inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Acts 7:40)

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 Aaron).

In Huautla Mazatec, however, the translators selected the exclusive pronoun (excluding Aaron).

In the Karbi and the Tok Pisin translations, for the first part of the verse the inclusive pronoun is used (including Aaaron) but for the last part (“we do not know what has happened to him” in English) the exclusive pronoun is used (excluding Aaron).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff. and W. R. Hutton in The Bible Translator April 1953, p. 86ff. (Karbi).

complete verse (Acts 7:40)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 7:40:

  • Uma: “They said to Harun: ‘Make for us (incl.) an idol that we can worship, so that that idol will lead us. Because we (excl.) no longer know what has happened to that Musa who led us (incl.) out of Mesir.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then because Moses was a long time there on the mountain, they said to Harun, ‘Make gods for us (incl.) so that they will go ahead to lead us (incl.). We (incl.) do not know what has happened to Musa who brought us (incl.) out of Misil.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they said to Aaron, the older brother of Moses, they said, ‘Make us images that can be the gods that we will follow, because as for this Moses, the one who brought us out of Egypt, we do not know where he has gone.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When Moses was a long-time on the summit (lit. head) of that-aforementioned mountain, they said to Aaron, ‘Please make gods to lead us, because we (excl.) don’t know what happened to that Moses-(fellow) who led us in our leaving Egipto.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That’s why they asked Aaron, saying, ‘Make images/likenesses of God, that being what will lead us in place of Moises, because we don’t know what has happened to this Moises who caused us to come out of Egipto.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

For the Old Testament quotes, see Exodus 32:1.

Aaron

The name that is transliterated as “Aaron” in English is translated in Catalan Sign Language and Spanish Sign Language as “stones on chest plate” (according to Exodus 28:15-30) (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


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

In Colombian Sign Language, Honduras Sign Language, and American Sign Language, the chest plate is outlined (in ASL it is outlined using the letter “A”):


“Aaron” in ASL (source )

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

See also Moses, more information on Aaron , and this lectionary in The Christian Century .

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


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

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

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

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

Translation commentary on Acts 7:40

It may be useful to introduce a marginal note to explain who Aaron is, since Aaron has not been previously introduced in this particular book.

In many languages one cannot “make a god.” Rather, it is necessary to say “make us idols of gods” or “make us images to be our gods.”

The expression who will go in front of us must be related in many languages to the role of idols, for example, “who will be carried in front of us.”

The Scripture reference is to Exodus 32.1 and 23. In the second sentence of this verse the emphatic element is that Moses: “for that Moses, who brought us out of Egypt, we do not know what happened to him.” The force of this construction is to speak contemptuously of Moses.

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 .