sandal (illustration)

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sandal” in English is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:

Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

See also untie sandals.

elder (of the community)

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated as “elders” in English is translated in the Danish Bibelen 2020 as folkets ledere or “leaders of the people.”

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators, explains: “The term ‘elder’ turned out to pose a particularly thorny problem. In traditional bibles, you can find elders all of over the place and they never pose a problem for a translator, they are just always elders. But how to find a contemporary term for this semi-official, complex position? This may have been our longest-standing problem. A couple of times we thought we had the solution, and then implemented it throughout the texts, only to find out that it didn’t work. Like when we used city council or village council, depending on the context. In the end we felt that the texts didn’t work with such official terms, and throughout the years in the desert, these terms didn’t make much sense. Other suggestions were ‘the eldest and wisest’, ‘the respected citizens’, ‘the Israelites with a certain position in society’, ‘the elder council’ –- and let me point out that these terms sound better in Danish than in English (‘de fremtrædende borgere,’ ‘de mest fremtrædende israelitter,’ ‘alle israelitter med en vis position,’ ‘de ældste og de klogeste,’ ‘ældsterådet’). In the end we just said ‘leaders of the people.’ After a lot of hand-wringing, it turned out that we actually found a term that worked well. So, we had to give up conveying the fact that they were old, but the most important point is that they were community leaders.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

The German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates likewise as “leader of the people” (Anführer des Volkes).

sandal / shoe

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sandal” or “shoe” similar in English is translated in Noongar as djena-bwoka or “feet kangaroo skin” (source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020) and in Mairasi as “foot thing” (source: Enggavoter 2004).

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about sandals (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also cloth.

complete verse (Deuteronomy 25:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 25:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “let it be done like this: The woman who is a widow shall go towards her brother-in-law while the elders are watching. After that, let (her) take off from the man his shoe on one leg and then, she is to spit him in the face/eyes saying, ‘This is what is done to a person who has refused to inherit the home of his brother.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The dead man’s wife must go to him in the presence of the elders, remove a shoe from his foot and spit in his face. Then she must speak like this, "Anyone who will not help in the work that must be done for his elder or younger brother’s family line, — this is what happen to the man who refuse to give his brother a descendant."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “the widow shall-go-near before/[lit. in front-of] the ones-who-rule and she will-take-off the sandal of his brother-in-law and she will-spit him on the face and say, ‘This is what is-done to the man who is not willing to give his sibling who died a descendant.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “she must go up to him while the elders are watching, and take off one of his sandals to symbolize/show that he would not receive any of her property, and spit in his face, and say to him, ‘This is what happens to the man who refuses to do what is needed to allow his dead brother to have a son in order that our family name does not disappear.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 25:9

This sets the procedure to be followed if the dead man’s brother tells the town’s elders that he will not perform his duty.

In the presence of the elders: or “while the town leaders watch” (Contemporary English Version).

Pull his sandal off his foot: the symbolic meaning of this act is not clear. If we need to say which foot, we can say “his right foot.” See the procedure described in Ruth 4.7-9. The Hebrew sandal refers to footwear tied with straps.

Spit in his face: this, of course, is a highly insulting act.

Shall answer: this is a formal statement. In English it may be expressed as “shall declare” or “shall state.”

So shall it be done: this does not refer to some future happening; it is the public humiliating insult which has just been inflicted on the man. Other ways of expressing this are “This is what happens” (Good News Translation) or “That’s what happens” (Contemporary English Version).

The man who does not build up his brother’s house: here house means “family,” and the meaning is that, by refusing to produce a son for his brother, the man is allowing the brother’s family name to disappear. Both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version are good models for translation.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .