complete verse (Leviticus 10:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 10:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “When Moses heard these words, it was enough/he was satisfied.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “After Moses heard this, his mind rested.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Moises agreed/concurred with the answer of Aaron.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When Moses/I heard that, he/I was satisfied.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

Translation commentary on Leviticus 10:20

Some early printings of Good News Translation omitted the number 20, but the content of this verse was included with verse 19.

Heard that: that is, when he heard the explanation of Aaron. In some languages it may be good to make this explicit with “heard Aaron’s words” or “heard the explanation of Aaron.”

He was content: literally “and it was good in his eyes.” (Compare “good in the eyes of the LORD” in verse 19, where the same verb is used.) If it can be done naturally in the receptor language, it may be good to translate this expression and the one in verse 19 in a similar way. For example, “would that have pleased the LORD?” in verse 19, and “he was pleased” in this verse. New Jerusalem Bible uses the word “approved” in both cases. In some languages the verb translating the idea of being pleased, satisfied, or content will require an object. In such cases it may be necessary to say “pleased with what he heard” or something similar.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .