Sabbath

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”). (Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)

In Matumbi it is translated as Sabato ya Ayahudi or “Sabbath of the Jews,” to distinguish it from the Islamic Sabbath (which is Friday) or the Christian Sabbath (which is Sunday). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ​ថ្ងៃ​ឈប់​សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (​ថ្ងៃ​សប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff. )

In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original). Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:


“Sabbath” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sabbath .

complete verse (Exodus 16:26)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 16:26:

  • Kupsabiny: “Collect/gather the food in six days, but there is nothing on the seventh day because that is Sabbath.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “collect the food for six days, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be nothing on the ground.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) can-gather this food within six days, but on the seventh day you (plur.) should-rest. On that day there-will-be-no food for you (plur.) to get.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “You will gather this food for a duration of six days, and on the seventh day, you will not find any, because it’s the Day of Rest.’” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “Therefore, you will gather it [body] for days six, and it will be absent on day seventh which be day of rest.»” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “Every week, you must gather it for six days; but on the seventh day, which will be a day of rest, you will not find any.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 16:26

Six days you shall gather it is now a general command for the future, meaning the first Six days of every week. But is the usual conjunction waw, used here to contrast the two clauses. On the seventh day, which is a sabbath brings together the words shebaʿ (“seven”) and shabbath (“sabbath”), which clearly are not the same, as is sometimes assumed. There will be none, literally “there will not be in it,” refers to a fresh covering of manna on the ground. So Translator’s Old Testament has “there will be no food for you to collect on that day,” and Durham has “there will not be any to pick up.”

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 .