cubit

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated as “cubit” or into a metric or imperial measurement in English is translated in Kutu, Kwere, and Nyamwezi as makono or “armlength.” Since a cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, one armlength (measured from the center of the chest to the fingertips) equals two cubits or roughly 1 meter. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Similarly, in Akoose, the translation is “arm distance.” (Source: Joseph Nkwelle Ngome and Marlie van Rooyen & Jacobus A. Naudé in Communicatio 2009, p. 251ff.)

In Klao it is converted into “hand spans” (app. 6 inches or 12 cm) and “finger spans” (app. 1 inch or 2 cm) (source: Don Slager) and in Bariai into leoa or “fathom,” which comprises the distance from a person’s fingertip to fingertip with arms outstretched, app. 6 feet (source: Bariai Back Translation).

distance (long / wide / high)

The concepts of distance that are translated in English with “long,” “wide,” and “high/tall” are translated in Kwere with one word: utali. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Ezekiel 40:30)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 40:30:

  • Kupsabiny: “There were three gates that were directed/pointing towards the inner courtyard. Each of them had a veranda of about 44 feet, and (it/they) had about nine feet going inwards.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “(The balconies of the ways which surrounded the inner courtyard had a length of eight feet and had a width of 42 and a half feet.)” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The entry rooms around the inner courtyard were 43-3/4 feet/13.3 meters wide and 8.7 feet/2.6 meters long.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 40:29 - 40:30

Its side rooms, its jambs, and its vestibule were of the same size as the others; and there were windows round about in it and in its vestibule: In order to show that the south gatehouse to the inner courtyard was identical in size to the outer gatehouses, Ezekiel lists some of its details, namely, its side rooms (that is, the small rooms on each side of the passageway of the gatehouse [see Ezek 40.7]), its jambs (that is, the doorframes and intervening walls [see verses 9-10]), its vestibule (that is, the porch [see Ezek 40.7]), and the windows (that is, the niches in the walls [see verse 16]). Translators should be careful to make it clear that the pronouns it and its refer to the gatehouse, and not some other part of the building.

Its length was fifty cubits, and its breadth twenty-five cubits: Ezekiel even records the total dimensions of this gatehouse to confirm that it was the same size as the outer ones (see verses 13 and 15). It was 25 meters (84 feet) long and 12.5 meters (42 feet) wide.

And there were vestibules round about, twenty-five cubits long and five cubits broad: Verse 30 refers to vestibules round about. It is by no means clear where these vestibules were, but they may have been narrow verandas on the inside of the wall of the inner courtyard. If there was no wall around the inner courtyard (Ezekiel does not mention one), these vestibules may have consisted of a veranda or covered walkway that formed the boundary between the outer and inner courtyards. They were twenty-five cubits long and five cubits broad, that is, 12.5 meters (42 feet) long and 2.5 meters (8 feet) wide, so they did not have the same dimensions as the porches of the gatehouses (see Ezek 40.8).

Many translations omit verse 30 (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Moffatt, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch); it is also missing from the Septuagint and some Hebrew manuscripts. Some scholars think that a scribe must have included it by mistake, because it is almost identical to the last half of the previous verse. But as long as we can make sense of the verse, it is better to keep it in, as Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .