olive

The olive family has over four hundred species in the world. Many of them grow in Africa, India, and Australia, but it is the one in the Bible, the European Olive Olea europaea, that has become famous. It is likely that the olive was domesticated in Egypt or the eastern Mediterranean basin in the third millennium B.C. The botanist Newberry argued that Egypt was its original home. We know from the Bible that olives grew in the hills of Samaria and in the foothills. There is a wild variety, called Olea europaea sylvestris, that is smaller than the domestic one; it produces a smaller fruit with less oil. The Apostle Paul refers to this wild variety in Romans 11:17 and 11:24. Olives are easily propagated by cuttings and by grafting fruitful species into less fruitful ones. They grow best on hillsides where the rain drains off quickly. The fruit forms by August but does not ripen until December or January.

The olive is not a big tree, reaching up to perhaps 10 meters (33 feet), but with pruning it is usually kept to around 5 meters (17 feet) tall. The leaves are grayish green above, and whitish underneath. The bark of young trees is silvery gray but gets darker and rougher as the tree ages. The trunk also gets twisted and hollow and may reach over a meter in thickness. Olives grow for hundreds of years, and some in Israel have possibly reached two thousand years.

The fruit of the olive is about 2 centimeters (1 inch) long and a bit more than a centimeter (1/2 inch) thick. It has a hard stone inside and a soft skin that covers the oily flesh. Today a mature tree may yield 10-20 kilograms (22-44 pounds) of fruit, which, when processed, will yield 1.3-2.6 kilograms (3.6 pounds) of oil.

For the Jews the “big three” trees were the vine, the fig, and the olive. People ate olive fruits, but more importantly, they squeezed the oil from the fruits, and used it for cooking, for lamps, for rubbing on the body, for medicine, and in religion. Jacob poured olive oil on the stone where he saw a vision of angels, declaring it a holy place (Genesis 28:18). Moses, similarly, anointed the Tabernacle and its equipment with olive oil mixed with sweet-smelling resins (Exodus 40:9). Aaron and the priests who served in the Tabernacle were also anointed (Exodus 29:21).

Some types of wild olive grow in Africa, India, and Australia, but are not well-known. The so-called “African olive” produces a black, oil-bearing fruit much like an olive. It is common as a snack in northern Nigeria. The “Chinese olive” is also a species of Canarium and may be a possible cultural substitute, if it produces edible fruit and oil. The “Russian olive” grown in dry regions of the world is a member of the Elaeagnus family and not a true olive. A variety of olive (Olea cuspidate) is used for building in India and Nepal, but it is probably not possible to use it in the Bible except perhaps in a study Bible where you could say that the biblical olive was related to this tree.

Since most of the kinds of olive trees in the world do not have edible fruit, it may not be possible to substitute a local variety. If it is done, however, a footnote would be required saying that the Palestinian kind produced edible fruit and oil. If a variety of Canarium is eaten in your area, you could use the local name for it. Otherwise transliterate from a major language.

Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane, Wikimedia Commons

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

Translation commentary on Judith 15:12 - 15:13

All the women of Israel gathered to see her, and blessed her, and some of them performed a dance for her: “All the Israelite women came to see her” (Good News Translation) and “sang songs praising her” (blessed her), but only some of them danced in her honor. However, it could be understood to mean that some of the women organized a dance for all the women, and probably does.

She took branches in her hands and gave them to the women who were with her: Judith hands out the branches; the Greek says nothing about Judith and the other women waving the branches, as in Good News Translation. The reference to the branches is puzzling. The writer could intend a reference to the celebrations at the Festival of Shelters (Feast of Tabernacles/Booths; see Lev 23.40), but the Greek word chosen is a technical term for a particular kind of wand. The branches are “ivy-covered” (Good News Translation) or “garlanded wands” (New English Bible), which were associated with the worship of the god Dionysus. The only other occurrence of the word in the Greek Bible is at 2 Macc 10.7, where the Jews celebrate the rededication of the temple “in the manner of the feast of booths,” with “ivy-covered wands.” In all probability the use of the word here proves nothing more than the late date of the writing, when certain Greek customs had become customary among the Jews. This is no reason for not following Good News Translation‘s example of describing the branches as “ivy-covered branches”; it adds color to the narrative. The branches were of a length that could be held in one hand and waved, perhaps about a meter (3 feet) long. They were decorated with twirling ivy (vines) around them. Whatever they were, they were used in celebrations.

They crowned themselves with olive wreaths: The women also put olive wreaths (garlands made from the leaves of olive trees) on their heads. These were also primarily associated with Greek customs. For ivy wreaths in association with Dionysus, see 2 Macc 6.7. In Neh 8.15 olive branches are mentioned among the preparations for the Festival of Shelters, but not the wearing of wreaths.

Those who were with her refers to all the women of Israel earlier in verse 12.

All the men of Israel followed, bearing their arms and wearing garlands and with songs on their lips: In the description of the parade the men are specifically mentioned as singing hymns, but it is not clear whether they join in the dancing or not. Bearing their arms means, as Good News Translation translates, “carrying their weapons.” Garlands were “wreaths of flowers on their heads” (Good News Translation) or “vines on their heads.”

At 16.18 it will suddenly dawn on the reader that this procession has not been a local matter; the people have been on their way from Bethulia to Jerusalem. It is hard to see that the author intends it any other way, but it is awfully abrupt at 16.18. It is therefore possible to introduce this information at the end of this chapter by saying in the middle of verse 13, “Judith took her place at the head of the procession to lead the women to Jerusalem as they danced.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.