The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated in English as “locust” is translated in Ayutla Mixtec as “insect like flying ants” because locusts are not known locally (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), and in Pa’o Karen as “grashopper” (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).
In connection with John the Baptist (Matthew 3:4 and Mark 1:6) in is translated in Shuar as “edible grasshoppers” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.), and in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as geröstete Heuschrecken or “roasted locusts.” (Note that “Heuschrecken” literally means “the bane/horror of hay”).
The Greek that is translated as “wild honey” in English was difficult to translate in Toba and Iyojwa’ja Chorote.
Bill Mitchell (in Omanson 2001, p. 435) explains why: “Unlike urban, industrialized society, the indigenous way of life is inextricably linked with the land. A deep relationship with nature permeates all of life. This can sometimes be seen in the wealth of vocabulary for certain items. Mark 1:6 and Matthew 3:4 state that John the Baptist ate ‘wild honey.’ The Tobas of northern Argentina have ten different words for ‘wild honey,’ the Chorotes have seven or eight. The biblical text does not specify a type of wild honey, but Toba translators live in the Gran Chaco and harvest wild honey. They want to use the exact word; they do not have a generic term.”
In both cases the translators ended up using the most common term for “wild honey.”
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated in English as “camel” is translated in Muna as “water buffalo.” René van den Berg explains: “Camels are unknown; the biggest known animal is the water buffalo (though now rare on Muna).”
In Bislama is is translated as buluk: “cow” / “bull” (source: Ross McKerras) and in Bahnar as aseh lăk-đa which is a combination of the Vietnamese loan word for “camel” (lăk-đa) and the Bahnar term for “horse” (aseh) to communicate that the camel is a beast of burden (source: Pham Xuan Tin in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 20ff. ).
In the 1900 Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) translation (a newer version was published in 2000) it was as ĸatigagtôĸ or “big-backed ones.” “Katigagtôĸ (modern qatigattooq), which has the literal meaning of ‘something with a big back.’ It comprises the noun ĸatigak (modern qatigak) ‘back’ combined with the suffix –tôĸ (modern –tooq) ‘something possessing a big X.’” (Source: Lily Kahn & Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi in The Bible Translator 2019, p. 125ff.)
In Luke 18:25, Mark 10:25, and Matthew 19:24 some versions of the Peshitta translation in Syriac Aramaic (Classical Syriac) show an ambiguity between the very similar words for “camel” and “rope.” Some translations of the Peshitta, therefore, use the “rope” interpretation, including the Classical Armenian Bible (մալխոյ for “rope”), the English translation by George Lamsa (publ. 1933) (It is easier for a rope to go through the eye of a needle), or the Dutch translation by Egbert Nierop (publ. 2020) (het voor een kabel eenvoudiger is het oog van een naald binnen te gaan).
In the above-mentioned three verses, it is translated in Noongar as “kangaroo” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
There were two types of camel known in Bible times the most common being the Arabian Dromedary camelus dromedarius, which was indigenous to the area. The two-humped Bactrian Camel camelus bactrianus was also known and prized, but it was imported from Central Asia.
Camels belong to the same family as the South American llama, vicuna, alpaca, and guanaco, but camels are much larger and have a big fatty hump on their backs. Bactrian camels may reach a height of about two meters (6.5 feet), while dromedaries are even bigger. Dromedaries are a uniform light fawn color, while Bactrian camels are darker, especially in winter when they grow longer fur.
Camels do not have hooves but a large footpad with two broad toes ideally suited to walking on sand. In other ways too they are ideally suited to life in desert areas. They store excess food in their humps and this makes it possible for them to go a long time without eating. Special blood cells also enable them to go without water for long periods. They also have a very efficient digestive system and can extract the maximum amount of nutrition from apparently dry vegetation. This adaptation to harsh environments means that camels can make long journeys through dry areas which would be beyond the abilities of other types of pack animal such as donkeys. Camels were used for riding and for carrying heavy loads. They were also used to pull carts.
In winter the fur of camels thickens and grows longer and then when summer comes they shed their winter fur in large wads. These wads of camel hair are collected and twisted into cords and ropes or spun into thread which is then used for weaving coarse cloth. This cloth was usually used for making tents but it was sometimes used for making outer robes.
Camels’ milk was used as food and drink but their meat was considered unclean by the Israelites.
In spite of the fact that camels were considered to be unclean for food they were a symbol of wealth and commerce. People or nations with many camels were automatically viewed as commercially successful and wealthy as the possession of camels opened up the possibility of transporting goods long distances and engaging in trade.
In areas where camels are not known, the word is often transliterated from Hebrew or the dominant language of the area. However, in some languages descriptive names have been invented. In some South American languages names meaning “hump-backed llama” or “big alpaca with a hump” have been used. Elsewhere expressions such as “hump-backed horse” have been used. A fuller description should usually be included in a glossary or word list.
“John the Baptist” in Mexican Sign Language (source: BSLM )
In German Sign Language (Catholic) it is translated with the sign for the letter J and the sign signifying a Catholic baptism by sprinkling on the head.
In American Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the letter J and the sign signifying “shout,” referring to John 1:23. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“John” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign for leaping in the womb (see Luke 1:41) and baptism. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
A question of cultural assumptions arose in Tuvan. The instinctive way to translate this name denotatively would be “John the Dipper,” but this would carry the highly misleading connotation that he drowned people. It was therefore decided that his label should focus on the other major aspect of his work, that is, proclaiming that the Messiah would soon succeed him. (Compare his title in Russian Orthodox translation “Иоанн Предтеча” — “John the Forerunner.”) So he became “John the Announcer,” which fortunately did not seem to give rise to any confusion with radio newsreaders! (Source: David Clark in The Bible Translator 2015, p. 117ff. )
In Noongar it is translated as John-Kakaloorniny or “John Washing” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
A new oral translation into Yao / Ciyawo, spoken in Mozambique, uses John the one who ceremoniously washes/pours water, using a term (kusingula) that “indicates a ceremonial washing or pouring of water on a person in the Yawo’s expression of Islam which can be used for an act done in repentance of sin.” (Source: Houston 2025, p. 236)
Following is a Syriac Orthodox icon of John the Baptist from the 18/19th century (found in the Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen, Yabrud, Syria).
The wings are often depicted in icons of John the Baptist because of his status as a messenger. The scroll that John the Baptist holds quotes John 1:29 and reads (translated into English): “I saw and witnessed concerning him, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’”
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 3:4:
Uma: “The clothes of Yohanes were made from the hair of camels. His belt was from leather. His food was locusts/grasshoppers and honey.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The clothes of Yahiya were woven camels hair and his belt was of cow’s skin. His food were locusts and honey.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Now John, he was shirted with woven (cloth) of the hair of a camel and he was belted with dried skin. Locusts and honey were what he lived on.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Juan’s clothes were merely woven of camel (loan kamel) hair and his belt was animal skin. What he ate also, it was locusts and honey (lit. water) of wild-bees.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Juan’s clothes were of cloth made from the hair of the kamelyo animal, and his belt was made from cow hide. Grasshoppers which are locusts and bees’ honey were his food.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “The clothing of John was cloth made from the hair of camels. He was belted with leather. Concerning what he ate, it was grasshoppers that he ate. And he also ate honey which was found in the wilds.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The locust is the most important insect in the Bible, being mentioned many more times than any other insect. Although there are nine Hebrew words in the Bible which refer to locusts, the most common one is ’arbeh. The equivalent in Greek is akris, and in Latin it is locusta. These words certainly refer to the locust rather than to the grasshopper. All locusts and grasshoppers belong to the family Acrididae, which is a family within the order Orthoptera, or “straight-winged” insects. Many species are found in the land of Israel and Egypt, but the most important are the Migratory Locust Locusta migratoria, the Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria, and the Moroccan Locust Dociostaurus moroccanus. All three species are an important local food and are probably all called ’arbeh in the Bible.
Grasshoppers and locusts are both six-legged, winged insects that are characterized by the fact that their third pair of legs is elongated and adapted to hopping. The lower portion of these legs has a row of spikes that are used both for making sounds and as a means of defense. The front wings are narrow, straight, and stiff. When not being used to fly, they function as a cover for thin, membrane-like hind wings, which are much larger and colored, and which are folded together like a Chinese fan. When the locust or grasshopper flies, it hops into the air spreading out its wings as it does so. It flies with a slight clattering sound, made by the stiff front wings striking each other.
Locusts differ from grasshoppers mainly in that they form swarms at certain periods and migrate to new areas, which they colonize. At other times they live either solitary or in small groups. Their reproduction rate varies with the climatic conditions. Eggs are laid in the soil in small packets, and hatching is related to the degree of humidity. In dry periods only a few hatch, but in periods of good rainfall they suddenly hatch out in exceptionally large numbers.
Unlike most other insects, locusts do not go through stages in which they exist as larvae or caterpillars. They emerge from the eggs as nymphs, which are simply tiny wingless locusts with undeveloped hopper legs. The nymphs, which can only crawl around, feed on green vegetation, consuming many times their own body weight each day. As they grow bigger and develop, they shed their skins. Their hopping legs develop before their wings, so that they pass through a stage when they can hop but not fly. At this stage, when they are referred to as “hoppers”, they exist in less dense masses than as nymphs, having spread out a little, but since they are now eating even more than before, they can still cause considerable damage to crops. Once they develop into adults they can both hop and fly. If the climatic conditions are right and exceptionally large numbers have developed to this stage, they completely devastate the vegetation where they have been developing. When this happens they begin to congregate in preparation for swarming. In other words they come together and migrate as a group to greener pastures, flying together in large swarms. At this congregating stage, during the migration and immediately after it, they present a major threat to crops and other vegetation, on which they feed unceasingly.
A locust swarm may consist of billions of locusts. A report of a single swarm in 1889 estimated for that swarm to cover 5,500 square kilometers (about 2,000 square miles). Certainly even in recent times swarms have been known large enough to blot out the sun like a large black cloud. The clattering of wings as the locusts approach is a sound hard to forget. Where the swarm lands, even temporarily, every green bush or clump of grass in sight is attacked by the locusts, and the sound of them munching on the leaves is clearly audible, sometimes for hours. Afterwards, hardly a single green leaf or blade of grass can be seen, and many bushes even have the bark eaten off, leaving them bare.
Against such enormous numbers ancient peoples felt absolutely helpless. There was no way they could stop the destruction. The lighting of grass fires helped only in a very small way. Ironically it is when locusts swarm like this that they can be easily caught in large numbers for eating. They are often caught in blankets, fishing nets, and baskets. The lower part of the hopping legs is snapped off, and they are cooked by toasting, grilling, frying, or broiling. In some places they are also eaten raw. When toasted and salted they taste a little like salted peanuts.
Some commentators have pointed out that the plague of locusts in Egypt probably provided the Israelites with food in the Arabian and Sinai deserts, since this is the usual migration route of locusts in that part of the world.
Following is a summary of the development cycle of the major locust species: Nymphs, which can only crawl, develop to a hopping stage; the hoppers develop wings and become adult locusts; if climatic conditions are right, these adults gather into swarms and migrate to new locations; the females lay eggs, and the whole cycle is repeated. There are thus four discernible phases: nymphs, hoppers, resident adults, and swarming or migrating adults. It is possible that chasil refers to the crawling nymph, yeleq to the juvenile hopper, ’arbeh to the resident adult, and gazam to the swarming adult. However, this is far from proven, as the words seem to be used almost interchangeably when referring to locust plagues.
Crickets and katydids: Crickets are a nocturnal relative of the locusts and grasshoppers. Some types have wings, others do not. They are usually black or brown, with shorter rounder bodies, and they shelter during the day under rocks or logs, or, in the case of the so-called mole crickets, in holes that they dig. At night they make characteristic high-pitched chirping sounds, which carry a surprisingly long way. Each species makes a slightly different sound. Like locusts and grasshoppers they feed on vegetation, usually leaves.
Katydids are similar to crickets but are usually green and have wings. They are active at night, when they make cricket-like chirping sounds, but settle during the day underneath leaves in trees. Their wings are leaf-shaped, and with their green color they have excellent camouflage. Some katydids eat other insects.
Both crickets and katydids have extremely long feelers.
Given their large numbers and swarming characteristics, it is small wonder that locusts were a symbol of a vast attacking army against which there was no defense. They were also a symbol of divine punishment.
The Migratory Locust Locusta migratoria is found in many parts of the world, except North America. In these areas it should be easy to find a local word. However, in some countries with high rainfall this and other species of locust do not swarm in the same way that they do in the Middle East and the drier parts of Africa. In these countries it may be necessary in some contexts to use a phrase such as “swarms of locusts” rather than simply “locusts”. In areas where locusts are not known, a phrase like “large/giant grasshopper” can usually be substituted.
The Hebrew words gev, gov and govay are related to a verb meaning “to swarm” or “to gather together”, and thus the reference is almost certainly to the locust.
The word tselatsal (Deuteronomy 28:42; Isaiah 18:1) represents the sound of insects’ wings, and the reference is most likely to the sound made by a swarm of locusts. The English versions that have “whirring” or “buzzing” make some attempt at reflecting this, but “buzzing” is inadequate as a description of the sound such a swarm makes. “Clattering”, “chirping”, “whirring”, or “fluttering” comes closest in English to representing the sound represented by the Hebrew word.
In many Bantu languages in Africa, and in other languages where ideophones occur which express the sound of thousands of whirring wings, such ideophones are a good equivalent. Elsewhere a noun phrase, modified by an adverbial expression similar to the English, can be used.
In most contexts the word chagav seems to mean “grasshopper”, the exception being 2 Chronicles 7:13, where the reference is to locusts. In the two passages where the grasshopper symbolizes something small and insignificant (Numbers 13:33 and Isaiah 40:22), it may not be possible to capture the right inference by translating literally. In such cases the translator is free to use some other insect that is symbolic of small size and insignificance in the local culture, such as “ant”, “louse”, “flea”, and others. In cases where no insect name carries this symbolism, the name of an animal with the correct connotations can be used; for example, “mouse” or “squirrel”.
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®).
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