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. )

bill

The Greek that is translated as “bill” or similar in English is translated by the Panjabi in Persian script as ashtam. “Ashtam is derived from the English term ‘stamped’ (paper). The Indian Stamp Act was introduced in 1899 in order to collect revenue for the government. As a result, a stamped paper came to represent a legal document for any financial transactions. It could be produced in a court of law as a document of evidence. The stamped paper was commonly referred to as ashtam or ashtam paper among villagers in Punjab. The use of ashtam in context signaled the seriousness of the matter to readers and listeners — the shrewd manager was committing an illegal act by telling his master’s debtors to put false amounts on an ashtam paper in order to cause financial loss to his master. Although ashtam was an adapted loanword, its function and legal importance was understood by the people. The translators made a wise decision to use it in the translation.” (Source: Yousaf Sadiq in The Bible Translator 2021, p. 189ff.)

complete verse (Luke 16:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 16:7:

  • Noongar: “Then he asked the next person, ‘You also – what must you give the boss?’ ‘1000 containers of wheat’, he said. The worker told him, ‘Here is your account. Write 800.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘After that, and he said to the second one: ‘And you (sing.), how much is your (sing.) debt?’ ‘He answered: ‘One thousand sacks of rice.’ ‘That servant said: ‘Here is your (sing.) letter of debt, write just eight hundred sacks.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And he said to another one, ‘You, how much is your debt?’ He said, ‘One hundred sacks rice.’ Then he said to him, ‘Here is your account, write here eighty.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then another one arrived, and this servant asked him how much his debt was, and he answered, ‘A thousand baskets of wheat.’ And the servant said to him, ‘Here’s the list of things you owe; sit down here and change it to only eight hundred baskets.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “He said also to another, ‘You (sing.) also then, how much is your (sing.) debt?’ ‘One thousand gantas of wheat,’ he answered. Then the employee said, ‘Here, take your (sing.) receipt and write eight hundred.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “He questioned the next one. ‘So as for yours,’ he said, ‘how much is your debt?’ ‘Oh, it’s a big one,’ was his reply, ‘for it’s one hundred sacks of wheat.’ ‘Well, here is your piece-of-writing with your debt. Write a new one. Write only eighty.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

wheat

Two kinds of wild wheat have grown in the open deciduous oak woodland in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent for several thousand years: Einkorn Wheat Triticum monococcum and Emmer Wheat Triticum dicoccum. Both came into cultivation together with barley. Just before the time of the Romans, the Naked Bread Wheat or Hard Wheat Triticum durum started replacing the hulled varieties. This then became the favorite type of wheat for bread and macaroni. Spelt is a sub-member of the Triticum aestivum species.

In NRSVue and some other versions, the generic Hebrew word bar has been rendered “wheat” in Jeremiah 23:28 et al. This is legitimate, since the grain referred to by bar was probably wheat. However, it might be better to say “grain” in these passages.

The most important early wheat for the Israelites was emmer, probably the only wheat known in Egypt, and referred to in Hebrew as chittah. However, according to Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992), the seven-headed wheat of the Egyptian king’s dream (Genesis 41:5ff.) suggests that there may also have been Triticum turgidum (rivet wheat) in the emmer group. The Hebrew word kusemeth probably refers to a type of emmer wheat that the Egyptians called swt.

Wheat is a type of grass like rice and barley, growing to around 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) in height and having a head with many small grains in rows.

Bread made from wheat was the staple food for the people of ancient Israel, so God punished them by breaking “the staff of bread” (see, for example, Ezekiel 4:16).

If wheat is unfamiliar, translators can transliterate from a major language in non-rhetorical contexts (for example, English witi, Portuguese trigo, French ble or froment, Swahili ngano, Arabic kama/alkama). The transliteration may add a generic tag such as “grain.” The New Testament passages are mostly rhetorical, opening the possibility for a metaphorical equivalent.

Wheat head, photo by Gloria Suess

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

Translation commentary on Luke 16:7

Exegesis:

epeita heterō eipen ‘then he said to another.’ heterō instead of tō deuterō ‘the second one’ implies that vv. 6 and 7 relate only examples of what the manager did.

hekaton korous sitou ‘a hundred kors of wheat.’

koros ‘kor,’ a Hebrew dry measure of capacity, about 10 bushels or 370 litres, also a very considerable amount.

grapson ogdoēkonta ‘write eighty,’ cf. on v. 6.

Translation:

Cf. on v. 6. For another cf. also 14.19.

Measure, or, ‘bag,’ ‘sack’ (Shona 1963, Sranan Tongo), or a similar designation for a common local dry measure much larger than the preceding one; and cf. on v. 6.

Wheat, see on 3.17.

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 16:7

16:7a

Then he asked another: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as another refers to another of the men who owed something to the rich man. While versions such as the NET Bible and New International Version describe this as “the second” debtor, he was not necessarily the second one who spoke to the manager. Here is another way to translate this:

Then he said to another (Revised English Bible)

16:7b

And how much do you owe: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And introduces the same question as in 16:5b. The manager was now asking it to a different person. In some languages it may be natural to indicate the change to a different person by putting the pronoun you in a more emphatic position. For example:

And you, sir, how much do you owe? (New Jerusalem Bible)

16:7c

A hundred measures of wheat: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as A hundred measures of wheat refers to a “measure” that was a dry measure of about ten bushels. Some ways to translate this quantity are:

• Use a standard dry measure. For example:

A thousand bushels of wheat (New International Version)

• Use a measure of weight. For example:

44,000 pounds
-or-
20,000 kilos

• Use a commonly known local container or unit of measure for wheat or other grain. For example:

One hundred bags (NLV)
-or-
A hundred containers (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
one hundred sacks/baskets

wheat: In this context the word wheat refers to just the grain kernels, not to the stalks. In some areas wheat may not be known. If that is true in your area, other ways to translate it are:

• Use a more general term. For example:

grain

• Use a different type of grain that is grown in your area and is similar to wheat. For example:

barley/rice

See the note and picture of wheat in 3:17b.

16:7d–e

Take your bill and write eighty: This command is similar to what the manager told the first man (see the notes on 16:6b and 16:6c). The second man had to pay only eighty measures of wheat instead of one hundred measures. Whatever amount you use in 16:7c should be reduced by one-fifth in 16:7e. In other words, 16:7e must be four-fifths (80%) of whatever measure you use in 16:7c.

If it is necessary to understand the parable, you may need to put the following implied information in a footnote:

The manager helped in a similar way each of the men who owed things to the rich man.

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