The Hebrew in Amos 2:9 that is translated in English as “height was like the height of cedars and was strong as oaks” is translated in Afar as xexxaarah calawwayti gide yakkeeh caylah lubak inna luk yenehiyya: “the length of (hemispherical) house poles and strength as lions.” (Afar portable houses have frames of thin poles up to nine feet long bent over the top. These poles are covered with mats and are broken down and loaded on camels when they migrate to areas where there is grass for their animals.)
oak
Three species of oak are found in Israel, the main ones being the Tabor oak and the Kermes (or common) oak. Both go by the name ’elon or ’allon in Hebrew. The similarity to the Hebrew word ’el (“god”) is significant, since these trees have long been associated with worship and with burial. Since the Tabor oak is the biggest, it is likely that ’elon and ’allon most often refer to that one. English versions have sometimes mistakenly translated the Hebrew word ’elah (“terebinth”) as “oak.”
According to Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants, Baker Book House, 1992), forests of Kermes oak (Quercus calliprinos or Quercus coccifera) covered the hill country of Israel from Carmel to Samaria in biblical times. The Kermes oak forest is the most familiar and important type of vegetation in Israel.
The Tabor Oak Quercus macrolepsis (= Quercus aegilops = Quercus ithaburensis = Valonea oak in Israel) apparently replaced the original common oak during the Arab period (800–1400 A.D.), but has itself been nearly destroyed in more recent times by the efforts of charcoal makers, limestone burners, and the Turkish rail-way. Tabor oaks are deciduous and are found mostly in Carmel.
The large Tabor oak reaches a height of 25 meters (82 feet), branching at around 5.5 meters (18 feet). The Kermes oak is more like a large shrub, normally branching at ground level. The Tabor oak loses its leaves every winter; the Kermes oak is evergreen and prickly.
Oaks were used to mark grave sites (see Genesis 35:8), and it is possible that the references to “oak of Moreh” or “oaks of Mamre” may hint at burial sites of famous people. They were probably also important in divination, if the reference in Judges 9:37 (see Translation commentary on Judges 9:37) to a “Diviners’ Oak” can be taken as typical. References to people named Allon (1 Chronicles 4:37) or Elon (Genesis 46:14 et al.) may suggest that the oak was a symbol of strength or beauty, or both.
Oaks grow mainly in temperate areas (Europe, North America, North Asia, and Japan) and the Mediterranean area, including North Africa. Translators in tropical areas will not have a local variety as an option. In historical contexts, therefore, it will be necessary to transliterate from a major language. In poetic contexts such as the prophets, the oak typically represents a large and very strong tree, and a local species with those characteristics can be considered.
Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)
complete verse (Amos 2:9)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Amos 2:9:
- Kupsabiny: “God is saying,
‘I am the one who destroyed the Amorites for the sake of my people of Israel.
Those Amorites were tall like cedars
and strong like kōrōs trees.
I destroyed those people from/at the branches
and uprooted their roots.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation) - Newari: “In spite of that, I myself destroyed the Amorites before them completely
whose height was like the height of cedars
and whose strength was like the strength of an oak tree.
I destroyed their fruit above and their roots from below. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation) - Hiligaynon: “But I, what- I -did for/to them who-come-from-Israel, I destroyed the Amornon, even-though these people are tall as-if a cedar tree and firm/sturdy as-if an oak tree. I destroyed them until no one was left among them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “Long ago, to assist your ancestors, I got rid of the Amor people-group.
They seemed to be as tall as cedar trees
and as strong as oak trees,
but I got rid of them completely,
as easily as someone cuts off the branches of a tree and then digs out all its roots.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also pronoun for “God”.
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.
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.
Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)
Translation commentary on Amos 2:9
Before them/for your sake. In contrast to what has been done in most modern translations, the Hebrew should be understood as showing the reason for God’s action (like the Good News Translation), not the place (like the Revised Standard Version); (compare Hos 10.15; Gen 6.13; Deut 28.20).
Destroyed. In translation the term must be one which can be used for people. This destruction is that of war: death, loss of home and possessions, exile.
Amorite/Amorites lived in Canaan at the time when the people of Israel conquered it. Where it is helpful, the translation may say “your/ their enemies, the Amorites.”
Whose height was like the height of the cedars, and who was as strong as the oaks/men who were as tall as cedar trees and as strong as oaks. Such full comparisons are usually not hard to translate except for the terms cedar trees and oaks.
In either case, where the specific kind of Biblical tree is not known, the best solution is probably to take a general word for “tree” (provided it includes the possibility of tall trees and strong trees), and to build the comparison around it. Something like “as tall as the tallest trees, and strong as the greatest trees” might do. Or the two comparisons can be combined: “as tall, as strong as the greatest tree.”
A second possible solution would be to borrow the words cedar and oak and write them according to the sound patterns of the language of the translation: “tall as the tree called cedar,” etc. Still a third possibility is to take local trees which are tall and strong. Such a solution would not be as good if this were a particular tree of historical importance, but as a basis for comparison like this, it is a possibility. Still another possibility is to say something like “strong as big trees like the mahogany tree.” Or yet again, some of the information could be put in a footnote so that the kind of tree could be better understood without including inaccurate information in the text.
I destroyed his fruit above, and his roots beneath. This picture is not kept in the Good News Translation but included in the earlier use of totally destroyed because this was a standard Canaanite and Hebrew idiom, and the meaning of the expression as a whole should be translated and not the meanings of the individual words. If the Hebrew idiom can be replaced by an equivalent idiom in your language, it should be done. In English we could say: “I destroyed them root and branch” (Robinson, The Translator’s Old Testament); in German: “ich rotte sie mit Stumpf und Stiel aus,” etc. If it is not possible to find an equivalent idiom, the meaning of the total expression should be translated in a general way, as TEV has done.
Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan & Smalley, William A. A Handbook on Amos. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1979. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
SIL Translator’s Notes on Amos 2:9
2:9a Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
“But for the sake of ⌊the people of Israel⌋ I ⌊totally⌋ destroyed the Amorites.
-or-
“⌊Israel doesn’t respect me!⌋ And yet I killed the ⌊the people of Canaan⌋ so that ⌊Israel could possess the land⌋ .
2:9b though his height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks.
They were tall people like cedar ⌊trees⌋ and powerful like oak ⌊trees⌋ .
-or-
⌊The Amorites⌋ were ⌊like⌋ tall strong trees.
2:9c Yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below.
But I completely destroyed them, even their fruits and roots.
-or-
But I completely destroyed them by chopping off their branches and taking out their roots.
© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.