drink

In Telugu different verbs for humans drinking (tāgu / తాగు) and animals drinking (cēḍu / చేడు) are required.

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Exod 15:24)

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, the Jarai translation uses the exclusive pronoun, excluding Moses.

complete verse (Exodus 15:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 15:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then, those people murmured to Moses that, ‘What shall we drink now, oh Moses?’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So the people grumbled against Moses, ‘What are we to drink?’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Because of this, the Israelinhon complained to Moises, ‘What (are) we (incl.) going-to-drink?’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “Therefore the people complained to Moses and so said, ‘What are we (excl.) going to drink?’” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “And people of Israel grumbled against Moses, asking him «So what is it that we (incl.) will drink?»” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “The people complained to Moses/me, saying, ‘What are we going to drink?’” (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 .

Translation commentary on Exod 15:24

And the people murmured against Moses uses a word repeated several times in these chapters and in the book of Numbers. It describes the complaining of the people throughout their wilderness wandering. Most English translations use either “complained” or “grumbled.” This “murmuring motif,” as it has been called, shows how much difficulty Moses had in building a relationship with the people.

Saying introduces what the people said. Since it is a question, Good News Translation has “and asked.” What shall we drink? may be either inclusive or exclusive. In languages that require one or the other, the exclusive form of we may be preferable, since it sets the people apart from Moses and agrees more with the “murmuring motif.” This question is not a request for information but almost a statement of despair. This may be stated as “We don’t have anything to drink now!” If the question form is kept in translation, one may also say “What are we to drink now?” or “What can we drink now?”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .