burnt-offering

The Hebrew olah (עֹלָה) originally means “that which goes up (in smoke).” English Bibles often translates it as “burnt-offering” or “whole burnt-offering,” focusing on the aspect of the complete burning of the offering.

The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate Bibles translate it as holokautōma / holocautōsis (ὁλοκαύτωμα / ὁλοκαύτωσις) and holocaustum, respectively, meaning “wholly burnt.” While a form of this term is widely used in many Romance languages (Spanish: holocaustos, French: holocaustes, Italian: olocausti, Portuguese: holocaustos) and originally also in the Catholic tradition of English Bible translations, it is largely not used in English anymore today (the preface of the revised edition of the Catholic New American Bible of 2011: “There have been changes in vocabulary; for example, the term ‘holocaust’ is now normally reserved for the sacrilegious attempt to destroy the Jewish people by the Third Reich.”)

Since translation into Georgian was traditionally done on the basis of the Greek Septuagint, a transliteration of holokautōma was used as well, which was changed to a translation with the meaning of “burnt offering” when the Old Testament was retranslated in the 1980’s on the basis of the Hebrew text.

In the Koongo (Ki-manianga) translation by the Alliance Biblique de la R.D. Congo (publ. in 2015) olah is translated as “kill and offer sacrifice” (source: Anicet Bassilua) and in Elhomwe as “fire offering.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

The English translation of Everett Fox uses offering-up (similarly, the German translation by Buber-Rosenzweig has Darhöhung and the French translation by Chouraqui montée).

See also offering (qorban).

complete verse (1 Kings 18:34)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 18:34:

  • Kupsabiny: “Elijah said to the people, ‘Throw (water) again!’ Those people did like that. He said for the third (time), ‘Throw water again.’ It was done like that.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He said, "Do like that again." They did like that.
    He also ordered them, "Do like that a third time. They also did like that a third time.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Elias said, ‘You (plur.) pour again.’ After they poured, Elias said again, ‘You (plur.) pour still for the third time.’ They obeyed what Elias had-said.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then he said, ‘Do the same thing again!’ So they did it again. Then he said ‘Do it a third time!’ So they did it again.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 18:34

Revised Standard Version preserves the form of the Hebrew here, which is considered repetitive in English style. For this reason Good News Translation avoids repeating the words a second time and a third time.

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 .