priest

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are typically translated as “priest” in English (itself deriving from Latin “presbyter” — “elder”) is often translated with a consideration of existing religious traditions. (Click or tap for details)

Bratcher / Nida (1961) say this:

“However, rather than borrow local names for priests, some of which have unwanted connotations, a number of translations have employed descriptive phrases based on certain functions: (1) those describing a ceremonial activity: Pamona uses tadu, the priestess who recites the litanies in which she describes her journey to the upper or under-world to fetch life-spirit for sick people, animals or plants; Batak Toba uses the Arabic malim, ‘Muslim religious teacher;’ ‘one who presents man’s sacrifice to God’ (Bambara, Eastern Maninkakan), ‘one who presents sacrifices’ (Baoulé, Navajo (Dinė)), ‘one who takes the name of the sacrifice’ (Kpelle, and ‘to make a sacrifice go out’ (Hausa); (2) those describing an intermediary function: ‘one who speaks to God’ (Shipibo-Conibo) and ‘spokesman of the people before God’ (Tabasco Chontal).”

In Obolo it is translated as ogwu ngwugwa or “the one who offers sacrifice” (source: Enene Enene), in Mairasi as agam aevar nevwerai: “religious leader” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Ignaciano as “blesser, one who does ritual as a practice” (using a generic term rather than the otherwise common Spanish loan word sacerdote) (source: Willis Ott in Notes on Translation 88/1982, p. 18ff.), and in Noongar as yakin-kooranyi or “holy worker” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

For Guhu-Samane, Ernest Richert (in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. ) reports this: “The [local] cult of Poro used to be an all-encompassing religious system that essentially governed all areas of life. (…) For ‘priest’ the term ‘poro father’ would at first seem to be a natural choice. However, several priests of the old cult are still living. Although they no longer function primarily as priests of the old system they still have a substantial influence on the community, and there would be more than a chance that the unqualified term would (in some contexts particularly) be equated with the priest of the poro cult. We learned, then, that the poro fathers would sometimes be called ‘knife men’ in relation to their sacrificial work. The panel was pleased to apply this term to the Jewish priest, and the Christian community has adopted it fully. [Mark 1:44, for instance, now] reads: ‘You must definitely not tell any man of this. But you go show your body to the knife man and do what Moses said about a sacrifice concerning your being healed, and the cause (base of this) will be apparent.'”

For a revision of the 1968 version of the Bible in Khmer Joseph Hong (in: The Bible Translator 1996, 233ff. ) talks about a change in wording for this term:

​​Bau cha r (បូជា‌ចារ្យ) — The use of this new construction meaning “priest” is maintained to translate the Greek word hiereus. The term “mean sang (មាន សង្ឃ)” used in the old version actually means a “Buddhist monk,” and is felt to be theologically misleading. The Khmer considers the Buddhist monk as a “paddy field of merits,” a reserve of merits to be shared with other people. So a Khmer reader would find unthinkable that the mean sang in the Bible killed animals, the gravest sin for a Buddhist; and what a scandal it would be to say that a mean sang was married, had children, and drank wine.

See also idolatrous priests.

complete verse (1 Chronicles 27:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 27:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “Benaiah son of Jehoiada who was a big priest was in charge of the third part. That one worked in the third month” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Benaiah, son of Jehoiada the priest was captain for the third month. He was the leader. There were 24,000 men in his group.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Benaya the child of Jehoyada the priest was the commander of the soldiers for the third month. There were 24,000 soldiers in his group.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the Supreme Priest, was the commander of the group that served during the following/third month.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 27:5

The third commander, for the third month, was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, as chief (verse 5): The Masoretic Text reads “The third commander for the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada the priest chief.” This is understood by Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version to mean that Benaiah, the son of the priest Jehoiada, was chief of his division. Compare “The third army commander, chief for the third month, was Benaiah, son of Jehoiada the priest” (New American Bible). However, many other versions take the word “chief” as part of the reference to Jehoiada rather than to Benaiah, and they refer to Jehoiada as “the chief/high priest” (so Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible Pléiade, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nueva Versión Internacional, Reina-Valera revisada, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Osty-Trinquet, Peregrino. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia recommends that “Jehoiada the priest chief” be corrected to read “Jehoiada the high priest,” and this reading is followed by some commentators (so Klein). Regarding Benaiah, see 1 Chr 11.22-23. “Benayahu,” the longer form of his name, occurs here and in verse 6, as also in 1 Chr 11.24 (so La Bible Pléiade, Chouraqui). However, nearly all translations use the shorter form Benaiah in all occurrences.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .