The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “corn”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).
Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including Stephen and his listeners).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 7:12:
Uma: “From there, Yakub heard that there was rice being sold in Mesir. That is why he ordered his children, those ancestors of ours, to go to Mesir. That was their first trip to Mesir.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Therefore when Yakub heard that there was food in the country of Misil, he told his sons, the forefathers of our (incl.) nation, to go there to buy food, and that was the first time they went to Misil,’ Estepan said.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore when Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt, he told his male children, our ancestors, that they should go there. This is their first going there to get food.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Therefore when Jacob heard that there was a place-to-buy-stored-up food in Egipto, he sent his children our ancestors (lit. fathers) to go buy what they would eat. That was the first-time they went.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But Jacob heard news that food was indeed plentiful in Egipto. Therefore he caused his sons to go there, those fore-fathers of ours, to get food.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is transliterated as “Jacob” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that signifies “lentil,” referring to the soup he gave his brother in exchange for his birthright (see Genesis 25:34). Note that another Spanish Sign Language sign for Jacob also users the sign for Jewish. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the signs signifying “smooth arm” (referring to the story starting at Genesis 27:11). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
The word translated grain is in Greek a plural, generally taken to mean “food” rather than grain; but a number of translators understand it to mean grain (see Jerusalem Bible, Revised Standard Version).
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 .
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.