almond

The almond is one of a group of fruit-bearing trees (Prunus) that also includes plums, cherries, peaches, and apricots. There are fifteen species of wild almond in Iran, two wild species in Israel, and one cultivated one (Prunus dulcis, also called Amygdalus communis). They are plentiful now in the hills of Israel, and probably were so in Bible times, even in the hot, dry Negev.

The almond tree grows to around 4 meters (13 feet) tall. It loses its leaves in winter and then, before the new leaves appear in spring, a profusion of white or pink flowers appears. The flowers are quite flat, with oval petals. The fuzzy fruit, about the size of a date palm fruit, comes about ten weeks later. The seed (“nut” in English) is fifty percent oil, and can be eaten raw but is usually roasted.

Three passages make reference to physical features of the almond tree. In Exodus 25:33f. and 37:19f. 20 we find the Hebrew word meshuqad (“almond-like”) referring to the shape of the almond blossom. The flat almond flower made a reasonable model for the lamp holders at the top of the branches of the lampstand in the Tabernacle.

The writer of Ecclesiastes 12:5 uses the profusion of white blossoms on the almond tree as a symbol of old age. The comparison is of course to the white hair of the elders.

In Jeremiah 1:11 the author makes use of the similarity of the Hebrew name shaqed (“almond”) to the word shoqed (“watching” or “wakeful”) to emphasize that Yahweh is “watching” over Israel (see almond tree / watching). Some commentators add to this that since the almond is the first of the trees to blossom in the spring—even before the leaves emerge — it was “waking up early,” and God, likewise, is an “early help” in time of trouble.

The Prunus family has members in various parts of the world, such as Prunus salicina in China and Prunus munsoniana in eastern North America. However, the branches and fruit of many of these are so different from the true almond that in non-figurative passages local names will not really be usable. In a passage such as Genesis 30:37, a transliteration from a major language is recommended; for example, shaked/lus (Hebrew), lawus (Arabic), amande (French), amendoa (Portuguese), almendra (Spanish), and alimondi. In English the “l” is not pronounced, so “almond” may be transliterated amond. Elsewhere, where the tree is used figuratively, as in Exodus and Ecclesiastes (see below), translators can use a blossom with a similar shape and color.

Almond tree, photo by Gloria Suess
Almond flowers, photo by Ray Pritz

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

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.”

Common reed, photo by Rob Koops

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 Exod 25:33

The long sentence continues. Three cups made like almonds is literally “three cups almond-blossom-shaped.” The word refers to “almond blossoms” (Good News Translation) and not to the small edible kernel of the fruit. Each with capital and flower refers to the “calyx” and the “petals” (New Revised Standard Version) that made up each cup (see verse 31).

On one branch means that each branch was to have three cups, but it is not clear where these cups were to be placed, nor whether they were to be three-dimensional or simply embossed along the surface. Possibly they were three-dimensional cups, with two of them producing new segments of the branch, and the third one serving as a lamp holder at the top of each branch. To call them “decorative flowers” (Good News Translation) suggests that they had no function other than to decorate. The word “decorative” is not in the text and should probably be omitted. An alternative translation model is “Each of the six branches is to have three flowers shaped like almond blossoms, with buds and petals.”

On the other branch is better translated as “on the next branch” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible, New International Version), since the other suggests incorrectly that there were only two. This is made clear with the final phrase: so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. This means that on the six branches alone there were to be 18 of these cups, each with its capital and flower.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Form three flowers shaped like almond blossoms along with their buds and petals on each of the six branches.

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 .