bear (animal)

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “bear” in English is translated in Mungaka and Berom as “leopard” since bears are not known in that culture (see also wolf) (source: Nama 1990 and Andy Warren-Rothlin).

In Vidunda and Kutu it is translated as “lion,” in Kwere as “cheetah” (in Proverbs 17:12) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext) and in Idakho-Isukha-Tiriki as “jackal” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).

Michel Kenmogne comments on this and comparable translations (in Noss 2007, p. 378 ff.): “Some exegetical solutions adopted by missionary translations may have been acceptable during that time frame, but weighed against today’s translation theory and procedures, they appear quite outdated and even questionable. For example, Atangana Nama approvingly mentions the translation into Mungaka of terms like ‘deer’ as ‘leopard’, ‘camel’ as ‘elephant’, and ‘wheat’ as ‘maize,’ where the target language has no direct equivalent to the source text. These pre-Nida translation options, now known as adaptations, would be declared unacceptable in modern practice, since they misrepresent the historico-zoological and agricultural realities in the Bible. Nowadays it is considered better to give a generalized term, like ‘grain,’ and where necessary specify ‘a grain called wheat,’ than to give an incorrect equivalence. Unknown animals such as bears, can be called ‘fierce animals,’ especially if the reference is a non-historical context.”

 

The bear that was known in biblical times was the Syrian Brown Bear ursus arctos syriacus. The same word in Hebrew refers to either male or female bears, and it is the gender of the associated words that will indicate the gender of the bear in a specific context.

The Syrian brown bear is very large, similar to the North American Grizzly Bear ursus horribilis, or the European Brown Bear ursus arctos. It has a rather doglike face. It has thick fur, and walks on all fours, but may stand up on its back legs to get a better view. When it stands up like this it may be 2 meters (6 feet) or more tall. It may also weigh over two hundred kilos (440 pounds). Like many other bears Syrian brown bears accumulate fat by gorging themselves in the summer and autumn, and then they sleep through the winter in caves or holes they have dug under logs.

Although its basic food is roots, berries, wild fruit, mice, and lizards, occasionally a rogue bear might kill small livestock. Bears are not able to see very well, and this means that often a person gets quite close to a bear before either one sees the other. The bear is then likely to attack, striking out with its strong digging claws and perhaps biting. Female bears are very protective of their young.

In the Bible, bears and lions are often mentioned together, both being symbols of fierce strength and danger. The female bear in particular was viewed as dangerous, especially if she had young.

In 2 Samuel 17:8, 2 Kings 2:24, Proverbs 17:12, and Hosea 13:8 the translation into languages which mark gender should indicate female bears, but elsewhere males can be assumed.

For translators in the Northern Hemisphere, finding a word for bear is not usually too difficult. The best choice is a generic word for “bear” rather than the specific word for a type of bear. If a specific word must be used, the word for the grizzly bear is suitable in North America, while in Europe and parts of Asia the European brown bear is the closest relative to the Syrian brown bear. In parts of mainland Asia where the brown bear is not known, the word for the Himalayan Black Bear selenarctos thibetanus is the best choice. The word for the sloth bear of India and Ceylon, or for the sun and moon bears of Malaysia, Indo-China, and Indonesia should be avoided, since these bears have small teeth and are not dangerous.

In the higher parts of South America the word for the Spectacled Bear tremarctos ornatus can be used if this animal is known to the readers. For translators elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, the problem is more difficult, especially in areas where bears are not known. The use of the name for a local animal is seldom successful, since the more dangerous local animals are usually too different from bears. The only alternative is to transliterate the name from the dominant major or trade language of the area, or from the original biblical language, with a glossary item saying something like: “A bear is a large dangerous animal with big claws and teeth.”

Syrian Brown Bear, Wikimedia Commons

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

worm / maggot

In English, “worm” is a fairly general word, while “grub” refers to worms and insect larvae that eat fruit and some vegetables such as beans. “Maggot” refers to the worm-like larvae flies and beetles, which feed on decaying meat or flesh. The Hebrew words tole‘ah and tola‘ath are fairly general terms for worms of all kinds, regardless of what the worms eat.

In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers there occurs the phrase tola‘ath shani, literally “worm of scarlet”. The Hebrew name indicates both a scarlet color and the dye producing this color. The dye is made from the kermes insect Coccus ilicis, which was found in the Ararat region. The dye was traded by the Phoenicians, who carried it to the Middle East, North Africa, southern Europe, Mesopotamia, and even further.

