Pharaoh

The term that is used for monarchs in ancient Egypt and is transliterated as “Pharaoh” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the sign signifying the “fake metal beard (postiche)” that was word by Pharaohs during official functions. (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Pharaoh” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Pharaoh .

complete verse (Deuteronomy 29:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 29:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “At that time Moses called all the people of Israel to come to one place and said to them, ‘You (plur.) have heard the words/things that God did to the king of Egypt, all his people, and also/even all his country.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Moses called all Israel together and said,
    You have seen all the work that the LORD has done in Egypt before you to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Moises summoned all the Israelinhon and told-(them), ‘You (plur.) yourselves have-seen all that the LORD has-done to the king of Egipto and to all his officials and to his entire nation.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Moses/I summoned all the Israeli people and said to them, ‘You saw for yourselves what Yahweh did to the king of Egypt and to his officials and to his entire country.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

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 .

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

respectful form of "do" (nasaru)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way to do this is through the usage of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, nasaru (なさる), the respectful form of suru (する) or “do,” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 29:2

Moses summoned all Israel: Moses called all the people to gather to listen to him. In Deuteronomy statements like this typically indicate the opening of a new discourse or speech.

And said: at this point Moses is clearly identified as the speaker. But whether Yahweh or Moses is speaking needs to be kept quite clear as the chapter progresses.

You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes: this means “You saw all the things that Yahweh did in your presence” or “… as you were watching.” In some languages this will be rendered as “You saw with your own eyes all the things that the LORD did…,” while in other languages we may simply say “You saw the LORD perform all…,” as the phrase before your eyes repeats the information already given in the clause you have seen. As a matter of fact, most of the Israelites standing in front of Moses hadn’t really seen all these things, but Moses is including them with their parents (see also 4.34, where Moses uses the inclusive pronoun “we”).

Pharaoh: this is a title, not a name; however, in 7.8 and 11.3 it appears as a proper name (so Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version there).

His servants: this means his officials, especially the court officers.

All his land: not simply the country as such, but all the people of Egypt. So Contemporary English Version has “everyone else in the country.”

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 .