In Gbaya, the notion of “became like dead men” is emphasized with gbéyéŋ, an ideophone used to describe something falling to the ground.
Philip Noss (in The Bible Translator 1976, p. 100ff. ) explains: “A descriptive device common to Gbaya oral literature. The ideophone may be identified with onomatopoeia and other sound words frequently seen in French and English comic strips, but in Gbaya and other African languages it comprises a class of words with a very wide range of meaning and usage. They may function verbally, substantively, or in a modifying role similar to adverbs and adjectives. They describe anything that may be experienced: action, sound, color, quality, smell, or emotion. In oral literature they are used not only with great frequency but also with great creativity.”
The following is a stained glass window from 1855 by artist H. Beiler over the altar of the Evangelische Stadtkirche Bad Rappenau, Bad Rappenau, Germany:
Photo by Llez, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 28:4:
Uma: “The soldiers who were guarding there, there were terribly afraid, they shook, and they couldn’t stand up any longer, they became like dead people.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The guards were very afraid therefore/that’s why they really shook and were unconscious as if they were dead people.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The soldiers who were watching became very afraid. They were stunned, not being able to move, and trembling.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When the guards saw that angel, they trembled with their extreme fear and they toppled-over as if they were dead.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Those ones who had been caused to guard shook with fear. They went down on their faces, like you might say they were dead, when they saw that angel.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “The soldiers saw the angel and trembled with fright. It seemed as though they died as they fainted.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
As Revised Standard Version intimates, for fear of him comes first in the Greek sentence, while the second element is the verb trembled (translated “was stirred” in 21.10 and “shook” in 27.51). These are the expected reactions to the sudden appearance of a divine being, and both are intended to emphasize the tremendous fear that came over the guards. Some translations will say “the guards were so afraid,” but others will have “… afraid of him,” as in the text.
Guards does not translate the same noun used in 27.65, 66; it is a noun made from the same stem as the verb “kept watch” in 27.36 and “keeping watch” in 27.54.
Became like dead men is perhaps an intended contrast to the “dead man” whose tomb they are guarding. He is alive, but they “lay there as dead men” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). One vivid expression is “fell to the ground paralyzed with fear like dead men.” It is almost essential in many languages to make it explicit that they fell to the ground, since otherwise it would seem they stood in fear without moving.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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