Elijah

The name that is transliterated as “Elijah” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “whirlwind” (according to 2 Kings 2:11) (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Elijah” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

Click or tap here to see how other sign languages are translating “Elijah”

In American Sign Language it is translated with a depiction of being taken up to heaven with a chariot of fire. (Source: ASL Sign Language Directory )


“Elijah” in American Sign Language (source )

Likewise in Estonian Sign Language, but with a different sign (source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff.)


“Elijah” in Estonian Sign Language (source )

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “fire” (referring to 1 Kings 18:38). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Elijah” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Following is a Russian Orthodox icon of Elijah from the late 13h century.

 
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )

The following is a stained glass window depicting Elijah by Endre Odon Hevezi and Gyula Bajo from 1965 for the Debre Libanos Monastery, Oromia, Ethiopia:

Photo by Timothy A. Gonsalves, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Elijah .

complete verse (1 Kings 18:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 18:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “Elijah set off heading towards the home of Ahab.
    The famine became very tough/severe in Samaria.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So Elijah went to Ahab.
    At that time the famine was becoming serious in Samaria.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So Elias went to Ahab.
    Now, the famine was now very severe in Samaria.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So Elijah went to talk to Ahab.
    In Samaria there was almost no food for anyone to eat.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 18:2

The common Hebrew conjunction at the beginning of this verse is translated So by Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and most other modern English versions. This reflects the fact that the conjunction is used as a logical connector in this context. It is because of what the LORD said to Elijah that the prophet took the action described in this verse. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh correctly translates the meaning using the less common term “Thereupon.”

Elijah went to show himself to Ahab: See the comments on the verb show in verse 1. For reasons of English style, Good News Translation says simply that “Elijah started out.” Similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “Elijah set out to appear to Ahab,” because the following verses show that certain other events intervened before Elijah actually reached King Ahab.

The famine was severe: These words have been rendered by others as “the famine was raging” (Moffatt) and “there was no food” (New Century Version). There is actually no verb in the Hebrew, but the verb “to be” is understood. The text has only the Hebrew noun for “famine,” which is followed by the adjective meaning “hard” or “strong.” But the idea is that “there was a strong famine.”

Samaria: See the comments on 1 Kgs 16.24.

It will be important in most languages to ensure that a new paragraph is begun in the middle of this verse at the point where the severity of the famine is mentioned (so Good News Translation, Nouvelle Bible Segond). This will help the reader to understand that the following verses set up the encounter between Elijah and Obadiah.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .