sycamore, sycomore

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sycamore” in English is translated in Chichewa as mkuyu or “fig tree.” (Source: Wendland 1987, p. 72)

 

The use of “sycomore” might be preferable to “sycamore,” since the “o” spelling preserves the Latin (sycomorus) and Greek (sukomorea) better and is used in French.

The Sycomore Fig Ficus sycomorus, also called the Mulberry Fig (compare German Maulbeerfeigenbaum), is a type of fig that is found especially in lowland areas in the Mediterranean region. It was known in Egypt as early as 3000 B.C. but also in the Indus Valley in India.

The prophet Amos identified himself as “a dresser of sycamore trees” (Amos 7:14). It is possible that this refers to the practice of making a cut in the immature fruit, which has the effect of accelerating the growth of the fruit. Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992) reports that this sudden growth is caused by ethylene gas released when the fruit is cut.

The sycomore fig is not a tall tree (up to 10 meters [33 feet]) but has large low, spreading branches — just right for a short man to climb up in order to see over a crowd of taller people (see the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:4). The fruit, while edible, is not as juicy or sweet as the more common variety. The most unusual thing about the fruit is that it grows in bunches right on the trunk and branches of the tree rather than among the leaves.

In 1 Kings 10:27 the sycomore is used as an image of something plentiful. The last half of this verse says “he [King Solomon] made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah.” Translators should take care with the logic here. The verse does not say that Solomon would introduce cedars into the lowlands (the Shephelah), but rather that just as there are plenty of sycomores in the lowlands, there will be plenty of cedars in the land of Israel.

Translators need to deal with both sycomore and fig at the same time. If the translation leans toward foreignization, the translator may want to transliterate both fig and sycomore (sikomori, for example). It may be useful to use the full name sycomore fig in some cases. If a local type of fig is known, the translator could use the local name for the domestic fig (Hebrew te’enah, Greek sukē), and add the word “wild” or “lowland” when referring to the sycomore fig (Hebrew shiqmah, Greek sukomorea).

Where figs are totally unknown, transliterations can be made from an international language, for example, French (sycomore), Spanish (sicomoro), or Hebrew (shiqmah). In contrast to the regular fig, the sycomore grows in the lower elevations (Shephelah), a fact that could potentially come into use in a translation (for example, “lowland fig”).

Sycomore fig, Wikimedia Commons

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

Jerusalem

The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:


“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jerusalem .

king

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Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:

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  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
  • Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))

Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:

“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )

See also king (Japanese honorifics).

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 9:27

And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone: The book of Deuteronomy warns the Israelite people that when they one day would have a king, the king was not to become rich with silver and gold (Deut 17.17). See also the comments on verse 28, which show that Solomon also violated the law of Deut 17.16. Although verses 27-28 underline the great wealth and power of Solomon, the original readers, who were familiar with the teachings of Deuteronomy, would have seen the implicit criticism in these verses. Translators may wish to add a footnote explaining this fact. The meaning of this clause may be communicated in a variety of other ways, including “While Solomon was king, there was silver everywhere in Jerusalem” (Contemporary English Version) and “Thanks to the king, there was as much silver in Jerusalem as there were stones” (Parole de Vie).

And cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah: Cedar and sycamore are types of trees. For cedar see 1 Chr 14.1; for sycamore see 1 Chr 27.28. Cedar was imported and was expensive. Sycamore trees, on the other hand, were common in the lowlands to the west of Jerusalem. The meaning of this clause is that Solomon had so much wealth that he was able to import large quantities of cedar timber for building, and as a result cedar wood was as common in Jerusalem as the wood of the native sycamore tree, which was not considered very good for building. The text does not mean that Solomon imported and planted cedar trees. He imported cedar lumber/timber. An American Translation says “he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees,” but the word “cedars” in the plural in English will not refer to timber but to trees, which is wrong here.

Shephelah, which is a transliteration of the Hebrew noun here, refers to the foothills in the territory of Judah, west of the mountains and east of the Mediterranean seacoast (see the comments on 1 Chr 27.28 and 2 Chr 1.15). Instead of the transliterated term Shephelah, it is better to say “foothills of Judah” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) or “western foothills” (Contemporary English Version).

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 .