Tender
Tender
tender: The usual (11 out of 16 times) translation of , rakh, soft, delicate, with the noun , rokh, in Deu 28:56 and the verb , rakhakh, in 2Ki 22:19 parallel 2Ch 34:27. Attention need be called only to the following cases: In Gen 29:17, Leah’s eyes were tender, a physical defect is described (weak-eyed; see BLINDNESS). Tender-hearted in 2Ch 13:7 means faint-hearted, while in 2Ki 22:19 parallel 2Ch 34:27 (because thy heart was tender), it means penitent. Contrast the modern use in Eph 4:32.
Throughout Psalms (10 times) and Proverbs (Pro 12:10), but not elsewhere (the King James Version has tender love in Dan 1:9, the Revised Version (British and American) compassion), English Versions of the Bible translate , rahamm, bowels, by tender mercies, and this translation has been carried into the New Testament as tender mercy (the Revised Version margin heart of mercy) for the corresponding Greek phrase splagchna eleous (bowels of mercy) in Luk 1:78; compare tenderhearted for eusplagchnos (right boweled) in Eph 4:32, based upon the idea of psychology widely spread among Semitic people, which considers the bowels (kerebh) as the seat of all tender emotions of kindness and mercy: See BOWELS. the King James Version also has of tender mercy in Jam 5:11 without justification in the Greek (oiktrmon, the Revised Version (British and American) merciful).
Other special phrases: tender grape in the King James Version, Son 2:13, Son 2:15; Son 7:12, for , semadhar. The meaning of the word is not quite certain, but Revised Margin’s blossom (except Son 7:12 margin) is probably right. Tender grass in 2Sa 23:4; Pro 27:25; the Revised Version (British and American) Deu 32:2 (the King James Version tender herb); Isa 15:6; Isa 66:14 for , deshe’ grass (Aramaic , dethe’, Dan 4:15, Dan 4:23). 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 Gen 1:11, Gen 1:12; Job 6:5; Psa 23:2, etc.). Isa, Isa 53:2 has tender plant for , yonek, a sapling, while Job 14:7 has tender branch for the allied word , yoneketh, usually rendered shoot (Job 8:16, etc.). Finally, tender in Mar 13:28 parallel Mat 24:32 is for , hapalos, 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 , kedemon, a protector, the Revised Version (British and American) the guardian of his fellow-countrymen.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Tender
“soft, tender,” is used of the branch of a tree, Mat 24:32; Mar 13:28.
Note: For Luk 1:78, “tender mercy;” Phi 1:8; Phi 2:1 “tender mercies,” see BOWELS.