apple

The Wild Apple (or Crab Apple) Malus sylvestris is the ancestor of the sweet fruit we know today Malus domestica. The domestication may have occurred in what is now Iran, Armenia, Turkey, or Syria. Apples have grown in Europe, in western Asia, and probably in Turkey and Lebanon, for several thousand years. The question for Bible scholars is whether the puny, rather tart fruit of the wild apple merits the glowing description we find in Proverbs 25:11: “. . . like apples of silver in a set-ting of gold,” and in Song of Songs 2:5: “Sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples; for I am sick with love.” With that doubt in mind, some scholars have suggested that the tapuach, whose pleasant smell is noted in Song of Songs 7:8, is the apricot. Zohary (Plants of the Bible. Cambridge University Press, 1982) favors the apple on linguistic grounds, citing the Arabic cognate tuffach, which refers to the apple, and Egyptian records from 1298–1235 B.C. that refer to taph (probably the same as tapuach) growing in the Nile Valley. It is possible that improved varieties had already been developed in biblical times. Zohary points out that the apricot appeared in the region much later than the apple.

The apple tree reaches to 5-10 meters (17-33 feet), has a rounded crown, and bears a round fruit about the size of an orange. In the spring the tree is completely covered with pink flowers, which gradually give way to the green of the leaves as they develop. The fruit can be greenish, yellow, or red.

Apples grow well only in temperate climates where the tree is frozen part of the year, so there are no close native relatives in tropical Africa or Asia. However, fruits grown in Europe and South Africa are being shipped to many African countries, and so have become well-known, at least in the cities, usually by a name from a major international language. We recommend transliteration from a well-known language (for example, tufa [Arabic], pom/pomier [French], manzano [Spanish], masa/masiyera [Portuguese], and apel [English]), although translators seeking literary equivalence may wish to find a cultural substitute in the Proverbs and Song of Songs passages.

Apple trees, photo by Ray Pritz

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

See also apples on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 25:11

Verses 11-14 are a series of figurative statements about speech. They each have the same structure in Hebrew, with the figure or comparison in the first line and the person or quality compared to it in the second line. This order is unusual in many languages, and translators are advised to reverse it if necessary. The first two of the statements (verses 11-12) use jewelry as the image of comparison.

“A word fitly spoken”: Revised Standard Version reverses the two lines of the Hebrew to place the comparison after the item compared. Note that Good News Translation does the same. In Hebrew the comparison is not marked with a word such as “like.” “Fitly” renders a word that occurs only here in the Old Testament and its exact meaning is therefore uncertain. Some consider it to be related to the meaning of a similar Arabic word meaning “time.” If this is correct, it may mean “a word spoken at the right time.” New English Bible/Revised English Bible agree by translating “in season.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “at the right moment.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “at an opportune moment.” Others understand the Hebrew word to be related to “wheel” and so translate “well-turned.” Bible en français courant has “A speech well-turned is. . ..” See Good News Translation “an idea well expressed.”

“Is like apples of gold in a setting of silver”: The word “apples” is considered by Whybray as wrong because this fruit was not known in that part of the world in Old Testament times. A more likely sense is “design” or “engraving.” See Good News Translation “a design of gold.” “A setting of silver” appears to refer to some kind of carved work. Toy calls the two comparisons “graved work of gold and carved work of silver.” However, Good News Translation “design of gold set in silver” appears to give a fully adequate rendering and is a suitable model for translation.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

complete verse (Proverbs 25:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 25:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “A word which is spoken at the right/suitable time is good, like food which gives life/well-being.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Speaking according to the need on the needed occasion
    is like gold inlaid in silver.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If what you (sing.) say is-fitting to the occasion, this is beautiful like golden apples in a silver container.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The right word at the right time, it-can-be-compared to silver which is decorated with gold.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Something that is said that is very appropriate
    is as delightful as seeing gold apples/ornaments in a silver bowl.” (Source: Translation for Translators)