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THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND
WHAT’S IN A WORD THE PEOPLE AND THE LAND

David Curwin
David Curwin

Trees in Eretz Yisrael

n honor of Tu BiShvat, let us dis- and we know it today as “carat,” the times in the Tanach, mostly in Shir
cuss some of the words related to unit of mass that indicates how much HaShirim. The etymology is debated
Ithe trees that grow in Eretz Yisrael. a diamond weighs, or “karat” – the – some say it comes from ח ַ פֶנ (to
proportion of fine gold in an alloy. blow), because of its pleasant scent.
Tamar and Dekel Hebrew also borrowed from the Others say it comes from ח ַ פ ָּ ת (to
The biblical word for the date palm Greek, and that is the origin of koret swell), because of its round shape.
tree is ר ָ מ ָּ ת, tamar (which is also the – a small amount of powder (like a Some scholars identify the biblical
name of the date fruit it produces). pinch of salt). tapuach with what we call apples
Tamar probably derives from the root today. Others say that wasn’t likely,
רמת, which means “to be tall, high.” A Botnim since those apples aren’t native to
related word is tamrur – “pillar, sign- This might seem to be a strange entry Eretz Yisrael. The fruit they think the
post,” because of its height. in a list of trees since in modern tapuach referred to is the apricot, as
A synonym in Hebrew for palm tree Hebrew it means “peanuts” – a it fits the biblical descriptions: a tree
is dekel, although it only appears in legume. But peanuts are a New World that provided pleasant shade, with
post-biblical Hebrew. (The region of crop, and the word םיִנ ְ ט ָּ ב, botnim sweet and fragrant fruit.
Arabia, Diklah – mentioned in Bere- appears (once) in the Tanach. In that Non-Hebrew speakers might think
ishit 10:27 and Divrei HaYamim Aleph verse they have a different translation: the apple also appears at the begin-
1:21, may be so named because it was “Then their father Israel said to them, ning of Bereishit, in the story of the
rich in date palms.) It only refers to ‘If it must be so, do this: take some Garden of Eden. But in Hebrew, the
the tree, not the fruit. of the choice products of the land in produce of the forbidden Tree of
The Greek word for date, dactylos, your baggage, and carry them down Knowledge is only called pri – the
was likely borrowed from a relative as a gift for the man – some balm and generic term for fruit. Rabbinic tra-
of dekel in another Semitic language, some honey, gum, ladanum, pistachio dition has many theories as to which
like Aramaic or Arabic (where it also nuts [botnim] and almonds.’” (Bere- fruit it was – the etrog, grapes, wheat,
referred to the fruit). From Greek, it ishit 43:11) and figs, among others. But in the
entered Latin, then French, and into Hebrew has a word for pistachio nuts end, the fact there are so many pos-
English, as “date.” – fistuk, which appears in the Talmud sible suggestions reinforces the point
(Gittin 59a) as fistak. So how did that the fruit remains unidentified in
Charuv botnim come to mean “peanuts?” the text.
The Hebrew word for carob is בּור ָ ח, Apparently, this usage came via And this actually makes the identi-
charuv. Some scholars say that it got French. When the peanuts were fication with the apple easier. While
the name from its sword (cherev) brought back to Europe, the French today, the apple is the fruit of a tree
-shaped pods, and others say because called them pistache de terre – “earth in the genus Malus, this specificity is
it grows in dry (charav) climates. pistachio” (since they grew in the relatively new. Until as late as the 17
th
Interestingly, despite it clearly grow- ground). Hebrew speakers did a simi- century, “apple” was a generic term
ing in Eretz Yisrael since antiquity, lar translation, and called them botnei for all fruit. So the translation of pri
it doesn’t appear anywhere in the adama (also “earth pistachios.”) But as “apple” made sense – it just wasn’t
Tanach but first shows up in Tannaitic since some speakers were already a tapuach.
literature. From Hebrew, it was bor- using the Arabic fistuk for pistachios,
rowed into Aramaic, from there to the unnecessary adama was dropped,
Arabic, and then later into the Euro- and peanuts were just called botnim.
pean languages as “carob.”
Greek, however, had its own word Tapuach David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat,
for carob – keration. The carob seeds To Hebrew speakers, ַ חּו ּ פ ַּ ת, tapuach and the author of the Balashon blog.
were used as a measure of weight, is clearly “apple.” It appears a few balashon.com • balashon1@gmail.com.

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