Unlike the more general words tole‘ah and tola‘ath, rimah and its Greek equivalent skōlēx refer exclusively in the Bible to flesh-eating worms, in other words, maggots. The use of “worm” and “vermin” in modern English versions is motivated by the fact that to say that one’s own body is covered with maggots is repulsive and impolite in English culture. It may not be in other cultures.

Worms, grubs, and maggots are small, soft, legless, tube-shaped creatures that have no bones or shells. They typically feed on overripe fruit, rotting meat, and similar things. Most are actually larvae that hatch from the eggs laid by flies or some beetles. Most of them mature into pupae and then into adult forms of the parent insects.

In the Bible worms and maggots are symbols of uncleanness, decay and insignificance. In Psalms 22:6 and Isaiah 41:14 the word tola‘ath signifies a very insignificant human being or even nation. Where comparing a person with a worm or maggot will not convey the same meaning, it may be possible to find some other insect which symbolizes insignificance. Where no such comparison exists, it will be necessary to follow something like “weak and helpless as a worm.”

Maggots were a symbol of uncleanness, decay, and death. In Job 25:6 the maggot is symbolic of a repulsive, insignificant person.

Worms and maggots are found universally, and finding equivalents should not be too hard. However, in many languages there are specific words for different kinds of worms or maggots, but no generic word that includes them all. In such cases the individual contexts should guide the translator. When the reference is to worms destroying grapes or olives, a suitable word for such a context should be found; when the reference is to maggots that feed on corpses, a suitable word for these contexts should be used. It is more important to translate appropriately for a given context than it is to translate one Hebrew or Greek word the same way every time.

The use of a word for a flesh-eating worm or maggot is appropriate for all contexts.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

sparrow

While the Greek word strouthion is certainly the name for the sparrow, the Hebrew tsippor is actually an inclusive word that refers to sparrow-sized birds in general. These small birds, especially sparrows, were caught in nets and traps and were an important part of the diet of poor people.

There are three types of sparrow that are common in Israel, the House Sparrow Passer domesticus, the Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis, and the Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus. All three are small speckled brown birds. Additional small birds that abound around towns and settlements are members of the bunting, finch, and tit families. Sparrows in particular are usually found in fairly large numbers roosting and nesting together. All are seed eaters and live mainly on grass seeds and grain.

Sparrows were considered clean birds and were associated with the poor.

Sparrows or sparrow-like small birds are found all over the world. Finding a local word is not usually difficult. The reference to “a lonely bird on the housetop” in Psalms 102:7 takes on additional meaning if the sparrow was intended, since it is a bird that is seldom seen alone. It would then indicate the psalmist’s sense of loneliness at being separated from those with whom he belongs.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

swallow / swift

Swallows, martins, and swifts are birds that look and behave in very similar fashion, and in many places where they are found, all are popularly known by one name only. This is true in English too, since all three types of bird are usually referred to as “swallows” by people who are not expert bird-watchers. Scientifically, swallows and martins are related, but the swifts are birds of a completely different family.

The fact that most English versions translate all three Hebrew words as “swallow” reflects the usage of the average person. However, it is likely that deror is strictly speaking the swallow and the martin, while sus and sis (differently pronounced forms of the same word) indicate the swift. In modern Hebrew sis is the name for the swift, and deror is the name for the sparrow, not the swallow.

The Greek word chelidōn refers to either swallows or swifts.

Four species of swift, three species of martin, and two species of swallow are common in Israel. The Common Swift Apus apus, the Pallid Swift Apus pallidus, the Alpine Swift Apus melba, and the Little Swift Apus affinis are all migrant birds that spend the whole summer in Israel. This is also true of one type of swallow, the Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica, and the House Martin Delichon urbica. Another species of martin, the Pale Crag Martin Hirundo obsolete is permanently resident there. The remaining species of martin and swallow are passing migrants that stay only a few days, although a few individual birds may stay all summer in Israel while the majority passes on.

Swallows, martins, and swifts are all small birds with long slender wings and short legs. They fly at great speed for long periods on end, twisting and turning, usually in fairly large groups. They catch insects in the air as they fly. The Hebrew name deror is derived from a word meaning “free,” probably a reference to this wonderful ability to fly freely at speed, swooping, diving, and turning, with no need to stop for a rest. The name sus or sis refers to the swishing sound the fast-flying swifts make in the air as they pass.

The common swift makes a noise described in many bird books as a “high-pitched scream”, especially in the breeding season, but it also keeps up a noisy twittering almost constantly, especially near the places where it roosts. This is also a common feature of some other types of swift and many types of martin.

