And the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet stuff: Here the text switches from the specific reference to Eleazar to the general expression the priest since the rules for this ritual are “for all time to come” (verse 10 in Good News Translation). The Hebrew word for cedar probably refers to the Phoenician juniper in this context. It is a short evergreen tree that may reach 5 meters (17 feet). It has tiny leathery leaflets and small berry-like cones. Its wood has a light red color and a fragrant smell. As A Handbook on Leviticus mentions at Lev 14.4, in many languages it will be necessary to know what quantity of cedarwood is intended. While we cannot be certain, it probably was a smaller piece that could be carried in one hand. In those languages where juniper trees are unknown, it may be necessary to render cedarwood as “a piece of wood with a strong fragrance,” “a piece of wood with a light red color,” or “a piece of wood called ‘juniper.’ ” The Hebrew word for hyssop refers to the marjoram plant, which is an aromatic bush that grows to a height of around 50-80 centimeters (20-32 inches). Revised English Bible and De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling correctly say “marjoram.” Translators may say “a marjoram branch.” If the marjoram bush is unknown, another possible model is “a branch of an aromatic bush” or “a branch of a bush called ‘marjoram.’ ” Scarlet renders two Hebrew words, which are literally “scarlet-worm” (see 4.8, where these words occur in the reverse order). Revised Standard Version supplies the implied word stuff. Other possible renderings here are “a red cord” (Good News Translation), “some scarlet yarn” (New Living Translation), and “a dark red piece of cloth.” Because of its color it is probably associated with the blood in the ritual in verse 5. According to Olson (page 120), each of these three additives function as powerful cleansing agents, or ritual detergents, that become part of the ingredients of the resulting ashes.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .