complete verse (Mark 12:19)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 12:19:

  • Uma: “‘Teacher, the prophet Musa wrote in the book of the law like this: if a man dies yet has no children, his brother must marry his widow so that he will have descendants.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘Sir, there is a law that Musa has given to us (incl.) that if there is a man and he dies without having children, (then) his younger-brother should marry that widow in order that there will be descendants of his older-brother.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they said to Jesus, they said, ‘Teacher, Moses taught long ago that, for example, if there is a man who has a wife and that man dies, it is necessary for the brother of that man to marry his sister-in-law so that the dead person might have children through him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘Sir teacher, our law which Moses wrote says, ‘If there is a married-couple who have no children and the man dies, his brother must marry the widow so that thus if they have a child, that will be like a child of the dead-one.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we (incl.) Judio have a law which was written by Moises, that if a man who is married dies, that married couple having no children yet, he is to be succeeded by his brother in marrying (that wife). For if they have a child, it is to be regarded as like it is indeed the child of that dead (person).” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

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 Mark 12:19

Exegesis:

didaskale (cf. 4.38) ‘teacher.’

hēmin ‘for us (Jews)’ – not simply ‘for us Sadducees.’

hoti ‘that’: may be taken as introducing indirect discourse (as done by Revised Standard Version) and so translated ‘that’; it is more probable, however, that it serves here to introduce a quotation as direct discourse (represented in English by colon and quotation marks; cf. Translator’s New Testament). The passage quoted is a free rendering of Deut. 25.5f.

apothanē (cf. 5.35) ‘(if) he die.’

katalipē (cf. 10.7) ‘(if) he leave.’

kai mē aphē ‘but (if) he not leave’: kai here is adversative. The verb aphiēmi (cf. 2.5) ‘leave’ is here equivalent to kataleipō of the previous clause.

teknon (cf. 2.5) ‘child’: here used generically, ‘children,’ ‘offspring.’

hina ‘in order that’: may be taken as dependent upon egrapsen ‘he wrote … that,’ giving the content of what Moses wrote, or else simply as imperatival, hina labē ‘he must take’ (equivalent to the Septuagint volitive future lēmpsetai ‘he shall take’).

labē … tēn gunaika ‘he take … the woman’: the phrase here and in vv. 20-21 indicates marriage, and not simply sexual possession, and means ‘take a wife.’

ho adelphos autou ‘his brother,’ that is, the brother of the dead man (and not the brother of the ‘someone,’ tinos, referred to in the previous clause, in which case it would be the dead man himself, or a third, unnamed, brother: that is why instead of ‘his brother’ in the Greek text, Revised Standard Version has ‘the man’ which makes for clarity and accuracy).

exanastēsē sperma tō adelphō autou ‘raise up seed for his brother,’ ‘produce descendants for his brother’: under the regulations of Levirate marriage, the child born to the marriage of a man with his brother’s widow would be accounted the son of the dead man. It is to be noticed that this clause in Mark is not an exact transcription of the Deuteronomic Law (Deut. 25.5f.) but recalls the language of Gen. 38.8-9.

exanistēmi (only here in Mark) ‘raise up’: not in the modern sense of ‘rearing’ or ‘bringing up’ children, but with the meaning of ‘causing to rise (or, appear),’ in the sense of begetting children.

sperma (cf. 4.31) ‘seed’: here figuratively and generically for ‘children,’ ‘offspring.’

Translation:

For us should not be interpreted as an exclusive first person plural reference, as some translators have done, for though the Sadducees had a particular purpose in asking this question, as related to their interpretation of the law, certainly Jesus was included by the Sadducees in the group who were the recipients of the law of Moses.

Wrote … that if … but … the man must take … and raise up … is a very complex form of indirect discourse. In some instances it is wise to simplify the structure in accordance with the regular patterns of the receptor language, e.g. ‘wrote for us these words, If a man’s brother dies…’ or ‘wrote for us, If a man’s brother dies…,’ thus adapting the form to direct discourse.

Man’s brother must often be ‘man’s older brother,’ since so many languages make a distinction between older and younger, especially in this type of context.

Leaves a wife may be changed in perspective to read ‘his wife is alone and has no children’ or ‘leaves his widow without any children.’

The man must be translated as ‘the younger brother’ in languages in which a clear distinction between younger and older brother must be preserved. Of course, it was not absolutely necessary that the levirate relationship be between brothers of successive ages, but that would be the more normal relationship, and in this context this is obviously the order.

Must take the wife must be translated in such a way as to avoid any concept of improper relations, e.g. ‘must marry the widow’ or ‘must marry the woman.’ In most languages the technical term for ‘wife’ must be avoided, since in many societies she is no longer legally the wife of the deceased.

Raise up children is a very specialized kind of idiom which must be changed in most languages, e.g. ‘have children,’ ‘produce children.’ The use of ‘raising up seed’ (which is the literal translation of the Greek) must generally be avoided, since it is likely to be either meaningless (any meaning it might have would refer to plants) or be very vulgar, as a reference to sexual intercourse.

For his brother is neatly expressed in Cashibo-Cacataibo as ‘for the name of his brother,’ indicating that the children would bear the name of the dead brother. In the Tabasco Chontal the precise relationship must be expressed as ‘to produce children by his sister-in-law for his older brother.’

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 12:19

12:19a

Teacher: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Teacher was a polite title for a Jewish religious leader. It does not mean “school teacher.” See how you translated this word in 4:38c and 12:14a.

Moses wrote for us that: This phrase introduces a specific law that God gave the Jews. Moses wrote this law for them in Deuteronomy 25:5–10. The word us here includes Jesus, because he also was a Jew.

In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit that what Moses wrote was a law. It may also be necessary to clarify that the phrase for us refers to the Jews in general. It does not refer only to the Sadducees of Jesus’ time. Here is one way to clarify these things:

Our(incl) law that Moses wrote says
-or-
Moses wrote this law for us Jews:

Moses: Moses was one of the greatest leaders of the Jews. He lived long before Jesus was born. He wrote God’s laws for the Jews. That is why the first five books of the Old Testament are often called “the Law of Moses.”

12:19b

if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children: This clause describes a situation that might happen. A married man might die without having any children. Moses wrote a law that would apply to the wife and the man’s brother in this situation.

12:19c

the man is to marry his brother’s widow: The phrase the man here refers to a man whose brother died. The passage in Deuteronomy does not indicate whether one brother was older or younger than the other. If there were several brothers and one died, it is reasonable to assume that the oldest of the remaining brothers should marry the widow. But this is not clear in Moses’ writings.

his brother’s widow: A widow is a woman whose husband has died. If she remarries, she is no longer a widow.

12:19d

and raise up offspring for him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as offspring is literally “seed.” Here it refers to a son and his descendants. When the brother and the widow had their first son, that son would inherit the dead brother’s name and land. In this way the dead brother would also have descendants and his family could continue.

You may want to make explicit in your translation that only the first child would be considered the child of the dead brother. For example:

Their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother. (Contemporary English Version) (If the living brother had other children by his brother’s widow, those children would be considered as children of the living brother.)

It may be helpful in your translation to have a footnote to briefly explain this custom. For example:

In ancient Israel there was a custom that if a man married and then died childless, one of his brothers should marry his widow. The first son that the widow bore in her new marriage would be considered the son of her dead husband. This son would act as the heir to the name and property of the first husband. The details of this custom are in Deuteronomy 25:5–10.

for him: The pronoun him refers to the dead brother. Here are some other ways to translate the phrase for him:

who will carry on the brother’s name (New Living Translation)
-or-
who will be considered the dead man’s child
-or-
who will be his brother’s heir

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