The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 16:8:
Kupsabiny: “The fields of Heshbon are spoiled, and there are no grapes/vines in Sibmah. Those grapes/vines were amazing, and they made the kings of the areas become drunk. Those grapes were brought up to the city of Jazer and were spread to the desert in the East. Those grapes went up to reaching the other side of the Lake of Salt.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The fields of Heshbon and the grapevines of Sibmah have also dried up. The rulers of the nations have trampled all their beautiful grape vines with their feet. Some time ago the grapevines of that place had extended up to Jazer, and had gone spreading as far as the wilderness. Its buds, having spread, passed over to the other side of the dead sea.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The fields/farms in Heshbon were-destroyed and as-well-as the fields of grape/(vineyards) in Sibma. The leaders/[lit. heads] of the nations destroyed these fields of grape/(vineyards) which reached-up Jazer, going to the desert, and still reached-up to the Red Sea.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “The crops in the fields at Heshbon city will wither, and the vineyards at Sibmah town will wither also. The armies of other nations will destroy Moab, which is like a beautiful grapevine whose branches spread north to Jazer town and east to the desert. Its branches spread very far west, to the west side of the Dead Sea.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Hebrew, Greek 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.”
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).
The various Greek, Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Verses 8-10 deal with the destruction of Moab’s fields and vineyards. The place names in verses 8-9 form a chiasmus: Heshbon > [vine of] Sibmah > Jazer > < Jazer < [vine of] Sibmah < Heshbon [and Elealeh].
The connector For renders the Hebrew particle ki. It introduces more reasons for Moab to mourn.
The fields of Heshbon languish: Crops growing in the fields or “farms” (Good News Translation) around the town of Heshbon are dried up (compare 15.6). For Heshbon see 15.4. The Hebrew term rendered languish describes something that is weak or feeble. Here it means “wither” (so New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), but Good News Translation says “are destroyed” (similarly Bible en français courant).
And the vine of Sibmah refers to the vineyards of the Moabite town of Sibmah. Vine is singular, but many translations render it as a plural, saying “vines” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version) or “vineyards” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). For “vineyard” see the comments on 1.8. The verb languish in the previous line also applies to this line. Both the fields of Heshbon and the vineyards of Sibmah withered.
The rest of the verse describes the vine, saying its branches previously spread throughout Moab. Most translations, including Good News Translation, understand this as a hyperbole about the vineyards of Sibmah. However, within the Old Testament a vine or vineyard can represent a nation (see, for example, 5.1-7). Here the vine of Sibmah may represent all the people of Moab. We recommend keeping the idea of the vine, but adding the following footnote: “Here the vine could be a figure for the people of Moab.”
The lords of the nations have struck down its branches: The lords of the nations refers to the leaders of the nations surrounding Moab. Its branches means the branches or tendrils of the grape vines. Both Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible render the Hebrew word for branches as “red grapes.” They base their translation on the fact that the underlying Hebrew root can mean “become red” in some related languages. Commentators and translators have understood this clause in rather different ways. It is literally “lords of nations struck down its branches/tendrils.” Some believe “lords of nations” is the subject and “its branches” is the object (Revised Standard Version, New International Version), while others take “its branches” as the subject and “lords of the nations” as the object. New American Bible takes this latter view, saying “Whose clusters overpowered the lords of the nations,” which means the wine from Moab’s vineyards made the leaders of other nations drunk (so Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant). We prefer “lords of the nations” as the subject. It would be unusual in Hebrew for an object to precede the verb, but a subject may precede the verb if attention is being drawn to it in a special way, as is the case here. This clause is saying the leaders of other nations destroyed the vineyards of Moab.
Which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert: The vines extended as far as the Moabite town of Jazer, which was probably located on the northeastern tip of the Dead Sea. The Hebrew verb rendered reached is literally “touched” or “extended as far as.” Strayed to the desert pictures the vines spreading to desert areas. If vine is a metaphor here, it describes the Moabites living near the desert.
Its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea: Its shoots refers to new growth on the vines. The sea is probably the Dead Sea. The vines spread across the Dead Sea to its western side (so Good News Translation). For passed over the sea, New International Version has “went as far as the sea,” but the Hebrew verb here generally implies crossing over or going beyond some point.
Translation examples for this verse are:
• For the crops in the fields of Heshbon wither,
so too the vine of Sibmah;
the leaders of the nations have struck down its branches
that used to extend to Jazer and to the desert,
and whose new branches spread out and crossed the sea.
• For the crops in Heshbon’s fields have dried up along with the vine of Sibmah.
The leaders of other nations have cut down its branches,
branches that extended as far as Jazer and the desert,
and whose new growth spread out and crossed the Dead Sea.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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