poplar

There are several species of poplar in the Middle East, and that has given rise to some controversy over which one is referred to by a particular Hebrew word. Two kinds of poplar were common in Israel in Bible times, the white poplar and the Euphrates poplar.

In Genesis 30:37 (see also plane) Jacob’s magical recipe for multiplying sheep and goats relied on the light inner wood of the white poplar Populus alba, a tree that grows along riverbanks in Israel. This softwood tree with gray bark was used for timber and for making tools and rafters. In some places the bark is used as medicine.

The Euphrates poplar Populus euphratica likewise grows along riverbanks, but it is much more widespread in the Middle East than the white poplar, and that makes it a natural candidate for the reference in Psalm 137:2, which says “On the ‘aravim [‘willows’ in Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version, updated edition] there we hung up our lyres.” This is further strengthened by the fact that in Iraq this poplar is called gharab, which is cognate with ‘aravah.

The white poplar is a tall tree reaching perhaps 20 meters (66 feet). Its seeds are dispersed by the wind in bunches of long, silky hair. The Euphrates poplar is also tall. It has two types of leaves. When young, it produces a narrow leaf like a willow; when it matures, its leaves are broader. This has led to some confusion among scholars as to the identity of willows and poplars mentioned in the Bible.

Populus species (cottonwood, aspen) are known throughout Europe and North America. In Africa, apart from North Africa and South Africa where a number of kinds of poplars have been introduced from Europe, there do not seem to be any Populus species. Where Populus species are known, and if the inner bark is known to be white, they could be used in Genesis, but keep in mind that another tree of the same family (willow) is mentioned in Leviticus 23:40. Where Populus species are not known, we advocate transliterating from a major language in Genesis 30:37 (for example, popula, populari, hawur [Arabic], or abele [French]), since this is a historical setting rather than a rhetorical one.

Euphrates poplar, Wikimedia Commons
White poplar trunk, Wikimedia Commons

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

lyre

The musical instrument that is most often translated as “lyre” or “lute” in English is translated in the following ways:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016: pangwe (a musical instrument that is made from a hollow tube filled with pellets or small stones to create a rain-like sound) or “five stringed instrument” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “guitar” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “sitar ” (source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Adilabad Gondi: chondka (source: Adilabad Gondi Back-Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde: marimba (source: Nyakyusa-Ngonde back translation)

In the UBS Helps for Translators‘ Human-made Things in the Bible (original title: The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible) it says the following:

Description: The lyre consisted of a sound box out of the ends or sides of which projected two arms. The arms supported a crosspiece. Strings descended from the crosspiece over the sound box. As with the nevel, the number of strings could vary. Their varying thickness and tension gave the instrument a range of notes. The lyre was normally made of wood. The strings were made of animal intestines (perhaps from sheep).

Usage: The strings were normally plucked with the fingers. The kinor in particular is frequently depicted as an instrument that accompanied singing.

Job 21:12: For the stringed instrument (kinor in Hebrew) accompanying the tambourine, French Common Language Version has “guitar” and the French La Bible de Jérusalem has “zither,” which seems to be an instrument used in 1 Samuel 10:5. The first line of this verse may also be rendered “The children sing as people play the tambourine and the lyre.” In some languages these instruments will be a local drum and a stringed instrument; the latter may be a guitar. If no instruments can be found to render any of the instruments in this verse, the translator may have to express the whole verse differently; for example, “The children dance and sing and make joyful sounds/music.”

The identity of the instrument called sabka’ in Aramaic in Daniel (Hebrew) is uncertain. New Revised Standard Version, updated edition renders it “trigon,” which is a small triangular lyre-type instrument with four strings. Probably trigon is technically correct, but it is unknown to the average English reader. Good News Translation has attempted to find a better-known equivalent with “zither,” but the zither has far too many strings (over thirty). Some translations use “lyre” for sabka’ and render the Aramaic word qathros before it as “zither”. Revised English Bible has “triangle,” but most readers will wrongly identify that as a percussion instrument. Common English Version avoids the problem by rendering only the first three instruments in the list and grouping the last three together, including sabka’ as follows: “Trumpets, flutes, harps, and all other kinds of musical instruments.”

Lyre (source: Knowles, revised by Bass (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1994)

Quoted with permission.

complete verse (Psalm 137:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 137:2:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “There, on salix babylonica trees
    we hanged our harps.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “We hung our lutes there on the trees nearby.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “We (excl.) just hung-up our (excl.) harps on the branches of the trees.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “We put our
    harps on trees,” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Katika miti ya katika nchi ile,
    tulivitundika vinubi vyetu.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “On the willow trees alongside the rivers we hung our harps
    because we did not want to play them any more because we were very sad.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 137:1 - 137:2

In verse 1 the waters of Babylon include not only the Tigris and the Euphrates and their tributaries, but also the extensive irrigation canals in the country. The picture is that of a group of people seated on the ground and mourning. Zion here is probably the Temple or the city of Jerusalem, not the land of Israel as such (see also comments at 2.6). The use of the plural “By the rivers” will mean in many languages that the event took place many times beside many rivers, and require that the verb “sat down” reflect this. Babylon may have to be adjusted as “the country called Babylon,” or in languages with a name for the country, “Babylonia,” that is different from the name of the city, “Babylon.” In languages in which first person plural shows exclusion or inclusion, here we sat down will be exclusive if the psalm was composed after the exile, for the exiles are then speaking to people who were not with them in Babylon. However, if the psalm was composed in Babylon, the exiles are speaking to each other, and the pronoun is inclusive. In cases where it is not sufficiently clear that the weeping was caused by the sad memory, it may be necessary to say, for example, “when we thought about the destruction of Zion, we cried.” It is important that the verb “remember” not suggest that the people had forgotten, but then suddenly recalled it.

There is a difference of opinion whether the trees named in verse 2 are willows (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New English Bible) or poplars (New Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Dahood). New American Bible says the tree (whose Latin name is populus euphratica) is the Mediterranean aspen. For harps see “lyre” and comments on 33.2. The figure of hanging the harps on the trees is metaphorical; it meant, of course, that their owners were setting them aside and did not plan to play them again. If the translator finds that hanging an instrument on a tree does not express the idea of ceasing to play, it will be better to say, for example, “We never played our harps (or, musical instruments) again,” or “We never made any more music with our instruments,” or “We put away….”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .