wine

Click here to view graphically

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are translated as “wine” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as “grape juice pressed long ago (= fermented)” or “strong water” (source: Daud Soesilo). In Guhu-Samane it is also translated as “strong water” (source: Ernest L. Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. ), in Noongar as “liquor” (verbatim: “strong water”) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Hausa as ruwan inabi or “water of grapes” (with no indication whether it’s alcoholic or not — source: Mark A. Gaddis), in sar as kasə nduú or “grape drink” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), or in Papantla Totonac and Coyutla Totonac as “a drink like Pulque” (for “Pulque,” see here ) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ).

In Swahili, Bible translations try to avoid local words for alcoholic drinks, because “drinking of any alcohol at all was one of the sins most denounced by early missionaries. Hence translators are uncomfortable by the occurrences of wine in the Bible. Some of the established churches which use wine prefer to see church wine as holy, and would not refer to it by the local names used for alcoholic drinks. Instead church wine is often referred to by terms borrowed from other languages, divai (from German, der Wein) or vini/mvinyo (from ltalian/Latin vino/vinum). Several translations done by Protestants have adapted the Swahili divai for ‘wine,’ while those done by Catholics use vini or mvinyo.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 221ff. )

The Swahili divai was in turn borrowed by Sabaot and was turned into tifaayiik and is used as such in the Bible. Kupsabiny, on the other hand, borrowed mvinyo from Swahili and turned it into Finyonik. (Source: Iver Larsen)

In Nyamwezi, two terms are used. Malwa ga muzabibu is a kind of alcohol that people specifically use to get drunk (such as in Genesis 9:21) and ki’neneko is used for a wine made from grapes (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext).

In some Hindi translations (such as the Common Language version, publ. 2015 ), one term (dākharasa दाखरस — grape juice) is used when that particular drink is in the focus (such as in John 2) and another term (madirā मदिरा — “alcohol” or “liquor”) when drunkenness is in the focus (such as in Eph. 5:18).

In Mandarin Chinese, the generic term jiǔ (酒) or “alcohol(ic drink)” is typically used. Exceptions are Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4 et al., 1 Samuel 1:15, and Luke 1:15 where a differentiation between weak and strong alcohol is needed. The Mandarin Chinese Union Version (2010) translates that as qīngjiǔ lièjiǔ (清酒烈酒) and dànjiǔ lièjiǔ (淡酒烈酒), both in the form of a Chinese proverb and meaning “light alcohol and strong drink.” (Source: Zetzsche)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about wine in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also proceeds from the vine / anything that comes from the grapevine, wine (Japanese honorifics), filled with new wine, and wine (Gen 27:28).

joy

Click here to view graphically

The Greek, Latin, Ge’ez, and Hebrew that is translated with “joy” or “gladness” in English is translated with various strategies:

  • Baoulé: “a song in the stomach” (see also peace (inner peace))
  • Bambara: “the spirit is made sweet”
  • Kpelle: “sweet heart”
  • Tzeltal: “the good taste of one’s heart”
  • Uduk: “good to the stomach”
  • Mískito: “the liver is wide open” (“happily letting the pleasures flooding in upon it”) (source for this and above: Nida 1952)
  • Mairasi: “good liver” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: koort-kwabba-djil or “heart very good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “refreshed heart” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).

See also Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling,” happiness / joy, and exceeding joy.

Issachar

The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Issachar” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that signifies “donkey” referring to Genesis 49:14. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Issachar” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also strong(-boned) donkey.

More information on Issachar and the Tribe of Issachar .

complete verse (1 Chronicles 12:40)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 12:40:

  • Kupsabiny: “That food was brought even from far like the areas/provinces of the clan of Issachar, Zebulun and Naphtali. The food was being carried by donkeys, camels, horses and oxen. The people were brought flour, cakes of figs, grapes, wine and oil. Also cows and many sheep were brought to be slaughtered. It was like that because there was much joy in the land of Israel.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The people of the tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali also brought wheat flour, fig balls, raisin clusters, wine, olive oil loaded on donkeys, camels, mules and oxen. Having slaughtered them, they also came bringing cows, oxen and sheep to eat. The people of Israel rejoiced greatly.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Their blood-relatives were from the far-away places of Issachar, Zebulun, and Neftali. They loaded them on donkeys, camels, mules, and cows. They had plenty of flour, dried figs, raisins, wine, oil, cows, and sheep. All were very happy in Israel.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Also, their fellow Israelis came from as far away as the area where the tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali lived, bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen. They brought a lot of flour, fig cakes, raisins, wine, olive oil, cattle and sheep. And throughout Israel, the people were very joyful.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

donkey

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “donkey” in English was translated in the 1900 Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) translation (a newer version was published in 2000) as siutitôĸ or “‘something with big ears.” “[This] is based on the word siut ‘ear’ combined with the same suffix –tôĸ (-tooq).” (Source: Lily Kahn & Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi in The Bible Translator 2019, p. 125ff.)

