cubit

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated as “cubit” or into a metric or imperial measurement in English is translated in Kutu, Kwere, and Nyamwezi as makono or “armlength.” Since a cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, one armlength (measured from the center of the chest to the fingertips) equals two cubits or roughly 1 meter. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Similarly, in Akoose, the translation is “arm distance.” (Source: Joseph Nkwelle Ngome and Marlie van Rooyen & Jacobus A. Naudé in Communicatio 2009, p. 251ff.)

In Klao it is converted into “hand spans” (app. 6 inches or 12 cm) and “finger spans” (app. 1 inch or 2 cm). (Source: Don Slager)

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 Ezekiel 41:8

I saw also that the temple had a raised platform round about …: This verse involves an abrupt change of focus. In the previous verses Ezekiel was looking upward at the Temple and its side rooms. Here, without warning, he turns his attention to the base of the building. It would be easy for an inattentive reader to think that the raised platform refers to a platform high up the side of the building, perhaps above the third story of the side chambers. Translators need to make this change of focus clear, so that readers do not become confused. They may begin this verse with “Then I looked [down] and saw….” When Ezekiel looked down, he saw that the Temple stood on a raised platform (literally “elevated [area]”), which may be rendered “raised pavement” (Complete Jewish Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “raised base” (New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, New Century Version). The Temple was built on this raised platform. According to the next clause, this raised base was a full reed of six long cubits, that is, 3 meters (10 feet), above the surrounding area of the inner courtyard.

The foundations of the side chambers measured a full reed of six long cubits: The raised platform also functioned as the foundation of the side rooms, which were built on the same level as the Temple itself. The Hebrew word rendered long is sometimes used to refer to the joints in a person’s arm (either elbow or wrist), but that meaning does not fit in this context. Here it is probably a technical building term, the meaning of which is now lost. Some translations ignore the word (so Good News Translation), but others think it refers to the “height” of the raised platform (so Contemporary English Version, New King James Version , New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). It may refer to the “edge” of the platform, where it bent 90 degrees like an elbow. This meaning makes good sense in the context. New Century Version reflects it by rendering this clause as “Its edge was the foundation for the side rooms, and it was ten and one-half feet thick.”

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .