5/11 - The mistranslation of the word "Tree" in Genesis 12:6

1. When I translate from Hebrew to English, I have to admit, I always double check my version against the King James version, just to see if I'm close. The translations usually agree, especially with Nouns. But not today...
2. Genesis 12: 6 refers to 'the plain of Moreh', a special land that eventually became basically the Hill where Jerusalem is, where Abraham offered Isaac, and not far from where the Savior was crucified. The King James translated אֵלוֹן (ehl-own) as "plain", but is clearly "tree". "Moreh" means "Teaching", so the translation might have been better as "To the tree of teaching", or at least "To the Tree of Moreh", but NOT the Plain. Interestingly, the "El" prefix has the divine derivative of "Elohim", or God, so the tree can also be rendered "Tree of God".
3. For a tree to have a name like this, and for the narrator to point this out means this was a special tree; a holy tree; a tree held in high regard and was famous. It was a sacred place to Israelites. Many covenants were made there, including by Abraham, Jacob, and possibly by Joshua many years later.
4. Oh yeah, one more thing. William Tyndale translated this word correctly, but the King James translators changed it to "Plain". A Greek professor was with us in class and said he has often found the King James version of the Bible has a Latin twist on many words, though primarily written in Hebrew. Translators were much more familiar with Latin than Hebrew, so when a word got difficult, they relied on their Latin expertise, which in this case could have been either Tree or Plain. But there is no question that in Hebrew, it's "Tree".