myrrh

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “myrrh” in English is translated as “bitter medicine” in Michoacán Nahuatl and as “myrrh perfume” in Tzotzil (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.).

In Mark 15:23, Usila Chinantec translates it as “the herb myrrh which is useful so that one not feel pain in his body.” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)

 

Myrrh is probably the most precious spice in the Bible. It was worth more than its weight in gold. Our experts agree that the Hebrew word mor refers to the resin of one of the Commiphora genus, either myrrha, abyssinica or schimperi, all of which grew in what is now Yemen, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Madagascar. Other kinds of myrrh may have come from India (Commiphora erythraea, Commiphora opobalsamum). A more difficult question is the meaning of the word deror in Exodus 30:23. In the other places where it occurs it means “freedom” or “liberty.” This is the basis for the word “liquid” in some versions, but there is no certainty that “free” means “liquid.” The fact that myrrh was sometimes mixed with wine may suggest that deror means “liquid” here, but on the other hand, the weight of the myrrh is given in dry measure rather than liquid measure, which argues against it.

The myrrh plant is a bush or shrub with thick thorny branches that project and bend at odd angles. The leaves come in sets of three. The fruit is oval like a plum. The wood and bark have a pleasant smell. The gum oozes naturally from the branches, though some harvesters incise the branches to increase the flow. The sap or gum is clear or yellowish brown when it comes out, but gets darker as it dries. The taste of the gum is bitter (note the similarity of mor to the Hebrew word mar meaning “bitter”). In markets the gum is often found mixed with that of the kataf bush (bisabol).

God prescribed myrrh as an ingredient of the holy anointing oil (Exodus 30:23), and it is used as perfume in Esther, Psalms, Proverbs, and eight times in Song of Songs. It was brought as an expensive gift by the Magi to the new King (Matthew 2:11). As Jesus was dying on the cross, sympathetic bystanders may have offered it to him mixed with wine (Mark 15:23; see the parallel account in Matthew 27:34). Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare Jesus’ body for burial (John 19:39). In ancient Egypt myrrh was burned on the altars of the sun god, and in Persia it was attached to the crowns of kings when they appeared in public. Romans burned myrrh at funerals and cremations, which helps to explain its inclusion in the list of spices in Revelation 18:13. Today it is used in perfumes, lotions, and even in toothpaste.

Varieties of myrrh grow in the Horn of Africa and Madagascar, so people from those areas should have no difficulty finding words for it. As to whether the myrrh in Exodus 30:23 was liquid or solid, there seems to be no consensus, and the translator may be forgiven for simply ignoring the Hebrew word deror . Possible transliterations are Hebrew mor, Arabic mar, French mireh, and Spanish/Portuguese mirra.

Harvesting myrrh, Wikimedia Commons

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

See also mixture of myrrh with aloes.

ivory

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “ivory” in English was translated in the 1900 Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) translation (a newer version was published in 2000) as tûgânigdlo or “(narwhal) tusks.” “The word tûgâĸ (modern tuugaaq) ‘tusk’ does not refer specifically to the tusk of an elephant; rather, it is most closely associated with the noun tûgâlik (modern tuugaalik) ‘narwhal,’ which literally means ‘tusked one.’ The narwhal (Monodon monoceros ) is a medium-sized whale with a single long tusk, and is native to the Arctic region, including Greenland. The use of the word tûgâĸ (modern tuugaaq) as an equivalent of ‘ivory’ has the unmistakable effect of situating the Greenlandic version in an Arctic context.” (Source: Lily Kahn & Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi in The Bible Translator 2019, p. 125ff.)

cassia

Zohary (Plants of the Bible. Cambridge University Press, 1982) is confident that the substance referred to by the Hebrew words qiddah and qetsi‘ah is oil or powder derived from the leaves, twigs, or bark of the cassia Cinnamomum cassia, a tree found in East Asia. The name “cassia” may possibly come from the Khasi people of north-eastern India and Bangladesh; earlier they lived in the area of Assam and Burma and were involved in the ancient cassia trade. So cassia oil may have been brought into Israel from East Asia. However, with respect to “cassia” and “cinnamon” in Exod 30:23 and 24, Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992) argues that these spices were probably not Asian spices as has often been supposed. Quoting research by Lucas and Harris on ancient Egyptian materials, he says that there is no evidence of these Asian spices in tombs in Egypt. If they were being transported by the deprived Israelites, why were they not used by the more prosperous Egyptians? Further, how was Moses to have access to these substances in remote Sinai? Hepper favors southern Arabia and northeastern Africa as sources for fragrant barks and resins.

Asian cassia trees grow to 10 meters (33 feet) tall. They have distinctive opposite leaves with three lighter-colored veins or ribs radiating from the base. Their rather small flowers droop in bunches.

