The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “pomegranate” in English was translated in the 1900 Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) translation (a newer version was published in 2000) as kingmernarssûp or “big lingonberry.” “The Greenlandic word kingmernarssûp (modern kimmernarsuup) derives from kingmernaĸ (modern kimmernaq) ‘lingonberry’ (Vaccinium vitis-idaea). The lingonberry is the fruit of a shrub from the heath family which is native to the boreal forest and tundra in the Arctic regions of North America, Europe, and Siberia, including western and southern Greenland. The term for ‘lingonberry’ has been modified with the suffix –ssuaĸ (modern –suaq ‘big’), resulting in a descriptive term meaning ‘big lingonberry.’ (Modern Greenlandic uses the Danish loanword granatæble.)” (Source: Lily Kahn & Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi in The Bible Translator 2019, p. 125ff.)
The pomegranate Punica granatum has been grown from ancient times across the Middle East over to Iran and into northern India. It is widely cultivated throughout India and the drier parts of Southeast Asia, Malaya, the East Indies, and tropical Africa. Pomegranates are now found throughout the warm parts of southern Europe and across North Africa and Asia all the way to Nepal. Images of pomegranate fruits have been found in Pharaoh’s temple in Karnak, Egypt, dating from around 1480 B.C. In classical Latin the species name was malum punium (apple of Puni) or malum granatum (seedy apple). This has influenced the common name for pomegranate in many languages (for example, GermanGranatapfel, “seed apple”). The English word “pomegranate” itself comes from Latin pomum (fruit, apple) via Old French. The Arabic rummân (رمان) passed into some other languages, including Portuguese romã.
The pomegranate is a small tree, growing to about 3-5 meters (10-17 feet) tall, with narrow, dark green leaves and many thorny branches. It has a lovely red flower. The fruit is a bit smaller than an orange and has a hard skin, which must be cut open to get at the tightly-packed pockets of seeds inside, each seed enclosed in a little bag of juicy pulp. The end of the fruit has a distinctive flower-like shape. The hard skin, which turns from green to red as it ripens, is used as a tanning agent, for medicine, and for ink. The seeds were sometimes made into wine. Pomegranate trees live up to two hundred years.
The pomegranate was one of the seven “special” foods mentioned in Deuteronomy 8:8 that the Israelites would find in Canaan. The fruit was one of several brought back to the camp of the Israelites by the men who scouted out Canaan (Numbers 13:23). In Song of Songs 4:3 the bride of the king is said to have cheeks like halves of a pomegranate, a reference, probably, to their red color. The flower-shaped end of the pomegranate fruit made it an attractive decoration, for example on the fringe of the priests’ robes (Exodus 28:33f. and on the columns and furniture of the Temple (2 Kings 25:17).
In Jewish tradition the pomegranate stands for righteousness, because it is said to have 613 seeds, corresponding to the 613 commands of the Torah. For this reason and others many Jews eat pomegranates on the Jewish New Year Festival (Rosh Hashanah). Jewish tradition also holds that the pointed calyx of the pomegranate is the original “design” for a royal crown.
The Babylonians believed chewing pomegranate seeds before battle made them invincible. The Qur’an mentions pomegranates three times, twice as examples of the good things God creates, once as a fruit found in the Garden of Paradise.
The pomegranate is only recently being grown outside of the Mediterranean area. In West Africa it has not yet become a popular fruit. Where it is known at all, it is called rummân (from Arabic). In Song 4.3 and 6.7 the refer-ences to the pomegranate are rhetorical. There a cultural equivalent representing redness or beauty could be used. Elsewhere in the Bible transliteration is advised, following a major language. The word pome simply means “fruit,” so the basic word to transliterate from is granate (compare granada in Spanish). A possible expression is “garinada fruit.” The Latin phrase Punica granatum for pomegranate means the “grenade” of Punica (= Carthage), a city in present-day Tunisia. The Latin word granatum means “filled with many grains or seeds.” Reflecting this, Bambara of Guinea uses “karanati fruit.” One could also use the Hebrew rimmon as a base. Areas influenced by Arabic may find a word like rummân, for example, roomaanoo in Mandinka. A footnote could describe the fruit as similar to a guava, red and seedy.
Although the pomegranate has been introduced recently throughout Africa, it is not well-known, so the name will most likely need to be transliterated. As the English name is quite long, the translator is advised to translate from another source or look for ways to shorten it, such as “granata fruit.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 14:2:
Kupsabiny: “Saul was with his soldiers that reached six hundred and they had gathered under a certain tree in Migron. That place was not far from the city of Gibeah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Saul was staying in Migron near Gibeah, having set his tent up under the pomegranate tree. There were 600 men with him.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “At-that-time Saul (was) there under a pomegranate tree in Migron, which (was) not far from Gibea. Accompanying him (were) 600 of his men.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “On that day, Saul and the 600 soldiers who were with him were sitting around a pomegranate tree at a place where the people threshed grain, near Gibeah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Outskirts: that is, “edge” or “extremity.” Good News Translation‘s rendering “not far from” is quite legitimate. See the comments on 9.27.
Gibe-ah: see the comments on 10.5. But note that in this context several versions translate “Geba” (Contemporary English Version, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and Moffatt).
Instead of under the pomegranate tree, it will be more natural in some languages to say “in the shade of the pomegranate tree.”
The pomegranate tree: Hebrew has the definite article, “the pomegranate tree” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible), and the translation should indicate that a specific tree is referred to. The plants on which pomegranates grow are shrublike, but some may grow as tall as thirty feet (or about ten meters). So in many languages they would have to be considered trees. They have bright green leaves and bright scarlet blossoms. The juice from the fruit was made into a sweet wine (see Song 8.2).
It is possible that the Hebrew word rimmon, translated pomegranate, should be understood as a place name. See “En-rimmon” (Josh 19.7), “Rimmon” (Josh 19.13), “Gath-rimmon” (Josh 19.45), and “Rimmon-perez” (Num 33.19). According to Judges 20.45-47, the rock of Rimmon was located near Gibeah, and six hundred of the Israelite army stayed there for four months. It is possible that rimmon here in verse 2 refers to the rock of Rimmon, near the outskirts of Gibe-ah. This understanding is expressed in Fox‘s translation, “beneath the Pomegranate (Rock) that is in the Migron.” In a footnote on this verse, Fox states, “If related to Heb. n-g-r, ‘gushing,’ it [the Migron] possibly refers to the Wadi es-Swenit, not too far from Gibeah; the ‘Pomegranate’ would then be the cave referred to in Judges 20:45-47.” Though this interpretation of the Hebrew may well be correct, it cannot be recommended as representing widespread agreement among interpreters.
Migron is located near Geba and Michmash (see Isa 10.28, though some think that this Migron in Isaiah refers to a different town, located north of Michmash). As the word Migron is spelled in the Masoretic Text, it clearly refers to a place; and the preliminary report of Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives an {A} rating to the Masoretic Text. It is, however, possible to use different vowels and understand this word to mean “at the threshing floor” instead of at Migron (see 1 Kgs 22.10). Compare Anchor Bible: “Saul was on the outskirts of Geba sitting under a pomegranate tree, which was on the threshing floor” (so also New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible).
It is also possible that the word Migron refers, not to a town, but to the bed of the canyon running between Michmash and Geba. The name may come from a verb meaning “to gush forth” and may refer to the floods that came through this wadi, modern Wadi es-Swenit, in the rainy season. While this interpretation is possible, it is not reflected in any modern translations, although as noted above, Fox suggests this possible interpretation in a footnote. Translators are advised to translate the text reflected in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.
About six hundred men: the same number given in 13.15.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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