apostle, apostles

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The Greek term that is usually translated as “apostle(s)” in English is (back-) translated in the following ways:

Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as commissioner.

In American Sign Language it is translated with a combination of the signs for “following” plus the sign for “authority” to differentiate it from disciple. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“apostles” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

complete verse (Acts 5:2)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 5:2:

  • Uma: “Part of the buying money of his land he handed-over to the apostles of the Lord Yesus, he said: ‘Here is all the buying money of my land.’ But in fact he had saved/stored part it [emphatic]. In that deed, the couple were in-agreement.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “but he kept some of the proceeds for himself. His wife knew this. The rest of the money he handed over to the commissioned ones and he said that that was the proceeds.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “however he kept part of the proceeds, and his wife was pleased by this. And that which he didn’t keep, he took it and gave it to the apostles, and he said that it was all of the proceeds of his land.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They agreed to set-aside some of its sale-money, then Ananias went and turned-over the rest to the apostles saying, ‘Here is the sale-money of our (excl.) land.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When they had sold it, Ananias took the payment to the apostles, but there was something they husband-and-wife had agreed upon together which was not to give all of it. When Ananias arrived, he said, ‘Here also is our (excl.) help. That­s as much as was paid for our (excl.) land which we (excl.) sold.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 5:2

The phrase kept part … for himself translates a verb which appears in two other places in the New Testament, Acts 5.3 and Titus 2.10. This verb is also used in the Septuagint in the story of Achan (Joshua 7.1), and it is tempting to see a parallel between this account and the story of Achan. In Hellenistic Greek this verb is commonly used of money taken secretly from a quantity belonging to a group of people.

Though the Greek text literally says “laid it at the apostles’ feet,” it is frequently more satisfactory to translate simply “turned it over to the apostles” or “gave it to the apostles.” A literal translation of the Greek idiom could be, and often is, badly misunderstood.

The phrase as his wife knew can sometimes be translated by a separate clause “his wife knew all about it.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 5:2

5:2a

With his wife’s full knowledge: The Greek is more literally “the wife also knew with (him).” This indicates that Ananias’ wife knew the same thing about the money from the sale of the land that Ananias did. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

his wife also knew
-or-
his wife also knew ⌊this:⌋

5:8 indicates that she knew that Ananias kept back a part of the money and that he would lie to Peter about part of the money being the whole amount.

he kept back some of the proceeds for himself: The Greek is more literally “he put aside from the price/value.” This Greek verb indicates that Ananias did something wrong in regard to the price of the land.

It is clear from 5:2b that he kept part of the money for himself. 5:3a also tells us that Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, which implies that he lied to Peter. It was clear how much money he gave to Peter. So the lie must have been that he told Peter that the money in front of him was the whole amount from the sale of the land. In that way he was doing something wrong about what he said was the price of the land.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

he removed part of the money for himself
-or-
he divided the amount and hid part of it

5:2b

but: The Greek word can also mean “and.” In many languages 5:2b would not be considered to contrast to 5:2a. For example:

and (Revised Standard Version)

brought a portion: The Greek is more literally “bringing a certain part.” It indicates that Ananias brought some of the money from the sale of the land. The word “certain” here indicates that how much of a part (like ‘half’ or ‘quarter’) is not stated. Here are some other ways to translate this:

brought a certain part (King James Version)
-or-
brought only a part (Revised Standard Version)

laid it at the apostles’ feet: This clause indicates that Ananias put the money under the control of the apostles. See how you translated this clause in 4:37.

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