grain

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “corn”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).

Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

complete verse (Genesis 42:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 42:2:

  • Kankanaey: “because there-is reportedly food in Egipto. Please go buy-food-supplies there so-that we do not die with hunger.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I have heard that there is grain in the land of Egypt. If we are to be surviving, go there, buy grain and bring it.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I have-heard that there is food for-sale as-it-is-said in Egipto, so [you (pl.)] go there and buy so-that we will- not -die of famine/hunger.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He said to them, ‘Someone told me that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, in order that we will not die!'” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on Genesis 42:2

Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt: Behold, hinneh, is often used to call someone’s attention before giving an exhortation or command. It may be that Jacob knows something his sons have not yet heard. Heard expresses the Hebrew verb “to hear,” and the sense is the same as the Hebrew “saw” in Gen 42.1. It may be necessary to say, for example, “People have told me that there is….”

Go down and buy grain for us there: for comment on go down (to Egypt) see 12.10. For us refers to all of Jacob’s family.

That we may live, and not die is the reason for sending his sons to Egypt to buy grain. This expression is used by the narrator as a rhetorical device to emphasize the importance of obtaining food for survival. We may translate, for example, “so we can go on living” or “so that we can survive.” See Good News Translation.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .