fir

The Cilician fir Abies cilicica grew abundantly in the forests of Lebanon along with cedars, evergreen cypresses, and Grecian junipers. The Hebrew word berosh probably included fir, cypress, and juniper. According to 1 Kings 5:8 and elsewhere, berosh was used in King Solomon’s building projects. The reference in Ezekiel 27:5 to the use of berosh for the timbers/planks of ships could well be talking about fir trees since they are very straight, but the association of berosh there with Mount Senir rather favors the Grecian juniper, which was abundant there.

The Cilician fir is a tall and almost perfectly straight evergreen tree, in the same family with pines, cedars, and cypresses. It can reach a height of 25 meters (82 feet). Its flat seeds are contained in cones that fall from the tree when mature. Firs are the major source for turpentine, used by painters to dilute paint and clean brushes.

The Abies genus is represented throughout the world in temperate climates at high altitudes (for example, in Kenya, Japan, and North America). Since there are no firs or anything quite like them in tropical Africa, translators can use a transliteration, for example, firi or pir. In Ezekiel 27:5 we recommend following Zohary by rendering berosh as “fir.” The majority of English translations are divided among “fir,” “cypress,” and “pine.” In 1-2 Kings and 2 Chronicles we recommend rendering berosh as “fir” or “juniper.” Elsewhere berosh may be considered a generic word referring to cypress, fir, pine, or all of them together. In those places a general word for this type of cone-bearing tree should be used.

Cilician fir in North Lebanon, Wikimedia Commons

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

See also cypress.

self-referencing pronoun for king or queen

In Malay, the pronoun beta for the royal “I” (or “my” or “me”) that is used by royals when speaking to people of lower rank, subordinates or commoners to refer to themselves in these verses. This reflects the “language of the court because the monarchy and sultanate in Malaysia are still alive and well. All oral and printed literature (including newspapers and magazines) preserve and glorify the language of the court. Considering that the language of the court is part of the Malaysian language, court language is used sparingly where appropriate, specifically with texts relating to palace life.” (Source: Daud Soesilo in The Bible Translator 2025, p. 263ff.)

complete verse (2 Chronicles 2:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 2:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “Also put/cause your people to bring me boards of cedarwood, those of cypress and those of a tree that is sold for much money coming from Lebanon because I know that your people know well how to cut trees. I shall send my servants to go and help your people” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I know how skilled your people in Lebanon are at cutting wood. So also send me cedar, cypress, and sandalwood.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Send me also cedar trees, pines, and algum from Lebanon, for I know that your men are good in cutting trees/woods. My men will-help your men” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I know that your workers are skilled in cutting timber, so also please send me cedar logs, pine logs, and juniper logs from the Lebanon mountains. My workers will work with your workers.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Japanese benefactives (okutte)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

Here, okutte (送って) or “send” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

cedar

Long ago the majestic cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) completely covered the upper slopes of the Lebanon Mountains on the western and northern sides. Now only a few pockets of these mighty cedars remain. At that time they were mixed, as they are today, with other trees such as Cilician fir, Grecian juniper, cypress, and Calabrian pine.

We know from 1 Kings that Solomon used cedar wood in his palace and in the Temple. Cedar was used for beams, boards, pillars, and ceilings. Historians tell us that the Assyrians also hauled cedars to their land for use in buildings. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon also imported cedars from Lebanon. In some versions of Isaiah we read that people made idols of cedar and oak (44:14-20). Finally, when the Temple was rebuilt by the returning exiles (Ezra 3:7), they again cut down cedar trees to grace the house of God.

In 2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles and Ezra, when Lebanon is specifically mentioned, there can be no doubt that ’erez is Cedrus libani, the “cedar of Lebanon,” although it is possible that sometimes the word was used loosely to include various evergreen trees.

In the description of the purification rituals (Leviticus 14:4 at al.), the word ’erez probably refers to the Phoenician juniper tree, since that was the only cedar-like tree in the Sinai Desert.

Description  Cedar trees can reach 30 meters (100 feet) high with a trunk more than 2 meters (7 feet) in diameter. The leaves of true cedars are not flat like those of most trees, but consist of tufts of dark green, shiny spines. (The cedars in North America have a flatter type of spine than the biblical cedar.) The wood is fragrant and resistant to insects. Cedars bear cones and can live to be two or three thousand years old.

The cedar of Lebanon is famous for its large size (see Isaiah 2:13 et al.), and for the fragrance of its wood. Psalm 92:12 links the cedar to righteousness, that is, presumably, to its straightness and height above other trees. The cedar is the national emblem of Lebanon.

