atonement

The Greek and Hebrew that is usually translated in English as “atonement” is translated in Luchazi with minina mata: “to swallow another’s spittle.” “The human bite [is traditionally thought of] as being the most poisonous and dangerous and the poison lies in the saliva. So in swallowing another’s spittle, one takes into oneself all the poison or evil of the other and thus actually ‘becomes sin’ on behalf of the other. The substitute then proceeds to deal with the case as though he were the guilty one.” (Source: E. Pearson in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 160ff. )

See also propitiation / atoning sacrifice and sacrifice of atonement / expiation / propitiation.

complete verse (Leviticus 6:30)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 6:30:

  • Kupsabiny: “But it is possible that blood of a goat/sheep is brought into the Tent of God so as to sweep away sin in the holy place. If that is the case, its meat must not be eaten, but it must be burned.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “If the blood has been offered to make atonement in the Holy Place, it is not OK to eat the flesh of the Purification Sacrifice. It must all be burned in fire.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But if the blood of this offering is-taken to the Holy Place, there inside the Tent, so-that the sin of a person will-be-redeemed, that offering must- not -be-eaten instead (it) is-to-be-burnt.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But if the blood of those sin offerings is brought into the Sacred Tent to enable the people to be forgiven for having sinned, the meat of those animals must not be eaten. The meat must be completely burned.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 6:30

This verse alludes to 4.3-12 and 4.13-21. Only in these two cases a part of the blood was taken inside the Tent of the LORD’s presence.

Shall be eaten: this passive construction may have to be rendered in some languages as “no person can eat…” or “all people must avoid eating….”

Burned with fire: in many languages the words with fire will be considered redundant and unnecessary. Compare 4.11.

In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of the two verb phrases “… must not be eaten” and “… must be burned.”

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 .