HKB
| German translators, on the other hand, | who don't have a traditional, elegant | word for CUMIN, commonly translate | KAMMON as CARAWAY (which is almost | certainly wrong), and have to resort | to DILL for QETSACH. | | Comparing different translations of | the Old Testament, one find some or | all of the following (Hebrew terms are | given in parenthesis): garlic (shuwm), | onion (b@tsel), nigella (qetsach, also | rendered as caraway oder dill, quite | obscure), cumin (kammon, also | caraway), coriander (gad), caper | (abiyownah, also translated "desire"), | cinnamon (qinnamown), cassia (qiddah, | also interpreted as a synonym of | cinnamon or cassia buds), hyssop | (ezowb, frequent but very obscure), | myrtle (hadac), olive (shemen and | zayith, very frequent), juniper | (b@rowsh, also given as "fir" or | "pine"), almond (shaqed), pomegranate | (rimmown or rimmon), rose | (chabatstseleth, very obscure) and | saffron (karkom). | | Similarly, the New Testament has not | been translated by biologists--the | latter had not suspected birds to live | in mustard plants (sínapi). Other | plant names from the New Testament | include the following (Greek given in | parenthesis): mint (heedýosmon, this | is not the common name of mint in | Greek), cumin (kýminon, also | translated caraway), anis (áneethon, | also rendered dill), rue (peéganon, | not the common term), cinnamon | (kinnámoomon), hyssop (hýssoopos, | referring to the obscure word in the | Old Testament) and olive (agriélaios | "olive tree" and elaíon "olive oil"). | | The DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE (ed. by | James Hastings and John A. Selbie, | Edinburgh, 3rd ed.1914) says about the | HYSSOP: "It was used for sprinkling | blood (Ex. 12,22) and in the ritual of | the cleansing of lepers (Lv 14,4, Nu | 19,6); it was an insignificant plant | growing out of the wall (1 K 4,33); it | could afford a branch strong enough to | support a wet sponge (Jn 19,29). It is | possible that all these references are | not to a single species. Among many | suggested plants the most probable is | either a species of majoran, e.g., | ORIGANUM MARU, or the common caper- | plant (CAPPARIS SPINOSA), which may be | seen growing out of crevices in walls | all over Palestine" (E.W.G.Masterman). | | For the German traditions about the | hyssop Jacob and Wilhem Grimm in | DEUTSCHES WÖRTERBUCH (1854 seq.) give | the following information: | YSOP, isop, ispe(n), eisop; hysop, m. | (F.),HYSSOPUS OFFICINALIS L., KLEINER | BUSCH MIT STARK DUFTENDEN BLÄTTERN und | VIOLETTEN BLÜTEN. GELEGENTLICH WIRD | DER NAME AUF VERWANDTE PFLANZEN | ÜBERTRAGEN, VOR ALLEM AUF SATUREJA | HORTENSIS L., VGL. MARZELL WB. D. DT. | PFLANZENN. 2, 966 ff.; PRITZEL-JESSEN | PFLANZEN (1882) 363 f.; FISCHER | SCHWÄB. 4, 53. | | HERKUNFT UND form. | | ASS. zûpu; SYR.-ARAB. züfä; HEBR. .; | GRIECH. ; ; LAT. hysspus F., hysspum | N.; GOT. hwssopon (DAT. SG.); AGS. | ysope f.; AHD. hysop ST. M. NEBEN | SPÄTEREM ISOPO, isipo 5W.