Cassia is closely related to the well-known spice, cinnamon. In fact, much of the “cinnamon” sold in North America is cassia. Europeans and South Americans tend to use the real cinnamon from Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Since cassia is native to East Asia, translators there will know it by a local name. Since the passages that refer to cassia are non-rhetorical, translators elsewhere may transliterate this term from a major language. Cassia is of the genus Cinnamomum, which is completely different from the genus Cassia of which there are many species in Africa. So transliterations based on “cassia” are potentially misleading in Africa. To avoid a wrong association with African cassia (which is not aromatic), African translators could do one of the following:

1. transliterate from the Hebrew qiddah;
2. transliterate from English (kasiya) and write a footnote saying this tree has no relationship to the cassia tree of Africa;
3. substitute a well-known sweet-smelling gum.

Cassia, Wikimedia Commons

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

complete verse (Psalm 45:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 45:8:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
    from the houses of kingships beautified with ivory
    the songs of the stringed instruments make you happy.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “Fragrance like myrrh and cassia comes from your garments. In a palace decorated with ivory
    Those who play musical instruments make You glad.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “Your (sing.) clothes are-fragrant with making-fragrant [Linker] myrrh/[mira], aloe and cassia/[kasia].
    You (sing.) are-comforting/making-happy by the sound of the instruments in your (sing.) palace which has/(is-adorned-with) expensive decoration(s).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Eastern Bru:
    “Your clothes are all fragrant with the sap from a good smelling tree. And there are skilled people playing musical instruments welcoming others into your house, a house where the tusks of elephants are used to make very beautiful things.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “Your clothes are smelling sweet oil,
    people sing a song to you who is a king,
    the teeth of the elephants give your houses to be beautiful.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Nguo zako zinatoa harufu nzuri,
    ya mafuta, dawa na mdalasini.
    Wapiga vinubi wanakufurahisha,
    katika nyumba ya ikulu,
    ambazo zimepambwa na pembe za ndovu.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “The perfume of various spices is on your robes.
    People entertain you/make you happy in ivory palaces
    by playing stringed instruments.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 45:8 - 45:9

The poet describes the magnificence of the royal court. The king’s robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. All three are perfumes derived from vegetable substance. Good News Translation has by use of “perfume of” indicated the nature of the substances, and names only two of them. The Hebrew text is a bit unusual, and New English Bible has “powder of aloes” for “aloes and cassia” of most other translations. In languages where there are known substances for making perfume, these may be substituted for myrrh and aloes and cassia. Alternatively, the translator must either employ the specific terms with a generic such as “substance,” or use some kind of descriptive phrase; for example, “a sweet smelling liquid.”

Ivory palaces (see 1 Kgs 22.39) are not palaces completely built of ivory, but palaces decorated with ivory, either in the building itself or in the furniture (see 1 Kgs 10.18; Amos 3.15; 6.4). The expression ivory palaces may be rendered in various ways. In some languages one may use a borrowed term for ivory and accompany it with a generic term; for example, “a material called ivory.” In other cases where ivory is unfamiliar, it can be compared to other materials such as bone, teeth, and animal horns; for example, “a material that looks like bone.” There is little point in using “elephants’ teeth” if elephants are unknown.

The stringed instruments in verse 8b are not further identified (the word occurs elsewhere only in 150.4); New English Bible “music of strings.” New Jerusalem Bible translates “lutes”; New Jerusalem Bible “harps.” Good News Translation has “musicians” instead of musical instruments; the translation can be “the music that is played….”

In verse 9 your ladies of honor is a rather polite designation of the women of the king’s harem. Some of them were royal princesses, daughters of kings. The phrase translated of honor is taken by some to mean “your prized possessions,” “your most valuable belongings.” New Jerusalem Bible has “Royal princesses are your favorites.” In some languages ladies of honor may be rendered, for example, “women who have the honor of serving you.”

At your right is the place of honor (see 16.11). In some languages the right hand is called “the man hand,” which is both the position of honor and on the side of power. The word translated queen is an unusual one, occurring only here and in Nehemiah 2.6; it can mean “queen mother” (so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch footnote). Here the queen is the bride herself; the poet is describing the royal court, and not talking about a woman who is already queen, other than the queen-to-be (unless, in fact, the king’s mother is being referred to). In some languages no distinction exists between wife, woman, and bride. However, if the queen referred to is to be understood as the bride, it is often possible to qualify by saying “the Queen-woman the king will marry” or “the woman the king will marry.”

Gold of Ophir: it is not known exactly where Ophir was; southwest Arabia seems the most likely location. Its gold was the finest (see 1 Kgs 9.28; 10.11; Job 22.24; 28.16), and so Good News Translation has translated the phrase as “ornaments of finest gold.”

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 .

Psalm 45: Layer by Layer

The following are presentations by the Psalms: Layer by Layer project, run by Scriptura . The first is an overview and the second an introduction into the exegesis of Psalm 45.


Copyright © Scriptura


Copyright © Scriptura