The common swift, house martin, European swallow, red-rumped swallow, and pale crag martin all make their nests under overhangs on rock faces, in caves, or in human structures, such as buildings and the underside of bridges. (Psalms 84:4 speaks of the deror making its nest in the Temple.) The swifts make their nests out of grass and leaves cemented together with their saliva (it is the nest of a swift that is collected by Chinese people for the famous bird’s nest soup). The swallows and martins make their nests out of small pellets of mud mixed with grass. Both types of nest are bonded to a rock or wall, usually close to an overhanging projection such as a roof.
Swallows and swifts are amazing migrants. Some species migrate from central Africa to the Far East and to parts of southwestern China, others move from northern Russia and Scandinavia to South Africa. One group of swallows is known to have covered more than 12 ,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) in thirty-five days. When gathering for migration, or when stopping briefly on their way, they can often be seen in the hundreds of thousands. In Bangkok in one night, university students counted nearly two million migrating swallows roosting on the telephone and power lines in the city. They were gone the following day.

These birds were noted for a) their regular migration, b) their unending flight, c) the fact that they build nests in human dwellings, and, in the case of the swift, d) their unending, and perhaps sad-sounding noise.

Swifts, swallows, and martins are found worldwide. If the local language makes a difference between swifts and swallows, then deror should be translated as “swallow” and sus and sis as “swift”. In most languages, however, both families of bird are called by the same name, so that only one word will be used to translate the three Hebrew words.
Proverbs 26:2 makes reference to the fact that swallows can fly the whole day without stopping once.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

lizard

There is a reasonably strong consensus among scholars that leta’ah refers to the lacertid and agama lizards, both of which are common and fairly obvious in Israel. The lacertids are soft-skinned lizards that live in close proximity to roads and houses. One of the more colorful is the Syrian Green Lizard Lacerta trilineata, which lives in orchards and woods. The most common of the agamas is the Rainbow Agama Agama stellio, which is very common around houses and on walls and rocks.

Most scholars agree that tsav is the name for the dab or thorn-tailed lizards of which there are many species in Israel. Two of the most common are the Egyptian Thorn-tailed Lizard Uromastyx aegyptius and the Colored Thorn-tailed Lizard Uromastyx ornatus. The name “dab” is an English version of their Arabic name dhabb (ضب), which is reflected in the Hebrew tsav.

Lacertid lizards (leta’ah) are fairly small, about 15-20 centimeters (6-8 inches) long, and they have a shiny smooth skin. Syrian green lizards have dark green spots on a lighter green background, with a yellow-green belly. They feed on flies, gnats, mosquitoes, and ants.

The rainbow agama is much larger, reaching 50-60 centimeters (20-24 inches) in length. In the breeding season the male develops bright colors, with a blue tail, green body, and bright orange or bright green head, dependent on the subspecies. The females and non-breeding males are a dull gray color. All agamas are characterized by the fact that they bob their heads vigorously by doing “push-ups” with their front legs. They have long, fairly stiff tails, which they raise when they run. They feed on a wide variety of insects and also prey on smaller lizards. In most of the Arab-speaking world they are known as hardoun lizards. Some agamas have the ability to change color to match their surroundings in the same way that chameleons do.

The thorn-tailed lizards (tsav) are relatively large desert lizards with a length of about 65 centimeters (26 inches). They have a fairly thick, squat appearance and have a thick short tail covered with sharp spikes, which are actually cone-shaped scales. They use this tail for defense. They often crawl into holes or cracks in rocks and then block the entrance with their thorny tail. They are vegetarian, eating various succulent desert plants. Even though they are on the list of unclean foods, they are commonly eaten by Arabs and Bedouin, who keep them in cages and fatten them.

They are listed as unclean.

Agamas are found throughout Africa and in tropical Asia. Lacertids are found all over Europe. Elsewhere a general word for lizard can be used.

For tsav a phrase, such as “big thorny lizard” or “big lizard with a thorny tail”, is usually the best option. Where languages differentiate between smaller lizards and monitor lizards, “thorny monitor” or “monitor with a thorny tail” will better convey the idea of large size.

Egyptian thorn-tailed lizard, Wikimedia Commons

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

frog

There is little doubt that the Hebrew and Greek words mean “frog”. The plague of frogs mentioned in Exodus comes after the plague of polluted water. The frogs seem to have left the water and come into the villages. Since frogs eat flies and thus control fly populations, it seems likely that the death of the frogs was one of the causes of the next two plagues to trouble Egypt, namely gnats and flies.

