The Hebrew that is translated as “bud” (or: calyx) in English is translated in Elhomwe with the term “head,” referring to the very beginning of the flower. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
reed
There are two general types of reed in Israel, the Common Reed Phragmites australis and the Giant Reed Arundo donax, and it is impossible to say which one is intended in a given biblical context.
The English word “cane” comes from the Hebrew word qaneh. Qaneh is the most general Hebrew word of the many referring to reeds and rushes. Like the English word “reed,” it may refer to a specific type of reed or be a general name for several kinds of water plant. This word is also used to refer to the stalk of grain in Pharaoh’s dream (Genesis 41:5, Genesis 41:22), to the shaft and branches of the golden lampstand in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:31 et al.), to the beam of a scale (Isaiah 46:6), to the upper arm of a person (Job 31:22), to a measuring stick (Ezekiel 40:3 et al.), and to aromatic cane (Song of Songs 4:14 et al.).
The Greek word kalamos is also used to refer to a measuring stick (Revelation 11:1 et al.) and to a pen (3 John 1:13 and 3 Maccabees 4:20).
The common reed is a tall grass with stiff, sharply-pointed leaves and a plume-like flower head that reaches to more than 2 meters (7 feet). It grows in lakes and streams, the roots creeping across the bottom of the lake to produce new leaves and stalks.
The giant reed is similar to the common reed but tends to grow not in the water but on the river banks. Its majestic plumes can reach up to 5 meters (17 feet) in height on hollow stalks that look like bamboo.
Reeds of both kinds were used for baskets, mats, flutes, pens, arrows, and roof-coverings. Isaiah 42:3 says that the Messiah will be gentle with weak people (“a bruised reed he will not break”), in contrast to the typical iron-fisted tyrants of the day. The Pharaoh is likened to an undependable reed staff in 2 Kings 18:21 et al. In 1 Kings 14:15 Israel is compared to a reed shaking in the water.
The common reed of the Mediterranean area has relatives in Europe, India, Japan, and North America. It is thought to be the only species of the genus Phragmites (although some botanists divide it into three species). It is very important for conservationists, because it provides habitat for many kinds of animals and birds. In North America the weaker native type is being overtaken by more robust types from Europe, which are now threatening other kinds of marsh plants. In Japan people eat the young shoots of reeds. Native Americans used to eat the seeds.
Translators living near lakes and rivers will be able to find an equivalent, if not a relative, of the reed. Others can be generic and use “grass” or a phrase such as “tall grass growing in the water.”
Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)
In Newari it is translated as “bamboo.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Translation commentary on Exodus 25:31
And you shall make uses the singular you. The word for lampstand is menorah, which today refers to the seven-branched source of light used in Jewish worship. The menorah described here is not a holder of candles but rather a stand commonly used at that time for holding seven oil lamps. So “candlestick” (King James Version, American Standard Version) is incorrect. (See the comment on “lamps” at 25.6.) Of pure gold means that it must be “clean,” without any impurities and not mixed with any other metal. In cultures where “lampstands” are unknown, one may use a descriptive phrase; for example, “lamp holder,” “thing on which lamps are placed,” or even “pole that has lamps on top.”
The second sentence reads literally “hammered shall be made the lampstand its base and its stalk.” Of hammered work means “of hammered gold” (Good News Translation) and probably refers to the entire lampstand, not just The base and the shaft. (See the comment on “hammered” at verse 18.) The base refers to the bottom part that supports the shaft, which is the trunk, or “central stem” (Translator’s Old Testament), rising like a tree from the base. Revised English Bible and New American Bible follow a different text that gives the two words in the plural, but it is better to think of one base that supports a single shaft. An alternative translation model is “Take a hammer and pound the gold to make its base and shaft.”
Its cups refers to the holders for the lamps, which were probably placed at the end of each of the branches as well as at the top of the shaft. The word is used elsewhere for a drinking cup, but here the shape was to resemble an almond blossom (verse 34). In some languages it will be helpful to mention this here, “its cups in the shape of almond flowers.” Its capitals is translated in New Revised Standard Version as “its calyxes.” The calyx is the green, leafy base of a flower, or the bud which has opened up into a blossom. New American Bible has “knobs.” Its flowers refers to the “blossoms” (New International Version) or “petals” (Good News Translation). Both the capitals and the flowers should be thought of as part of the cups, so Good News Translation has “its decorative flowers, including buds and petals.” The word “decorative” is not in the text.
Shall be of one piece with it, literally “from it they shall be,” means that all of this decorative work is to be hammered out of one piece of gold. Such a work of art, of one piece, seems almost impossible to make, but 35.30-33 points out that Bezalel, the head craftsman, was given the ability to do this by Yahweh.
Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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