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.

frankincense

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated in English as “frankincense” is translated in Lokạạ as ebạạm yạ insẹnsii or “sap of incense.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

 

Frankincense Boswellia sacra is a yellow or reddish gum produced by one of the fifteen aromatic species of Boswellia. It was probably imported into Israel from Arabia, Africa, or Asia. Egyptian pictorial records indicate that Queen Hatshepsut travelled to a place called “Punt” (possibly Somalia or even India) and brought back specimens that look like Boswellia trees, planting them in her palace garden. Some people call frankincense olibanum (a Middle Eastern word meaning “incense”), but it is possible that olibanum may properly refer only to Boswellia serrata from India, which has a lemon/lime smell as opposed to the orange smell of true frankincense.

Today the best frankincense is reputed to come from Oman, but Yemen and Somalia also produce a lot of it. The name olibanum may come from the Arabic al-lubán (milk) or from the equivalent of “oil of Lebanon.” The Hebrew word levonah can mean either “white” or “Lebanese.”

Boswellia trees are actually shrubs reaching 3 meters (10 feet) in height, with multiple trunks coming from the ground. They have pinnate leaves and small greenish or white flowers. The gum of Boswellia trees comes out by itself in little drops from the branches and twigs, but it can also be extracted by cutting through the bark of the trunk. The resin appears in globs and hardens.

Frankincense was an ingredient of the incense burned in the Tabernacle of ancient Israel, and it was prescribed as part of their cereal offerings.

A classifier will be useful if available (for example, “resin of”). Transliterations of the word for frankincense from Hebrew (labona, lebonahi), Greek (libano), French (bosweli, olibán), or Arabic (akor, mager, mogar) will be more readable than those from English (firankinsensi).

Boswellia sacra, Wikimedia Commons

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

complete verse (Song of Solomon 4:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Song of Solomon 4:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “When the sun has broken, and the shadows are disappearing,
    I will go to the hill where oil that smells sweet is sprinkled
    and the hill of those things that emit incense.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Before the day breaks and the shadows disappear,
    I go to the mountain of Myrrh and to the hill of incense.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Before (it) dawns and before the darkness disappears/is-gone, I will-stay on your (sing.) chest/breast that (is) just-like the mountains that smell of myrrh/[mira] and incense/[insenso].” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Until dawn tomorrow morning
    and the nighttime shadows/darkness disappear,
    I will lie close to your breasts
    that are like hills that are covered with incense.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Song of Songs 4:6

Thus far the poem has been entirely in the second person as the young man addresses the young woman. Suddenly in this verse there is a shift to first person. It is as if the young man is overcome by his own words and wants to find his lover as soon as possible.

On the opening phrase see comments on 2.17. The meaning is “Before morning dawns and the darkness disappears.”

I will hie me: the Hebrew is unusual here. Revised Standard Version and New Jerusalem Bible translate hie, or “go,” with a reflexive verb (New Jerusalem Bible “I will betake me”). There may be urgency in his statement, “I must go…,” or perhaps determination, “I am determined to go….” Contemporary English Version translates “I will hurry.” The young man appears overcome by his lover’s physical beauty. When he says “I shall take myself to…,” he is not thinking of traveling somewhere. The following terms mountain and hill are clearly metaphors for her breasts.

Good News Translation translates the verb “go” by “stay” and reverses the order of the clauses, “I will stay on the hill … until the morning….” This way of putting it suggests, however, that he is already there, and so does not seem to reflect the original meaning faithfully.

The mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense are parallel phrases. On the two spices, myrrh and frankincense, see the comments in 3.6. Reference here is to the young woman’s body, her breasts in particular. This understanding fits with the mention in 1.13 of the young man lying between her breasts like a sachet containing myrrh.

In some languages a literal translation may be understood to refer to two locations, a high mountain and a low hill. If the real sense of these terms is a reference to the woman’s breasts, such an understanding is inappropriate. Therefore it may be more helpful to reduce the parallelism and say “mountains of myrrh and frankincense.” Contemporary English Version adds a demonstrative, “those hills,” making a direct reference back to “breasts” in verse 5. This shows very clearly the transition between the two verses and gives quite a poetic effect:

• I will hurry to those hills
covered with perfume
and stay there until dawn.

Other possible translations are:

• I shall go to your mountain of myrrh and hill of frankincense.

• I shall come to your spiced [or, sweet-smelling] mountains.

For the entire verse, we can suggest:

• Before day breaks and shadows flee,
I will go to your mountains of spice.

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 4:6

4:6

Verse 6 clearly refers back to 2:17. In 2:17, the woman spoke to the man. Here in 4:6, the man speaks to the woman. He repeats what she said about the time of day and mountains in 2:17, but he changes it slightly to express his desire for her.

4:6a–b

In 4:6a–b the author repeats exactly what he said in 2:17a–b. See the discussion under 2:17a–b. As in 2:17, the phrase “the day breaks” probably refers to the cool breezes that often come in the late afternoon in that region. The phrase “shadows flee” probably refers to the disappearing of shadows at the end of day. So both 2:17a–b and 4:6a–b refer to late afternoon or evening. You should translate these two passages in the same way.

Before the day breaks and the shadows flee: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Before can be translated in different ways depending on the context. In 2:17a–b, the Notes suggested the translation “until” because the man and woman were together. Here in 4:6 the man wanted to hurry and go to her (4:6c), so it may be more natural to translate the Hebrew word in a different way like “when” or “as soon as.” For example:

As soon as the evening breeze cools the day and the shadows disappear, I will hurry…
-or-
When the day brings a cool breeze and the shadows flee, I will go… (God’s Word)

4:6c–d

I will make my way to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense: The phrase I will make my way means “I will go” or “I will hurry.” In this statement the man indicated that he was eager to be with his bride. He wanted to hurry to her.

The phrases the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense are parallel metaphors. They probably refer to either the woman herself (including her body, as in 3:6c) or specifically to her breasts (mentioned in 4:5). She was like mountains that were covered with sweet-smelling myrrh and frankincense. By saying this, the man was using a delicate way to express his desire to have intimate relations with her.

Some ways to translate this statement are:

• Keep the metaphor of sweet-smelling spices. For example:

I will hurry to the ⌊sweet-smelling⌋ mountains of myrrh and frankincense.
-or-
I will go to enjoy the fragrant hills.

• Use a simile. For example:

I will hurry to my love who is as sweet-smelling/delightful as the best perfume.

• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

I will hurry to my sweet-smelling bride.

Translate the figures of speech in a natural way in your language.

myrrh: myrrh was an expensive imported perfume that is not native to Israel. For more information, see the note on 3:6c. You should probably translate myrrh in the same way here.

frankincense: frankincense is a kind of fragrant incense that is not native to Israel. For more information, see the note on frankincense in 3:6c. You should probably translate frankincense in the same way here.

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