Targumim (or: Targums) are translations of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic. They were translated and used when Jewish congregations increasingly could not understand the biblical Hebrew anymore. Targum Onqelos (also: Onkelos) is the name of the Aramaic translation of the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) probably composed in Israel/Palestine in the 1st or 2nd century CE and later edited in Babylon in the 4th or 5th century, making it reflect Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. It is the most famous Aramaic translation and was widely used throughout the Jewish communities.
In many, but not all, cases the translation of Targum Onqelos avoids anthropomorphisms (attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions) as they relate in the original Hebrew text to God.
The Hebrew of these verses that is translated in English as “(I will) dwell” with God as the subject are translated in the Targum Onqelos as “my presence will dwell.” (Source: Schochet 1966, p. 29ff.)
The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “sanctuary” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with opatulika or “separated place.” This is understood in a religious setup as a place designated for worship. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 25:8:
Kupsabiny: “Those people should build for me a dedicated tent so that we all live together.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “They have to make a sanctuary for me, I will dwell among them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “And have- the people of Israel -make a place-of-worship for me where I can-live among them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Bariai: “‘And so the people will bring these things and then make my shelter with it. [When] it’s like that then I [will] be living in their midst.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Opo: “Afterwards, you (sing., imp.) say to them they must make for me tent which be sacred, in order that I shall stay inside amongst them.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
English: “Tell the people to make a big Sacred Tent for me, so that I can live in it among them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
And let them make me a sanctuary is literally “And they will make for me a holy place.” New Revised Standard Version has changed this to “And have them make me,” and Good News Translation has “The people must make a sacred Tent for me.” However, since “sacred” means that it is Yahweh’s dwelling place, Contemporary English Version‘s translation is better and will be a good model for many translators: “I also want them to build a special place where I can live among my people.” Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible follow the Septuagint with the second person singular, “[You] make me a sanctuary,” but the Hebrew has the third person plural. There are a variety of ways to translate tabernacle or “sacred Tent”: “The portable house where I will live,” “the temporary shelter where I, Yahweh, will be,” “the tent where the people of Israel will worship me, the LORD,” and so on. That I may dwell in their midst is literally “and I will settle [or, live] in their midst.” The “and” may be read either as “so that” (Good News Translation) or as “and then” (similarly Revised English Bible and New International Version).
According to all that I show you is literally “Like all that I [am] causing you [singular] to see.” The participle, “causing to see,” gives the meaning “I am about to show you,” so one may say “I will show you” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “I shall now show you” (New Jerusalem Bible).
Concerning the pattern of the tabernacle is literally “the form [or, shape] of the dwelling.” (Concerning is not in the Hebrew.) This is really the direct object of the verb show, in the sense that “I will show the form to you.” The word for pattern also means “plan” (Good News Translation), or “design” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). As mentioned before, the word for tabernacle (mishkan) really means “dwelling.” This was translated as tabernaculum in the LatinVulgate. (See the discussion in the introduction to 26.1-14.)
And of all its furniture is another direct object of the verb show: “I will show [to you] the form of the tabernacle and the form of all its furniture.” The word for furniture, literally “objects,” refers to all the “furnishings” (Good News Translation) and “equipment” (Durham) that will be used in the tabernacle. So you shall make it is literally “thus you [plural] will make.” Since this is the main clause of the sentence, it may be easier to place this at the beginning of the verse (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible and others).
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 .
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