bath

The weight measure that is translated as “bath” or with a modern equivalent in English is translated in the 1989 Tsonga BIBELE Mahungu Lamanene into a measurement of what a traditional container can hold rather than weight: yinkho or “large jar” for water, wine and milk or “10 calabashes” for oil (see 2 Chronicles 2:10). (Source: The Bible Translator 1998, p. 215ff. )

cor

The Hebrew that is transliterated as “cors” in English or translated into a modern weight measure is translated in Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo as kuntaala or “sacks” since the weight unit is thought to be the equivalent of what a mule can carry. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In the 1989 Tsonga BIBELE Mahungu Lamanene it is likewise translated into a measurement of a traditional container rather than weight: masaka or “bag.” (Source: The Bible Translator 1998, p. 215ff. )

See also homer.

wheat

Two kinds of wild wheat have grown in the open deciduous oak woodland in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent for several thousand years: Einkorn Wheat Triticum monococcum and Emmer Wheat Triticum dicoccum. Both came into cultivation together with barley. Just before the time of the Romans, the Naked Bread Wheat or Hard Wheat Triticum durum started replacing the hulled varieties. This then became the favorite type of wheat for bread and macaroni. Spelt is a sub-member of the Triticum aestivum species.

In NRSVue and some other versions, the generic Hebrew word bar has been rendered “wheat” in Jeremiah 23:28 et al. This is legitimate, since the grain referred to by bar was probably wheat. However, it might be better to say “grain” in these passages.

The most important early wheat for the Israelites was emmer, probably the only wheat known in Egypt, and referred to in Hebrew as chittah. However, according to Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992), the seven-headed wheat of the Egyptian king’s dream (Genesis 41:5ff.) suggests that there may also have been Triticum turgidum (rivet wheat) in the emmer group. The Hebrew word kusemeth probably refers to a type of emmer wheat that the Egyptians called swt.

Wheat is a type of grass like rice and barley, growing to around 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) in height and having a head with many small grains in rows.

Bread made from wheat was the staple food for the people of ancient Israel, so God punished them by breaking “the staff of bread” (see, for example, Ezekiel 4:16).

If wheat is unfamiliar, translators can transliterate from a major language in non-rhetorical contexts (for example, English witi, Portuguese trigo, French ble or froment, Swahili ngano, Arabic kama/alkama). The transliteration may add a generic tag such as “grain.” The New Testament passages are mostly rhetorical, opening the possibility for a metaphorical equivalent.

Wheat head, photo by Gloria Suess

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

Translation commentary on 1 Esdras 8:19 - 8:20

Verses 19-22 should be a separate paragraph (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible). In these verses King Artaxerxes gives orders to certain royal officials in the area of Judah. In verse 19 these officials are spoken of in the third person, but in verse 22 they are addressed in the second person. Readers will find it easier if third person (so Contemporary English Version and models below) or second person is used for them throughout this paragraph.

And I, Artaxerxes the king, have commanded the treasurers of Syria and Phoenicia that whatever Ezra the priest and reader of the law of the Most High God sends for, they shall take care to give him: In case Ezra finds, when he returns to Jerusalem, that he does not have all he needs to restore proper worship in Jerusalem, the king orders the royal treasurers who are much closer to Jerusalem than the Persian capital to supply the need (compare 1 Esd 6.29). Treasurers were located at various centers in the Persian Empire and were responsible for the expenditure of government money. They were the officials who controlled or who took care of the finances and the resources that belonged to the government. The treasurers here were not from the time of Sisinnes and Sathrabuzanes (1 Esd 6.3), but were officials at the much later time when Ezra returned. For Syria and Phoenicia, see the comments on 1 Esd 2.17, where “Coelesyria” is used instead of Syria. For reader of the law, see 1 Esdras 8.8; for Most High God, see 1 Esd 6.31.

Up to a hundred talents of silver, and likewise up to a hundred cors of wheat, a hundred baths of wine, and salt in abundance: Verse 20 puts limits on what the royal treasurers are authorized to give Ezra. For a hundred talents of silver, which is equivalent to about 3,400 kilograms (7,500 pounds) of silver, see the comments on 1 Esd 1.35-36. A hundred cors of wheat is equivalent to about 22,000 liters (600 bushels) of wheat. The cor was a unit of measure for volume or capacity, used for dry measure as well as for olive oil. It is equal to about 220 liters or 6 bushels. A hundred baths of wine is equivalent to about 2,200 liters (600 gallons) of wine. The bath (a Hebrew word, not to be confused with the English word “bath”) was a unit of liquid measure. It is equal to about 22 liters or 6 gallons. Salt in abundance means there is no limit placed on it. For wheat, wine and salt, see the comments on 1 Esd 6.30.

Here is an alternative model for verses 19-20:

• 19 “I, King Artaxerxes, [hereby] command the treasurers of the province of Phoenicia and Greater Syria that they must provide whatever Ezra, the priest and scholar of God Most High, requests, 20 up to 3,400 kilograms of silver, 22,000 liters of wheat, 2,200 liters of wine, and all the salt that is needed.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.