The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “vineyard” in English is translated in Noongar as boodjer-djildjiyang, lit. “land for fruit.” (Source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).
See also vine.
henna
Henna Lawsonia inermis grew wild in the oases by the Dead Sea in Old Testament times. It is also known as “Egyptian privet” and is common in the hot, drier parts of Africa, southern Asia, and northern Australia. Although henna was, and is, primarily used because of its coloring properties derived from the dried leaves, in Song of Songs 1:14 the writer mentions its flowers, which are indeed pretty and fragrant. They are in a “cluster” (’eshkol in Hebrew), which could be taken as a woven object parallel to the little bag of myrrh in verse 13 or as a garland, or simply as a clump of flowers in the cultivated terraces above En-Gedi. The reference to henna in Song of Songs 4:13 is strange since it is in the plural form in Hebrew (kefarim), parallel to the yet stranger Hebrew word neradim (from nerd; see spikenard). Neither of these plants has significant fruit, so the verse can be taken as a glorious concoction of romantic images of spices and flowers.
Henna is a shrub that reaches 2‑3 meters (7‑10 feet) in height. It has opposite leaves and many fragrant white flowers. The leaves yield a red juice that people in many countries use for coloring the skin and hair.
The context is clearly metaphorical in both references to henna, so there is the possibility of substituting locally known equivalents. In places where henna is known only as an agent for coloring the hair, skin or fingernails, it may be important to substitute, or to create a note stating that the smell and beauty of the flowers are in focus. In Song of Songs 4:13 most translations ignore the plural, perhaps assuming that it is influenced by the word “fruits” earlier. Alternatively, a transliteration can be used based on a major language. The recent resurgence in skin decoration (“mehndi”) using henna may make it easier to find a known word.
Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)
complete verse (Song of Solomon 1:14)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Song of Solomon 1:14:
- Kupsabiny: “My beloved is like flowers,
those that are in the fields of vines in En-gedi.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation) - Newari: “My beloved, to me you are like a cluster of henna blossoms
from the vineyards of En Gedi.” (Source: Newari Back Translation) - Hiligaynon: “He (is) like a cluster of henna flowers, that are-blossoming in the fields of grapes at/in En Gedi.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “He is like a bunch of flowers from the vineyards at En-Gedi.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
vine
The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated in English typically as “vine” is translated in Lak as къюмайтӀутӀул мурхьра: “the (grape-) cluster tree.”
Vitaly Voinov tells this story: “Laks (who live in the mountainous regions of Dagestan) historically have had no experience with planting and tending vineyards. They buy grapes at the market or the store, but that’s about all they know of grape growing. Thus, in field testing, none of the readers could picture the primary image of this chapter. The translator’s initial attempt of rendering ‘vine’ as ‘grape stalk’ met with complete non-understanding. After much discussion of the problem and potential solutions, we settled on what one of the field testing respondents suggested to remedy the problem: ‘vine’ was rendered as ‘the (grape-)cluster tree’ (къюмайтӀутӀул мурхьра). Technically grapes of course don’t grow on trees, but something had to be put in the text, and it had to be said in a way that the average reader/hearer could understand it. The Lak team could have borrowed the Russian word for ‘vine’ (лоза), but since this is a very low-frequency word in the Russian language, it’s likely that many Laks wouldn’t know the Russian word either. So the team settled for a reduction of accuracy in order to achieve greater clarity. After all, the primary point of importance in this passage is not a horticultural analysis, but a metaphorical comparison to the spiritual world, to the relationship between the Father, His Son, and the followers of Jesus. This rendering allows readers to get to the core of this meaning without getting tangled up in unknown terms.”
In Elhomwe it is translated as “tree of grapes” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext), Akan (Fante dialect) and Ewe have “wine tree” (source: Anthony Badu in Journal of Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics and Theology 2021, p. 88ff. ).
The Common Grape Vine Vitis vinifera is mentioned more often than any other plant or tree in the Bible. Excavations in Greece have discovered grape seeds dating to 4500 B.C. Egyptian records document the existence of cultivated vines in Canaan as early as 2375 B.C., and subsequent records report trade in vine products around 1360 B.C. and many times thereafter.
