clean animals, unclean animals

The phrases that are translated as “clean animals” and “unclean animals” in English: The first draft into Maan had “animals not cursed” and “cursed animals,” which did not express correctly the idea of ritually pure and impure animals. So it was changed to “animals accepted by God for sacrifices” and “animals not accepted by God for sacrifices.”

In Kwere it is translated as animals “which are eaten” vs. “which are not eaten.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In Makonde is is translated as halali and halamu, derived from the Arabic halal (حلال) and haram (حرام), used for permitted and and forbidden animals in Islam. The Makonde speakers are 90% Muslim and this was chosen because these are widely understood terms and because many of the permitted (clean) foods of Judaism and Islam match. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Genesis 7:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 7:8:

  • Kankanaey: “All kinds of animals and birds who paired also went to where- plural Noe -were, including those-that-slithered and those-that-crawled, there were those that were considered clean, there were also filthy,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “All animals, clean and unclean, birds, [and] ones that creep on the ground” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “According to what God had-commanded Noe, he caused-to-go-inside the ship every pair of all kinds of animals that were clean and not clean that came-near to him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Pairs of animals, those that God said that he would accept for sacrifices and those that he would not accept for sacrifices, and pairs of birds and pairs of all the kinds of creatures that move close to the ground,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 7:8 - 7:9

In verse 8 the picture is of clean and unclean animals entering the boat. However, now they go not as seven pairs of clean and one pair of unclean, but rather as a single pair of each. Some scholars interpret this as an editor’s attempt to harmonize verses 8-9 with 6.19-20.

Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds follows the Hebrew way of expression and creates an unnatural English style. In order to avoid this awkwardness, it is often necessary to take verses 8 and 9 as a unit. We may restructure these verses as Good News Translation does, or we may say, for example, “Noah took with him into the boat a pair of every clean and unclean, large and small, animals and birds. So Noah obeyed what God had told him to do.” If the translator follows this arrangement, verse numbers 8-9 should be written together.

For everything that creeps on the ground, see discussion under 1.24.

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 .