βάτος

From the study of Acts 7:30

Range of meaning

Thorn bush, bramble, prickly shrub. It translates Hebrew seneh, a word used almost only for this bush (Exod 3:2–4; Deut 33:16, "him who dwelt in the bush").

Against the English

Most versions say "bush." NASB's "thorn bush" keeps the thorniness. Several versions add "burning," which is the sense of "flame of fire of a bush" but is not a separate word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 3:2–4 in the Greek Old Testament; Luke 20:37 and Mark 12:26, where "the bush" is shorthand for the passage about it; Josephus, Antiquities 2.266. Scholars often note that Hebrew seneh (bush) sounds like Sinai, and that wordplay may already sit behind Exodus 3.

From the study of Luke 20:37

Range of meaning

A thornbush or bramble. In the Septuagint it translates Hebrew seneh, the bush of Exodus 3:2–4 and Deuteronomy 33:16 ('him who dwelt in the bush'). With epi it means 'at the Bush,' that is, in the passage known as 'the Bush.'

Against the English

KJV and WEB 'at the bush' can sound like a place, as if Moses showed it while standing there. YLT's capital 'Bush' signals a title. ESV, NASB and BSB 'in the passage about the (burning) bush' make the citation clear, and NIV says 'in the account of the burning bush.' 'Burning' is added from Exodus. Luke's Greek just says 'the Bush.'

How it drifted

Chapter and verse numbers came more than a thousand years later (13th and 16th centuries). Readers used to them do not recognise the older habit of citing a passage by a catchword.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mark 12:26 has the same phrase (with the masculine article). Romans 11:2 cites 1 Kings 19 as 'in Elijah' (en Ēlia). Later rabbinic literature also names sections by key words.

From the study of Mark 12:26

Range of meaning

Thornbush or bramble (Latin rubus). In Greek it can be masculine (as in classical Attic and here in Mark) or feminine (as in the Greek Exodus and Luke 20:37). It translates Hebrew seneh, the bush of Exodus 3:2–4, a word that probably plays on 'Sinai'.

Against the English

KJV's 'in the bush God spake unto him' reads it as the place where God spoke. ESV, NASB, NIV and WEB treat it as the name of a passage ('the passage/account about the bush', 'about the Bush'). BSB and NASB add 'burning', which is not in the Greek but rightly names the scene.

How it drifted

Chapter and verse numbers are medieval and early modern inventions. Without them, readers of English no longer recognise 'the Bush' as a way of citing a passage.

Used elsewhere in the period

Romans 11:2 cites a passage the same way: 'in Elijah', meaning the section about Elijah. Rabbinic writings name sections by a keyword in the same way. Luke 20:37 has 'Moses showed at the Bush'.