Cedrus species are found in the mountains of North Africa, in the Himalayas, in India, and in North America. Translators in these places, should, of course, use the local name in nonfigurative references. In sub Saharan Africa, translators can transliterate from Hebrew (’erez), Greek (kedar), English (sedar), or another major language, or they can take a generic solution such as “large, beautiful tree.” In poetic passages (wisdom literature and prophecy), some translators may wish to use a cultural equivalent with these traits. In Africa, according to Burkhill (The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa, volume 4. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, 1985), the Pink Mahogany Guarea cedrata is also called the pink African cedar because of the cedar-like scent of its timber. Likewise, some people in India and Australia use “cedar” to refer to the toon because of its reddish wood. I do not recommend such substitutes in historical passages, since the ’erez is not related to these trees. In some figurative passages, however, the substitution could be effective, since all are large trees with reddish wood. However, each passage has to be evaluated to determine the intended effect of the image.

Cedar of Lebanon, Wikimedia Commons

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

Translation commentary on 2 Chronicles 2:8

Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon: For cedar see the comments on 1 Chr 14.1. It was a hard wood that lasted a long time. It was used for building beams and structural supports.

The Hebrew noun for cypress is a generic term that covers cypress, fir and juniper, that is, any tall cone-bearing evergreen tree. For this reason a variety of translations may be found for the Hebrew word here, including “pine” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), “evergreens” ( NET Bible), “juniper” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “fir” (King James Version, Peregrino, in addition to cypress. In Lebanon it is more likely to refer to a fir or mountain juniper.

The Hebrew noun for algum is ʾalgummim. In 1 Kgs 10.11-12 the Hebrew noun is ʾalmugim. Either these Hebrew names are variants of the same kind of tree, or a scribe has mistakenly reversed the consonants represented in English as g and m. Many versions simply transliterate the Hebrew noun here as “algum” (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “algummim” (Bible de Jérusalem, Osty-Trinquet). The name of this wood is known from a list from the ancient city of Ugarit, but the identity of the wood is uncertain. Some suggest that it was “juniper” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), a kind of fir tree, while others say “sandalwood” (An American Translation, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible Pléiade, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Reina-Valera revisada, La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous, Peregrino, which came from India. Sandalwood was a reddish-brown wood, so Berkeley says “red sandalwood.” Sandalwood was very heavy, hard, and fine-grained. The tannin from this wood was mixed with other substances to make a rich red dye. The wood was also used to perfume houses and was used to make beautiful furniture when polished. Rather than attempt to name a specific tree, it is acceptable to say simply “other valuable timber” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

The kinds of trees here may be very difficult to translate in languages where one or more of these kinds of trees are unknown. In fact, some languages are forced to borrow these terms in order to translate the text. If this is done, a glossary entry for each borrowed term will be required in order to give more details to the reader. As in verse 3, Good News Translation clarifies the sense here by adding the word “logs.”

Lebanon refers to a mountain range on the eastern Mediterranean coast north of Palestine. It was famous for its cedar forests (Psa 92.12; 104.16). Lebanon was the homeland of the Phoenicians; and Tyre was the principal city of Phoenicia during Hiram’s rule.

For I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon: The connector for introduces the reason that Solomon asks the king of Tyre to send timber to him. He knows that King Hiram’s lumbermen will be able to provide the needed timber. Good News Translation and Bible en français courant render your servants as “your lumbermen,” because in this context it is clear that Hiram’s men were working with wood. However, many languages will say simply “your men” (New International Version, Revised English Bible) or “your workers.” Good News Translation has reversed this clause with the previous one. Such a restructured text may be more natural in certain other languages.

And my servants will be with your servants: The men whom Solomon planned to send were alien residents. They did not volunteer for this work. Rather, the work was forced labor. Peregrino renders my servants as “My slaves,” which is an acceptable translation.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Chronicles 2:8

2:8a Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum logs from Lebanon,

Also send (sing) me cedar, cypress and algum trees from the land of Lebanon.
-or-
Please send me also wood from cedar trees, juniper trees, and sandalwood trees from Lebanon.

2:8b for I know that your servants have skill to cut timber there.

I know that your (sing) servants have skill in cutting down trees.
-or-
I know that you have men who know how to cut down trees well.

2:8c And indeed, my servants will work with yours

My own men will work with your servants
-or-
I will have my servants work with your servants

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