The NWT and marshmallow--what is the WT excuse for that one?

by whyizit 11 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  whyizit

  Job 6:6- Will tasteless things be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the slimy juice of marshmallow?

  Hmmm........marshmallow has slimy juice? Wouldn't it taste kind of "sweet"? All the other translations ask if there is flavor in the white of an egg. Which makes sense. An egg white really doesn't have any flavor.....unless you season it. But why would a responsible translator change "egg" to "marshmallow"? I imagine that eggs were around in Biblical times. Surely all languages have a word for egg. Why change it to something totally different? Was anyone ever asked this when you were in the JWs, and what was the response?
• 

  Elsewhere

  What the hell??? I thought you made that up so I went and checked.... and there it is! Marshmallow!
• 

  IP_SEC

  Mallow is a plant related to hibiscus, oakra, and cotton. A Marsh Mallow is a type found in estuaries, and along the shore.

  I dont know why they used the term there.
• 

  Sunspot

  Egg Substitute Egg Shell Remover Devilled Egg Plate Egg Whites

  hat's funny!! I never happened to catch that scripture before....guess I wasn't as good at doing my prescribed "bible reading" as I thought when I was a JW!

  I laughed when I saw what GOOGLE had inserted in this page.....I'll take the DEVILLED EGG PLATE please!

  Annie .....who loves devilled eggs AND marshmallows.....but not together though
• 

  jgnat

  Slimy binding agent. That's what they are getting at.

  Job 6:6

  (ASV) Can that which hath no savor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

  (BBE) Will a man take food which has no taste without salt? or is there any taste in the soft substance of purslain?

  (Darby) Shall that which is insipid be eaten without salt? Is there any taste in the white of an egg?

  (KJV+) Can that which is unsavory 8602 be eaten 398 without 4480, 1097 salt? 4417 or 518 is there 3426 any taste 2940 in the white 7388 of an egg? 2495

  H2495

  ???????

  challa^mu^th

  khal-law-mooth'

  From H2492 (in the sense of insipidity); probably purslain: - egg.

  H2492

  ???

  cha^lam

  khaw-lam'

  A primitive root; properly to bind firmly, that is, (by implication) to be (causatively to make) plump; also (through the figurative sense of dumbness) to dream: - (cause to) dream (-er), be in good liking, recover.

  PURSLAIN/PURSLANE/MARSHMALLOW

  Scroll down to sea purslane. http://cesiak.org/flora.htm From what I read, it is a bitter concoction.

  Marshmallow - Althaea Officinalis http://www.diet-and-health.net/articles.php?cont=marshmallow

  The whole plant, particularly the root, abounds with a mild mucilage, which is emollient to a much greater degree than the common Mallow. The generic name, Althaea, is derived from the Greek, altho (to cure), from its healing properties. The name of the order, Malvaceae, is derived from the Greek, malake (soft), from the special qualities of the Mallows in softening and healing.
• 

  TD

  Many translations follow in the tradition of the AV (White of an egg) but they also have a footnote informing the reader that the meaning for chal·la·muth´ is uncertain.

  There are lexicons that give "marsh mallow" as a definition so the JW's really do have a valid basis for this translation.

  The Mallow -Althaea officinalis has a white root that is vaguely carrot shaped
• 

  dorayakii

  I didn't know they had marshmallows in ancient Israel, and i certainly didn't know they had "slimy juice" in them. Anyway, they're made out of gelatin nowadays, not mallow-extract.
• 

  skyman

  Truly weird.
• 

  whyizit

  But, does it fit this Scripture? Is it TASTELESS, like the white of an egg? From the above description of what marsh mallow is, it would appear that marshmallow would be a poor choice, when egg white makes much more sense. I just wondered how many JWs have ever been asked about it!
• 

  TD

  Is it TASTELESS, like the white of an egg?

  LOL -- Here in Arizona, there's not an easy way to really find out. (Besides....all of the mallow species are supposed to be purgatives.)

  Excerpts from an article on the plant:

  "Root - raw or cooked. When boiled and then fried with onions it is said to make a palatable dish that is often used in times of shortage. The root is used as a vegetable. The root contains about 37% starch, 11% mucilage, 11% pectin. The water left over from cooking any part of the plant can be used as an egg-white substitute in making meringues etc. The water from the root is the most effective, it is concentrated by boiling until it has a similar consistency to egg white."

  "The whole plant, particularly the root, abounds with a mild mucilage, which is emollient to a much greater degree than the common Mallow. The generic name, Althaea, is derived from the Greek, altho (to cure), from its healing properties. The name of the order, Malvaceae, is derived from the Greek, malake (soft), from the special qualities of the Mallows in softening and healing."

  "Many of the poorer inhabitants of Syria, especially the Fellahs, Greeks and Armenians, subsist for weeks on herbs, of which Marsh Mallow is one of the most common. When boiled first and fried with onions and butter, the roots are said to form a palatable dish, and in times of scarcity consequent upon the failure of the crops, this plant, which fortunately grows there in great abundance, is much collected for food."