deals with people. Interestingly, farmers in Malta still thresh cumin in the way described by Isaiah. In New Testament times the Jewish authorities were not sure whether cumin should be tithed since it was not mentioned specifically in the Mosaic Law. They took no chances and insisted that people tithe their cumin. But then they ignored the need for justice and mercy, thereby incurring the condemnation of Jesus in Matthew 23:23.

Translators will either transliterate “cumin” from a major language, or they can seek an equivalent, depending on what they have done with the other terms (“mint” and “dill”) in Matthew 23:23. Simplified versions may use a generic phrase such as “all kinds of small garden plants.”

Cumin, Wikimedia Commons

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

watermelon

Most scholars believe the Hebrew word ’avattiach refers to the common watermelon Citrullus vulgaris/lanatus, and it should be so identified since there are other types of melons, such as the muskmelon, with which it should not be confused. In fact, until recently, some botanists thought that this word referred to the muskmelon. Watermelons probably originated in Africa (possibly in the Kalahari) and were probably domesticated in the Neolithic Period. They have been cultivated in Egypt since prehistoric times and are used for food, drink, and medicine. Even the seeds are eaten. The Arabic cognate batekh/batikh is used for both the muskmelon and the watermelon.

The watermelon plant is a vine like a pumpkin or a squash. The fruits vary widely in size, shape and color, some being striped, others being plain colored (mostly dark or light green).

According to Numbers 11:5, watermelons were among the fruits that the wandering Israelites remembered from Egypt when they complained to Moses.

By now watermelons are a fairly common sight in the cities of the world. Where the fruit is marketed, there will be a name for it, often based on a major language (for example French pastèque; Spanish sandía; Portuguese melancia; Arabic batekh, batikh; and Swahili tikiti).

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

cantaloupe / muskmelon

New Revised Standard Version, updated edition renders the Hebrew words qishshu’ah and miqshah as “cucumber.” Zohary (Plants of the Bible. Cambridge University Press, 1982) argues forcefully that these words refer to the Muskmelon Cucumis melo or cantaloupe, and that “garden cucumbers did not exist in Egypt in biblical times” (page 86). Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992) concurs with this.

Cultivated muskmelons started out in and around Persia (now Iran) before moving into northern India, Kashmir, and Afghanistan. Although truly wild forms of Cucumis melo have not been found in those regions, several related wild species have been noted.

A picture of offerings presented at a funeral in Egypt around 2400 B.C. contains fruit that some experts take to be muskmelons. The Greeks appear to have known the fruit in the third century B.C., and in the first century after Christ it was definitely described by the Roman philosopher Pliny, who said it was something new in Campania in Italy. The Greek physician Galen, in the second century A.D., wrote of its medicinal qualities, and Roman writers of the third century gave directions for growing it and preparing it with spices for eating. The Chinese apparently did not know the muskmelon until it was introduced to their country around the beginning of the Christian Era from the regions west of the Himalayas.

The muskmelon vine has round leaves and tendrils and creeps along the ground like a pumpkin or cucumber. It has tendrils and yellow flowers that develop into a fruit 10-40 centimeters (4-16 inches) in diameter. The fruit becomes yellowish or light green when ripe. The muskmelon is so named because of the distinctive smell of its ripe fruits. “Musk” is a Persian word for a kind of perfume; “melon” is a French word, from the Latin melopepo, meaning “apple-shaped melon.” Latin took words of similar meaning from Greek.

According to Numbers 11:5, the wandering Israelites remembered muskmelons and other tasty food that they had enjoyed in Egypt and complained to Moses. Isaiah 1:8 uses the melon patch (after harvest) as a picture of abandonment, dereliction, and desolation.

Many varieties of muskmelon are known around the world in warm countries. If it is not known, it may be translated contextually. Numbers 11:5 is non-rhetorical, and a transliteration from a major language is recommended (for example, French cantaloupe, Spanish and Portuguese cantalupo, Arabic abd el lawi). However, the reference to the temporary shelter in the melon patch in Isa 1.8 is metaphorical, so a cultural equivalent representing a lonely or abandoned place could be considered. In this verse translators should keep in mind its parallel images, which are “a booth in a vineyard” and “a besieged city.”

Muskmelon (cantaloupe) fruit, photo by Rob Koops

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

lentils

Scholars are agreed that the Hebrew word ‘adashah refers to the lentil Lens culinaris (formerly known as Lens esculenta). The Arabic word ‘adas, as well as several references in post-biblical Hebrew, confirm this identification, as does the Greek Septuagint. Seeds found in excavations dating to the sixth or seventh millennium B.C. show that the lentil is one of the first species to be cultivated by humans. In those excavations lentils are often found together with seeds of wheat and barley.

The lentil is a low-branched plant with a weak stem. It has tendrils, like pumpkins and squashes, and pinkish flowers that develop into a pod like a bean. The pod is very short with only one seed inside, about the size of a small pea. In one type of lentil the pea is reddish brown, hence the reference to “red” stew in Genesis 25:30. The pods are often in pairs or sets of three. In the Holy Land lentils grow in the cold season (November-March).

In Ezekiel 4:9 the strange bread, made from six kinds of grains and legumes including lentils, was probably intended to show that food would become scarce and that the people would have to eat whatever they could find. The lentil is typically used in soups and stews, as it was when Jacob used it to trick his brother Esau into giving up his rights as the firstborn son. Lentils were among the foodstuffs brought to David by local people when he was pursued by Absalom.

 Lentils are now widespread in Asia, India, and North Africa. In places where they are not known, we suggest using the word for a local type of bean rather than a transliteration. However, in Ezekiel 4:9 “beans” are also mentioned, so a possible rendering for “beans and lentils” is “different kinds of beans.” In Genesis 25:34 a generic expression for “pottage of lentils” would be appropriate, such as “bean soup,” “bean stew,” or “vegetable soup.” If a transliteration from a major language is desired, consider Arabic adas; French cristallin, lentille; Spanish lenteja; Portuguese lentilha; and Swahili adesi.

3 types of lentil, Wikimedia Commons

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

beans

Commentators and translators are unanimous in identifying the Hebrew word pol as the Broad Bean Vicia faba or Faba vulgaris. Beans were cultivated in the Middle East for millennia, and they probably originated there. No wild species are now known, and it is quite possible that the ancestors of the bean are extinct. Samples of beans have been found in excavations at Jericho dating to 7,000 8,000 years ago.

The broad bean is an erect plant, not a vine, reaching to 1 meter (3 feet) in height. The stem branches only in the upper part. It has no tendrils like many types of bean have today. The flowers are white, and when they ripen, they form pods containing 3-6 large flat beans of a cream or tan color.

Special significance  In 2 Samuel 17:28 people bring food, including beans, to King David as he flees from his son Absalom. In Ezekiel 4:9 Ezekiel is instructed to publicly make “bread” out of wheat, barley, beans, and lentils — whatever he could find — the point probably being that good quality bread will soon be scarce in Jerusalem.

There are at least two hundred species of the genus Vicia to which the broad bean belongs. Vicia itself is part of the vast family of legumes. It is possible that the Hebrew word pol actually refers to more than one type of bean, including what we now know as peas. Since beans and peas are known around the world, translators will probably be able to find a local equivalent. In both contexts (2 Samuel and Ezekiel) the word is used in a list of items, and if a local species of bean is not available to the translator, a transliteration should be used.

Vicia faba, Wikimedia Commons

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)