The vine is a creeping plant that develops a woody stem when it matures. It grows along the ground until it finds a tree or other object to climb, using tendrils. It bears bunches of small round fruit that are sweet and juicy. Today farmers grow them commercially throughout the Mediterranean area, in South Africa, in North America, and in many other countries. The first reference to the vine in the Bible (Genesis 9:20) tells us that Noah planted a vineyard (Hebrew kerem) and that he made an alcoholic drink from the fruit. Farmers since then have improved on the size, color, and quality of the fruit by careful pruning and selection until now there are at least 65 kinds of grapevines. Like many other plants in temperate areas, the vine has leaves that appear in early spring. After the fruit is picked and the weather gets cold, the leaves drop off and the plant is bare until the following spring. A typical vineyard in Bible times was surrounded by a stone fence. It had a stone tower from which the owner could watch for predators, and a place to squeeze the juice out of the fruits.
The vine is the most frequently cited plant in the Bible, and that alone makes it special. Vines, grapes, raisins, and wine were a major element of Jewish life, so it is not a surprise that the vine and its products are used figuratively probably more than any other Bible plant. After the flood purified the earth at the time of Noah, the vine became the means by which the human race was plunged again into sin (Genesis 9:20). We know from Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 49:11f. and other passages that the vine was the symbol of blessing, prosperity, and happiness. The fact that there were groups like the Nazirites and Rechabites who abstained from drinking wine simply shows the radical self-denial that these people imposed on themselves. A drink offering of wine was an important part of worship (Exodus 29:40), and the image of contentment was “every man under his vine and under his fig tree” (Micah 4:4). Jotham includes the vine in his well-known Parable of the Trees (Judges 9:7ff.). In the New Testament, Jesus rescued a man from humiliation at a wedding party by miraculously providing a fresh supply of wine (John 2:1ff.). Wine becomes a major symbol in the Christian community when Jesus foreshadows his crucifixion by comparing the wine poured out in the Passover celebration to his blood (Matthew 26:27f. et al.). He speaks of the need for Christians to be like the branches of the vine, drawing their nourishment from him, the True Vine (John 15.:1ff.). Nearly every New Testament writer makes some metaphorical reference to the vine or its products.
There are around 65 kinds of grapevines (Vitis vinifera) found in the Northern Hemisphere. They belong to a larger family of creeping plants called Vitaceae, which has over 800 species throughout the world including many in the tropical and warm climates of the world.
Grapevines have occasionally been grown in West Africa (for example, in The Gambia and in northern Nigeria) but are not well known even where they are grown commercially. Attempts at substituting a local tree name have not been entirely successful because the species chosen is usually not cultivated and/or does not have the same economic or social function that the grape had in Israel.
Thus it is probably best to use a transliteration from a major language. However, in parts of Nigeria and perhaps elsewhere, the word grep refers to “grapefruit” and should be avoided in translation. A transliteration from “vine” or “wine” is preferred, although a translator needs to be careful. The English word “vine” refers to any creeping plant, but it also refers to a particular kind of vine that produces grapes (Vitis vinifera). This can be confusing. Furthermore, translators in English-speaking countries should think carefully about what they are going to do with the word “wine.” In The Gambia, Mandinka translators first used “wayini tree” but later concluded that it may be better to have a word for “vine” that is not necessarily identical with “wine.” Bine, from binekaro (“vinegar”), was considered, as was inabi (“grape”) from Arabic.
Languages that borrow the Arabic word inabi must deal with the fact that this word bears an unfortunate resemblance to annabi (“prophet”) and new readers reading “water of inabi” in a context of prophecy may associate it, for better or worse, with prophets and prophecy. In northern Nigeria church people have gotten used to inabi in the New Testament even though many of them don’t know what it is. Basa in Nigeria uses a wild grape-like plant (afwafwa), and Igala has used the same species (achiwebetema) for years. Likewise, two translations in Mali and Burkina Faso use their local name for a wild vine (Lannea microcarpa) for the biblical vine. There is a species (Rhoicissus tridentata) in southern and eastern Africa known as “African grape” (locally called “bobbejaantou”). In such cases translators should write a footnote (or glossary item) stating that the grapes of Bible times were larger and sweeter than the local variety, and that they were cultivated extensively as a source for producing beverages. Other possibilities for transliteration are: vinyola/videra (Portuguese), vitis (Latin), and inab (Arabic).
