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ten´dẽr: The usual (11 out of 16 times) translation of רך, rakh, “soft,†“delicate,†with the noun רך, roÌ„kh, in and the verb רכך, raÌ„khakh, in parallel . Attention need be called only to the following cases: In , “Leah's eyes were tender,†a physical defect is described (“weak-eyedâ€; see BLINDNESS). “Tender-hearted†in means “faint-hearted,†while in parallel (“because thy heart was tenderâ€), it means “penitent.†Contrast the modern use in .
Throughout Psalms (10 times) and Proverbs (), but not elsewhere (the King James Version has “tender love†in , the Revised Version (British and American) “compassionâ€), English Versions of the Bible translate רחמי×, rahÌ£ămı̄m, “bowels,†by “tender mercies,†and this translation has been carried into the New Testament as “tender mercy†(the Revised Version margin “heart of mercyâ€) for the corresponding Greek phrase splaÌgchna eleÌous (“bowels of mercyâ€) in ; compare “tenderhearted†for euÌsplagchnos (“right boweledâ€) in , based upon the idea of psychology widely spread among Semitic people, which considers the “bowels†(kÌ£erebh) as the seat of all tender emotions of kindness and mercy: See BOWELS. the King James Version also has “of tender mercy†in without justification in the Greek (oiktıÌrmon, the Revised Version (British and American) “mercifulâ€).
Other special phrases: “tender grape†in the King James Version, , ; , for סמדר, sÌ£emaÌ„dhar. The meaning of the word is not quite certain, but Revised Margin's “blossom†(except margin) is probably right. “Tender grass†in ; ; the Revised Version (British and American) (the King James Version “tender herbâ€); ; for דּש××, deshe' “grass†(Aramaic דּת×, dethe', , ). The context in these passages and the meaning of the cognates of deshe' in other Semitic languages make this translation probable, but Revised Version's usage is not consistent (compare , ; ; , etc.). Isa, has “tender plant†for ×™×•× ×§, yoÌ„neÌ„kÌ£, “a sapling,†while has “tender branch†for the allied word ×™×•× ×§×ª, yoÌ„nekÌ£eth, usually rendered “shoot†(, etc.). Finally, “tender†in parallel is for ἁπαλοÌÏ‚, hapaloÌs, “soft.†The running sap of springtime softens the branches that were stiff during the winter.
The verb “tender†occurs in 2 Macc 4:2, the King James Version “(he had) tendered his own nation,†in the modern sense of “tend.†The translation is a paraphrase of the noun κηδεμωÌν, keÌ„demoÌ„Ìn, “a protector,†the Revised Version (British and American) “the guardian of his fellow-countrymen.â€