 

These Hebrew and Greek words (with the exception of pōlos and hupozugion — see discussion below) all definitely refer to the Domestic Donkey equus asinus. However the different words do have slight semantic differences among them.

Chamor and onos are the generic words for donkey while ’athon (feminine gender) refers specifically to a saddle donkey or a donkey used for riding. A saddle donkey is usually a large strong female donkey the males are too difficult to control when they are near a female in heat. The Hebrew word is derived from a root that means “strong”.

‘Ayir refers to the young male or jack donkey (probably with an emphasis on its liveliness and the difficulty in controlling it since the Hebrew root means something like “frisky”).

Onarion means a young donkey of either sex. Some languages will have a special word for a young donkey. This will be appropriate for translating onarion.

The word hupozugion often translated “donkey,” actually indicates any beast of burden. Walter Bauer, the famous German New Testament scholar, has argued very convincingly that the animal referred to in Matthew 21:5 in the expression epi pōlon huion hupozugiou is the foal of a horse not a donkey (1953:220-229). In some languages it will be possible to express this in a way that does not designate a specific species of animal`, as in “beast of burden.”

Pōlos usually refers to a foal, that is a young horse, unless a word for donkey follows.

Donkeys are domestic animals belonging to the same family as the horse, but they are smaller and have longer ears. The donkey bred and used in the Middle East is the domesticated Nubian or Somali Wild Ass Equus Asinus africanus. In its original wild state this was a gray ass with pale, whitish belly and dark rings on the lower part of the legs. It was domesticated in Egypt as early as 2500 B.C. In its domesticated version, as a result of interbreeding with donkeys from Europe and Persia, the donkey came to be a variety of colors from dark brown, through light brown to the original gray and occasionally white. The Hebrew chamor comes from a root meaning “reddish brown.”

Donkeys are good pack animals being able to carry as much as the larger mule without the latter’s unpredictable moods. They also have great stamina and are easy to feed since they eat almost any available vegetation. Larger individual animals (usually females) are also often used for riding.

Donkeys were highly prized in biblical times especially females since they were suitable for packing and riding and had the potential for producing offspring. Donkeys were seen as man’s best friend in the animal kingdom. They were the common man’s means of transport and many ordinary families owned a donkey. They were used for plowing and for turning large millstones as well as a means of transport.

Today domestic donkeys are found all over savannah Africa the Middle East South and Central Asia Europe Latin America and Australia. They do not seem to be reared in rain forest or monsoon areas but they are nevertheless often known in these areas.

A donkey was considered to be a basic domestic requirement and thus the number of donkeys available was a means of measuring the relative prosperity of a society at any given time. While only powerful political or military people rode horses (which were usually owned by the state) the common people rode donkeys. This is the significance of the passage in Zechariah 9:9: the victorious king would return to the city riding a donkey thus identifying himself as a common Israelite rather than a victorious warlord.

In the majority of languages there is a local or a borrowed word for donkey. This is the obvious choice. In areas of Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea, West Africa, and other places, where donkeys are rare or unknown, the word from the dominant major language or trade language (for example, English, Spanish, French, Chinese, or Arabic) is often transliterated.

In most contexts ’athon should be translated by the equivalent of “female” donkey, but in some contexts riding donkey is better.

‘Ayir should be translated according to the specific context. In Genesis 32:15 the translation should definitely be the equivalent of “male donkey”, and probably also in Judges 10:4 and Judges 12:14. The significance of these latter passages is that female donkeys were the more normal choice of mount.

In Job 11:12 the emphasis is probably on the friskiness of the donkey, and the translation should be the equivalent of “He ties his young donkey to a grapevine, his frisky young ass to the best of the vines” (indicating a certain amount of irresponsibility, and perhaps extravagance).

In Job 11:12 and Zechariah 9:9 the obvious emphasis is on the youth of the donkey, so the equivalent of “colt”, “foal”, “young donkey”, and so on should be used.

Equus asinus (donkey), Wikimedia Commons

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

See also young donkey and wild ass.

fig

Two types of fig trees are mentioned in the Bible, the Common Fig Ficus carica (Hebrew te’enah) and the Sycomore Fig Ficus sycomorus (Hebrew shiqmah; see “Sycomore fig”). They are closely related. The common fig tree grows not only in Israel, but throughout the world in warm climates. In the Holy Land it was a common source of food; the fruit was eaten both fresh and dried. Sometimes the dried ones were pressed together to form flat “cakes” or blocks (Hebrew develah). But, just as important, the large leaves of the fig make it an excellent shade tree. However, the first use of the fig mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 3:7) was not for food or shade but for clothing; Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves for themselves to cover their nakedness.