Fruit of the vine (Hebrew ‘enav; Greek botrus, staphulē): There is some evidence that botrus refers to a bunch of grapes, while staphulē refers to individual grapes. According to Louw and Nida (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, 1988), however, both words may refer to individual grapes as well as bunches of grapes. The Hebrew word tirosh is equivalent to the word “vintage” in English, that is, the grape harvest and possibly the first squeezing of the grapes. It is normally used along with the words referring to the olive harvest (yitshar) and grain harvest (dagan).
Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)
Translation commentary on Song of Songs 1:14
This second and parallel description of the woman’s lover likens him to a cluster of henna blossoms. The henna plant is a fragrant shrub that grows in tall clusters. Its flowers produce a red or yellow dye often used for beauty purposes. Henna is also known as “cypress flower.” If henna is not known, translators can use a general term such as “fragrant flowers,” or use the name of a local plant with these same properties. Good News Translation “wild flowers” may or may not have the qualities of the henna, and so it is probably not a good model to follow.
This verse has the same basic structure as the previous verse, but we note that in Hebrew we have a simple location phrase, in the vineyards of En-gedi. En-gedi is an oasis on the southwestern shores of the Dead Sea; it is known as a refreshing and fertile place because it is watered by a spring. En-gedi, ending in -di, repeats the sounds of the previous words dodi li (“my lover to me”), thus giving a kind of internal rhyme.
On a first reading this phrase seems to be showing the location or origin of the henna blossoms; this is how Revised Standard Version understands it. But, following the pattern in verse 13, we can also understand that the young man is in the vineyards of En-gedi. We have already noted that the word vineyard has strong sexual overtones. Further the word En-gedi means literally “spring of a young goat.” Later in the poem the young man calls his lover “a garden fountain, a well flowing with water” (4.15). In 1.8 the young woman is described as shepherding a flock of goats. As the phrase in the vineyards of En-gedi parallels the phrase “between the breasts” in the previous verse, it is likely that this expression too refers to a part of the woman’s body. Thus we presume vineyards of En-gedi is a euphemism, possibly referring to the woman’s genital region.
In translation we may need to add the word “fragrance” to make clear that henna blossoms carry this sense. When rendering the place name En-gedi, it may be useful to add a footnote indicating its location, and also perhaps noting that it has a euphemistic meaning linked with fertility.
As was the case with the previous verse, we may have to turn this metaphor into a simile, introducing comparison words such as “like” or “as.” We may also have to make clear the basis of the comparison. If we decide that the sweet smell of the henna is being emphasized, we can say “My beloved is as fragrant as…” or “My lover is sweet-smelling, like henna….”
We can say:
• My lover is like [a bunch of] fragrant [henna] flowers in the vineyards of Engedi.*
• My beloved is as fragrant as the flowers in the vineyards of the oasis at Engedi.
The footnote can say something like:
*An oasis west of the Dead Sea [known for its fertility].
Alternatively we can follow Good News Translation.
Verses 12-14 form a unit and can be translated as such in poetic form. If parallel structures are appreciated, the parallelism in verses 13 and 14 can be highlighted:
• As my king lay on his bed,
My fragrance filled the air!
My lover is like a sachet of myrrh
Sleeping close to me all the night.
My lover is like a cluster of henna,
Blooming in the vineyards of Engedi.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Song of Songs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1998. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
SIL Translator’s Notes on Song of Songs 1:14
1:14a
My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms: This clause is a metaphor. The woman compares the man to the fragrance of henna blossoms. He was as pleasing as those sweet-smelling flowers. If a metaphor does not communicate the meaning clearly, some other ways to translate it are:
• Use a simile. For example:
My beloved is to me like a cluster of henna blossoms
• Indicate explicitly how the man was like the henna blossoms. For example:
My beloved is ⌊as delightful⌋ to me as the sweet-smelling henna flowers
Translate the metaphor in a way that will communicate clearly in your language.
a cluster of henna blossoms: henna is a large shrub with clusters of fragrant flowers that grows in tropical climates. It may be called by a different name in your area, so you may want to consult an expert on plants to determine the local name.
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