The two most common frogs in the Middle East and Egypt are the Edible Frog Rana esculenta and the Spotted Frog Rana punctata. They are both about 70 millimeters (3 inches) long and are brown or olive-green in color. They live in the water almost all of the time and eat gnats, flies, and other waterside insects. They lay eggs, which hatch as tadpoles and gradually grow legs. The hind legs are much bigger and better developed than the front legs, since the hind legs are used for jumping.

Frogs were considered unclean by the Jews and also by the Egyptians and Persians, who associated them with demons.

Frogs are found all over the world, and there should be no problem in finding a local equivalent.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

locust / grasshopper / cricket

The locust is the most important insect in the Bible, being mentioned many more times than any other insect. Although there are nine Hebrew words in the Bible which refer to locusts, the most common one is ’arbeh. The equivalent in Greek is akris, and in Latin it is locusta. These words certainly refer to the locust rather than to the grasshopper. All locusts and grasshoppers belong to the family Acrididae, which is a family within the order Orthoptera, or “straight-winged” insects. Many species are found in the land of Israel and Egypt, but the most important are the Migratory Locust Locusta migratoria, the Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria, and the Moroccan Locust Dociostaurus moroccanus. All three species are an important local food and are probably all called ’arbeh in the Bible.

Grasshoppers and locusts are both six-legged, winged insects that are characterized by the fact that their third pair of legs is elongated and adapted to hopping. The lower portion of these legs has a row of spikes that are used both for making sounds and as a means of defense. The front wings are narrow, straight, and stiff. When not being used to fly, they function as a cover for thin, membrane-like hind wings, which are much larger and colored, and which are folded together like a Chinese fan. When the locust or grasshopper flies, it hops into the air spreading out its wings as it does so. It flies with a slight clattering sound, made by the stiff front wings striking each other.

Locusts differ from grasshoppers mainly in that they form swarms at certain periods and migrate to new areas, which they colonize. At other times they live either solitary or in small groups. Their reproduction rate varies with the climatic conditions. Eggs are laid in the soil in small packets, and hatching is related to the degree of humidity. In dry periods only a few hatch, but in periods of good rainfall they suddenly hatch out in exceptionally large numbers.

Unlike most other insects, locusts do not go through stages in which they exist as larvae or caterpillars. They emerge from the eggs as nymphs, which are simply tiny wingless locusts with undeveloped hopper legs. The nymphs, which can only crawl around, feed on green vegetation, consuming many times their own body weight each day. As they grow bigger and develop, they shed their skins. Their hopping legs develop before their wings, so that they pass through a stage when they can hop but not fly. At this stage, when they are referred to as “hoppers”, they exist in less dense masses than as nymphs, having spread out a little, but since they are now eating even more than before, they can still cause considerable damage to crops. Once they develop into adults they can both hop and fly. If the climatic conditions are right and exceptionally large numbers have developed to this stage, they completely devastate the vegetation where they have been developing. When this happens they begin to congregate in preparation for swarming. In other words they come together and migrate as a group to greener pastures, flying together in large swarms. At this congregating stage, during the migration and immediately after it, they present a major threat to crops and other vegetation, on which they feed unceasingly.

A locust swarm may consist of billions of locusts. A report of a single swarm in 1889 estimated for that swarm to cover 5,500 square kilometers (about 2,000 square miles). Certainly even in recent times swarms have been known large enough to blot out the sun like a large black cloud. The clattering of wings as the locusts approach is a sound hard to forget. Where the swarm lands, even temporarily, every green bush or clump of grass in sight is attacked by the locusts, and the sound of them munching on the leaves is clearly audible, sometimes for hours. Afterwards, hardly a single green leaf or blade of grass can be seen, and many bushes even have the bark eaten off, leaving them bare.

Against such enormous numbers ancient peoples felt absolutely helpless. There was no way they could stop the destruction. The lighting of grass fires helped only in a very small way. Ironically it is when locusts swarm like this that they can be easily caught in large numbers for eating. They are often caught in blankets, fishing nets, and baskets. The lower part of the hopping legs is snapped off, and they are cooked by toasting, grilling, frying, or broiling. In some places they are also eaten raw. When toasted and salted they taste a little like salted peanuts.

Some commentators have pointed out that the plague of locusts in Egypt probably provided the Israelites with food in the Arabian and Sinai deserts, since this is the usual migration route of locusts in that part of the world.

