Jeremiah 48:6

Heath. Heb. ‘aro‘er, from the root ‘arar, “to strip oneself.” The reference here is probably to the juniper, or tamarisk, tree, which in its stripped appearance was a fitting symbol for the desolation of the Moabite refugees. There is a subtle wordplay here that cannot be translated. The Hebrew word rendered “heath” is also the name of Aroer, one of the cities of Moab (see v. 19). The LXX reads “wild ass,” as if from the Heb. ‘arod, instead of ‘aro‘er. This reading has been adopted by the RSV. The figure of a wandering wild ass is indeed a fitting one for homeless refugees in the wilderness. However, the almost identical Hebrew word ‘ar‘ar in ch. 17:6 is rendered “wild tamarisk” by the LXX and “shrub” in the RSV, so that it appears safest to retain the reading of the Hebrew text.