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Bha mi a’ bruidhinn mu chraobhan a tha ainmichte anns a’ Bhìoball. Thuirt mi gu bheil a’ chraobh-chrithinn a’ nochdadh dà thuras ann, agus gur e ‘poplar’ a’ Bheurla orra, seach ‘aspen’. Ann an Isaiah 44:4, a rèir aon dreach dhen Bhìoball, tha seo: ... your descendants ... will spring up like ... poplar trees ...

Anns a’ Bhìoball Ghàidhlig, tha seo: ... fàsaidh iad suas ... mar gheugan seilich ... An àite poplar trees, tha geugan seilich ‘willow branches’ ann an Gàidhlig. Chaidh mi gu dreach eile dhen Bhìoball Bheurla, agus tha willows aca. Chan eil a h-uile eadar-theangair air an aon ràmh!

Nise, an aithnicheadh sibh bratach nàiseanta Leabanoin? Dearg agus geal, le craobh oirre – an Seudar Leabanach. Anns a’ Bhìoball, tha Leabanon a’ riochdachadh bòidhchead agus goireasan nàdarrach, am measg eile. Bha beanntan agus coilltean brèagha ann. Agus tha craobhan Leabanoin nan samhlaidhean cumhachdach. Mar eisimpleir, ann an Eseciel Caibideil 31, thathar a’ samhlachadh bòidhchead air coltas an t-Seudair Leabanaich.

Bha na craobhan-seudair cudromach ann an togail teampall agus lùchairt Sholaimh. Ann an 1 Rìgh, Caibideil 7, tha sinn ag ionnsachadh gun deach daoine gu ruige Leabanon airson am fiodh a thoirt a Ierusalem. Thàinig na logaichean mar ràthan aig muir.

Tha an ²µ±ð²¹²Ô³¾-³¦³ó²Ôò, no chestnut, anns a’ Bhìoball an siud ’s an seo. Ach a-rithist, chan eil a h-uile eadar-theangair air an aon ràmh. Ann an cuid de dhreachan na Beurla, thathar ag ainmeachadh plane tree, seach chestnut.

Bidh fios agaibh gu bheil an olive tree a’ fàs gu math anns an Ear-mheadhanach. Dè a’ Ghàidhlig air sin? Tha crann-olaidh no craobh-ola. Tha e a’ nochdadh ann an Genesis 8:11 nuair a thilleas an calman gu Noah an dèidh na tuile le ‘duilleag craoibh-ola ... na ghob’.

Tha an darach – no darag – anns a’ Bhìoball grunn tursan. Ann an Isaiah 1:30 tha seo: ... bidh sibh mar dharaig aig a bheil an duilleach air seargadh. Tha craobhan gu tric a’ samhlachadh rudan anns a’ Bhìoball. Mar sin, ’s dòcha nach eil e gu cus diofair a bheil eas-aonta ann air na gnèithean a thathar a’ ciallachadh.

I was speaking about trees that are named in the Bible. I said that the craobh-chrithinn appears twice, and that the English for it is ‘poplar’ rather than ‘aspen’. In Isaiah 44:4, according to one version of the Bible, there is this: ... your descendants ... will spring up like ... poplar trees …

In the Gaelic Bible, there is this: ... fàsaidh iad suas ... mar gheugan seilich ... Instead of poplar trees, there is geugan seilich ‘willow branches’ in Gaelic. I went to another version of the English Bible, and they have ‘willows’. Not all translators are in agreement!

Now, would you recognise the national flag of Lebanon? White and red with a tree on it – the Lebanon Cedar. In the Bible, Lebanon represents beauty and natural resources, amongst other things. There were beautiful mountains and forests there. And the trees of Lebanon are important symbols. For example, in Ezekiel Chapter 31, beauty is represented by the Lebanbon Cedar.

The cedar trees were important in the construction of Solomon’s temple and palace. In 1 Kings, Chapter 7, we learn that people went to Lebanon to bring the wood to Jerusalem. The logs came as rafts by sea.

The ²µ±ð²¹²Ô³¾-³¦³ó²Ôò, or chestnut, is in the Bible here and there. But again, not every translator is in agreement. In some of the English versions, the ‘plane tree’ is named, rather than the chestnut.

You will know that the olive tree grows well in the Middle East. What’s the Gaelic for that? It’s crann-olaidh or craobh-ola. It appears in Genesis 8:11 when the dove returns to Noah after the flood with ‘an olive leaf … in its beak’.

The oak appears in the Bible a few times. In Isaiah 1:30 there is this: ‘… you shall be like an oak whose foliage has withered.’ Trees often symbolise things in the Bible. Thus, perhaps it does not matter too much if there is disagreement over the species that are meant.