Following is a summary of the development cycle of the major locust species: Nymphs, which can only crawl, develop to a hopping stage; the hoppers develop wings and become adult locusts; if climatic conditions are right, these adults gather into swarms and migrate to new locations; the females lay eggs, and the whole cycle is repeated. There are thus four discernible phases: nymphs, hoppers, resident adults, and swarming or migrating adults. It is possible that chasil refers to the crawling nymph, yeleq to the juvenile hopper, ’arbeh to the resident adult, and gazam to the swarming adult. However, this is far from proven, as the words seem to be used almost interchangeably when referring to locust plagues.

Crickets and katydids: Crickets are a nocturnal relative of the locusts and grasshoppers. Some types have wings, others do not. They are usually black or brown, with shorter rounder bodies, and they shelter during the day under rocks or logs, or, in the case of the so-called mole crickets, in holes that they dig. At night they make characteristic high-pitched chirping sounds, which carry a surprisingly long way. Each species makes a slightly different sound. Like locusts and grasshoppers they feed on vegetation, usually leaves.

Katydids are similar to crickets but are usually green and have wings. They are active at night, when they make cricket-like chirping sounds, but settle during the day underneath leaves in trees. Their wings are leaf-shaped, and with their green color they have excellent camouflage. Some katydids eat other insects.

Both crickets and katydids have extremely long feelers.

Given their large numbers and swarming characteristics, it is small wonder that locusts were a symbol of a vast attacking army against which there was no defense. They were also a symbol of divine punishment.

The Migratory Locust Locusta migratoria is found in many parts of the world, except North America. In these areas it should be easy to find a local word. However, in some countries with high rainfall this and other species of locust do not swarm in the same way that they do in the Middle East and the drier parts of Africa. In these countries it may be necessary in some contexts to use a phrase such as “swarms of locusts” rather than simply “locusts”. In areas where locusts are not known, a phrase like “large/giant grasshopper” can usually be substituted.

The Hebrew words gev, gov and govay are related to a verb meaning “to swarm” or “to gather together”, and thus the reference is almost certainly to the locust.

The word tselatsal (Deuteronomy 28:42; Isaiah 18:1) represents the sound of insects’ wings, and the reference is most likely to the sound made by a swarm of locusts. The English versions that have “whirring” or “buzzing” make some attempt at reflecting this, but “buzzing” is inadequate as a description of the sound such a swarm makes. “Clattering”, “chirping”, “whirring”, or “fluttering” comes closest in English to representing the sound represented by the Hebrew word.

In many Bantu languages in Africa, and in other languages where ideophones occur which express the sound of thousands of whirring wings, such ideophones are a good equivalent. Elsewhere a noun phrase, modified by an adverbial expression similar to the English, can be used.

In most contexts the word chagav seems to mean “grasshopper”, the exception being 2 Chronicles 7:13, where the reference is to locusts. In the two passages where the grasshopper symbolizes something small and insignificant (Numbers 13:33 and Isaiah 40:22), it may not be possible to capture the right inference by translating literally. In such cases the translator is free to use some other insect that is symbolic of small size and insignificance in the local culture, such as “ant”, “louse”, “flea”, and others. In cases where no insect name carries this symbolism, the name of an animal with the correct connotations can be used; for example, “mouse” or “squirrel”.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

See also locust, locust (different kinds in Joel 1:4 and 2:25), and as thick as locusts.

onycha

The Hebrew word refers to something that was used in the mixture of aromatic spices that made frankincense. This ingredient is believed to have been the nail-like covering on the foot of a mollusk (that is, a boneless sea creature) of the strombus type. However, a few scholars suggest that it is a type of flower.

The strombus mollusks are a type of sea creature something like snails, which live inside a single shell, usually spiral in structure. They have eyes set on the end of each of two stalks. Part of the mollusk extends from the shell and attaches itself to a rock or other flat surface. This is called the foot and is the means by which the mollusk moves. The foot has a nail or scale-like covering called the operculum, and when the mollusk withdraws into its shell this operculum acts as a lid, sealing the opening of the shell. It is this operculum that is thought to have been referred to by the Hebrew word shechelet.

The only languages that will have a good equivalent of this Hebrew word are those spoken by people who have an intimate knowledge of sea creatures. Elsewhere it is probably best to opt for the solution followed by the translators of New English Bible and use an expression such as “aromatic seashell” or “fragrant seashell”. Another alternative would be to use a transliteration of the Hebrew shechelet or the Greek onycha, with an entry in a word list indicating what the word refers to.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)