The fig was probably domesticated in northwestern Turkey from a wild variety that grew there around 5000 years ago. Greek, Roman, and Egyptian records indicate that the fruits were popular. Figs are now grown especially in Israel, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Portugal, as well as in the warm parts of the United States.

The fig is believed to be indigenous to western Asia and to have been distributed by humans and birds throughout the Mediterranean area. Remnants of figs have been found in excavations of sites traced to at least 5000 B.C.

The domesticated fig grows to about 5-8 meters (17-26 feet) and has a round crown and very deep and round roots. The trunk may grow to be more than 70 centimeters (2 feet) thick. Fig trees may grow to be several decades old, if they are well cared for. Figs are usually propagated by planting cuttings. The pollination of the flowers is an amazingly intricate process closely linked to the life cycle of a tiny wasp, and the fact that fig trees, like papayas and date palms, are male or female. (There are now some kinds of figs that produce fruit without pollination.) The fruits are about the size of a hen’s egg and can be green, yellow, purple, or brown depending on the type. They are sweet and soft and difficult to transport. For that reason most farmers dry the fruits before shipping them. The “fruit” of the fig is technically a strangely shaped flower. Noting the absence of a “real” flower, the ancient people of India called it a flowerless tree.

The common fig tree, along with the vine and the olive, is one of the three “top trees” for the Jews. The Bible refers to the fig over 270 times. The image of peace and happiness in Israel was “every man under his vine and under his fig tree” (1 Kings 4:25).

Wild figs are common throughout the tropical world; there are at least eight hundred species of Ficus, thirty-two in southern Africa alone. The banyan, peepul, and bo are all types of fig. The fruits of wild fig trees are not nearly as juicy or sweet as those of the domesticated ones. In many places people eat the fruit when they find it in the wild, but do not market it or cultivate the trees. Translators are urged to use the local word, and, if necessary, use a footnote to indicate the difference between the local one and the biblical one. Where it is not known at all, transliterations from a major language may be used in nonfigurative contexts.

Fig tree, Wikimedia Commons
Fig leaves, photo by Ray Pritz

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

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 12:40

And also their neighbors, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali …: Their neighbors is unexpected as a reference to these tribes from far away in the north. Instead of their neighbors, it may be more appropriate in some languages to say “the people of the nearby regions” (Bible en français courant) or “Other Israelites” (Contemporary English Version). Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali were tribes located in the north of Israel, which is why the writer says from as far as. Since many readers will not know the locations of the tribes, Good News Translation provides a good model by adding “the northern tribes.” Others may prefer to say “from as far north as….”

Food translates the Hebrew word for “bread,” which is often used to refer to food in general, as it clearly does here. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia suggests that the Hebrew word should be slightly changed on the basis of the Septuagint to read “[bringing] to them” instead of “[bringing] bread.” But in the context of this verse, the meaning is the same either way.

For asses and camels, see the comments on 1 Chr 5.21.

A mule is an animal born of a horse and a donkey, usually a female horse and a male donkey. Although the crossbreeding of animals was forbidden in Israel (Lev 19.19), these animals were apparently imported or taken from other peoples at the time of David and later (see 1 Kgs 10.24-25; Ezek 27.14).

The Hebrew noun rendered oxen is a collective term that is often translated “cattle” or “herd.” It refers to bovine cattle and may include bulls, cows, calves, and heifers.

Meal is “flour” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, American Bible). Moffatt says “flour-cakes.”

Cakes of figs: Good News Translation says simply “figs,” but the Hebrew here refers to something more than individual figs. These were figs pressed together to form a sort of compressed mass. New American Bible says “pressed figs.” Other translations have “fig-cakes” (Revised English Bible, American Bible, Moffatt, Braun), “dried fig cakes” (Nouvelle Bible Segond), or “dried figs” (Contemporary English Version).

The Hebrew noun rendered clusters of raisins may refer to “raisins” (Good News Translation) or “bunches of raisins” (New Jerusalem Bible). Most interpreters understand this word to refer to cakes of dried grapes and translate “raisin-cakes” (Revised English Bible, Braun).

The oil was “olive oil,” as Good News Translation makes explicit.

The oxen and sheep were there to be eaten. For this reason Good News Translation says “cattle and sheep to kill and eat.” NET Bible has “beef, and lamb,” which focuses more clearly on the meat to be eaten rather than on the living animals. Compare also “and all sorts of meat” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

For there was joy in Israel: The conjunction for introduces the reason for the celebration. It was done “because the people of Israel were very happy” (New Century Version). In some languages it will be more appropriate to make a separate sentence of this clause, but the relationship should be made clear.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .