The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom), in Yagaria with oune or “shadow, reflection” (source: Renck, p. 81), and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
The Mandarin Chineselínghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The term that is transliterated as “Joseph” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that relates to a) the coat he wore (see Gen 37:3), b) the holding of his clothes by Potiphar’s wife (see Gen 39:12), and c) the many times Joseph experienced grief. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Joseph” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign that signifies “dream,” referring to Jacob’s dream at Bethel (see Genesis 28:10 and the following verses). (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 7:14:
Uma: “After that, Yusuf sent news to Yakub his father, saying that the whole family should move to Mesir. The amount of the people who moved to Mesir, [was] seventy-five.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then Yusup sent for his father Yakub. He told Yakub and all of them in the family to come to Misil. They were seventy five in all.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Joseph had word carried to his father that he should come to him, that is, his father and all his relatives.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Then Jose caused-to-be-invited his father Jacob and all his siblings/cousins and their families to go to Egipto. They were seventy in all.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And then Jose caused his father Jacob to be fetched and all his relatives, the number of them being seventy-five people.” (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 first clause of verse 14 must frequently be translated as direct discourse, for example, Joseph told his brothers, “Say to my father Jacob, You and all of your family must come to Egypt.”
Seventy-five people is literally “seventy-five souls,” but once again “souls” means people. Seventy-five comes from the Septuagint (Genesis 46.27) and differs from the Hebrew text, which has seventy. The figure in the Septuagint is arrived at by adding the sixty-six who came from Canaan (Genesis 46.26) to the nine descendants of Joseph who were born in Egypt (Genesis 46.27) and omitting both Joseph and Jacob. The figure in the Hebrew text is arrived at by adding the sixty-six who came from Canaan (Genesis 46.26) to the two sons of Joseph (Genesis 46.27) and Joseph and Jacob also.
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.