When the Philistines again invaded the valley, David again asked God, and God answered: "Do not advance behind them, but make a circle around them, so that you can attack them from the direction of the pine trees. And when you hear the sound of steps in the tops of the cedars, then you shall go out to fight, for God has gone out to fight before you to defeat the army of the Philistines."

David David said, "Don't go out behind them, but make a circle against them, so that you can attack them from the direction of the trees of the cedars.

And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the army of the Philistines from Gibeon to Gezer. And David's name was renowned in all the land, and the LORD put fear in him of all nations" (1 Chronicles 14:13-17).

Friends of the Bible, in the story of the Philistine invasion of the Valley of Rephaim, a Bible reader asked the Indonesian Bible Institute (LAI): what is meant by palm trees in 1 Chron. 14:14 (TB, 1974 issue)?

 

In the New Translation of the Bible, 2nd Edition (TB-2), the LAI has clarified the ”gnarled trees” to be as follows:

Daud again asked God for guidance, and God said to him, "Do not advance behind them, but move around them in a circle so that you can attack them from the direction of the mulberry trees  (1 Chron.14:14, TB-2)

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Also in 2 Sam. 5:24, ”gnarled trees” in the New Living Translation (TB), has been updated to ”mulberry trees” in the New Living Translation 2nd Edition (TB-2).

 

Words that are becoming rarer, more difficult to understand, or subject to misunderstanding in the TB Bible are being replaced wherever possible with words that are more recognisable to Indonesian speakers today.  

 

The mulberry plant (Morus L.) or  kertau, or  bebesaran or  magnitude is a genus of 10 –16 specific tree species native to temperate and subtropical hot regions in  Asia, Africa, and America. The majority of native species are from Asia.

 

The mulberry grows quite quickly when young, but then grows slowly and rarely exceeds 10 & 15 m in height. Leaves  mulberry is a simple, lobe-shaped leaf with sawing at the edges. Fruit  mulberry is a compound fruit 2 –3  cm long, red when young and dark purple when ripe, and edible.

 

The mulberry is mainly famous because its leaves are used as food for silkworms. In addition, the Andalas (Morus macroura), a species of mulberry, is often used for flooring or furniture because it is strong and hard. Regional names for mulberry include kerto  (Gayo), kitau  (Lampung), and murbei  or lampaung (Java).