threshing floor

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is translated as “threshing floor” in English is translated in Kim with twal or “termite mound” which are used to build threshing floors. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

See also thresh.

fat, oil

The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

drink

In Telugu different verbs for humans drinking (tāgu / తాగు) and animals drinking (cēḍu / చేడు) are required.

Translation commentary on Ruth 3:3: A Cultural Commentary for Central Africa

Naomi’s instructions to Ruth sound very out of character for a God-fearing “mother” — to actually teach her daughter how to make herself attractive so that she can go out and entice men in the practice of prostitution! In this context it would seem as if Naomi is encouraging Ruth to carry on as a harlot so that she can earn enough money to support the two of them. It would be difficult to think of a more immoral proposition. The careful instructions about the need for secrecy as well as the time of action — at night (v. 2) and after the man had finished eating and drinking (the latter bearing a certain negative connotation in itself) — would serve to confirm this suspicion.
So would the advice to “lie down” at his feet under his blanket (v. 4). This was apparently (since we have this as the only clear instance [but note Ezek. 16:8]) a culturally symbolic act which was intended to dramatize for Boaz the responsibility that he had to protect, care for, and possibly even marry, Ruth. It is difficult to remove from the text the suggestion that sexual relations, and an illicit encounter at that, were a part of this rather elaborate procedure. An explanatory footnote is therefore necessary at this point.

Source: Wendland 1987, p. 177f.

complete verse (Ruth 3:1 - 3:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Ruth 3:1-5:

  • Noongar: “Later, Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, ‘My daughter, I must find a home for you so someone can look after you. Now, this man, Boaz, is our relative. You have been working beside his young women. Boaz will thresh his wheat at his threshing floor tonight. Go, wash and perfume yourself and put on your best clothes. Go to the threshing floor, but don’t let him see you until he stops eating and drinking. When he sleeps, watch where he is lying, then go and uncover his feet and lie there. He will tell you what you must do.’ Ruth said to her, ‘Everything you say, I will do.’” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)
  • Eastern Bru: “After that, Naomi told Ruth: ‘Child! It is good for me to seek a husband for you, so that you can have a family and be well/at peace like others. Now you know Boaz because you have been following the women who work for him. Boaz is really of our clan and very close. And this evening he is coming to guard the place where they thresh his grain. So you bathe and put on perfume and wear new clothing. Then you go to the place where they are threshing Boaz’s grain. But don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. When he goes to sleep, you watch where that is. When he is sleeping soundly, then you go and lift the blanket from his legs/feet. Then you sleep near his feet. And whatever he tells you, you do that.’ Then Ruth answered her mother-in-law: ‘All that you have instructed me, surely I will follow all your words.’” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “One day, Noemi said to Ruth, ‘Child, I want you(sg) to marry now for your(sg) good. There-is [is-it-not-so] Boaz our(incl) relative, whose female servants you(sg) have-been- working -with. You(sg) know (what), tonight he will-be-winnowing/[lit. causing/allowing-wind-to-blow-through] the barley. Therefore take a bath, put-on-perfume, and wear your(sg) best clothes. Then go to the place-of-threshing, but do- not -show-(yourself) to him until he has-finished eating and drinking. When he is-going-to-sleep, you(sg) watch/observe where he will-lie-down. And when he is asleep, go-to him and lift-up the blanket at his feet and you sleep there. Then he will-tell you(sg) what you(sg) will-do.’ Ruth replied, ‘I will-do all what you(sg) have-said.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “One day, Naomi said to Ruth, ‘My daughter, I think that I should try to arrange for you to have a husband who will take care of/provide for you. Boaz, the man with whose servant girls you have been gathering grain, is a close relative of our dead husbands. Listen carefully. Tonight he will be at the ground where the barley has been threshed. He will be separating the barley grain from the chaff. Bathe yourself and put on some perfume. Put on your best clothes. Then go down to the ground where they have threshed the grain. But do not let Boaz know that you are there while he is eating supper and drinking. When he has finished eating, notice where he lies down to sleep. Then when he is asleep, take the blanket off his feet and lie close to his feet. When he wakes up, he will tell you what to do.’ Ruth replied, ‘I will do everything that you have told me to do.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ruth 3:3

Wash yourself should be understood in the sense of “to bathe” (New American Bible).

Put on some perfume represents a Hebrew expression normally translated as “to anoint.” An exception to this rule is BJ, which translates correctly: “parfume-toi.” One of the difficulties involved in using a word meaning “to anoint” is that this is a very generalized expression in Hebrew and would not necessarily be understood in this context to mean “anoint with good-smelling oils.” Therefore it seems better to be somewhat more specific than the Hebrew text and to translate “put on some perfume,” since this was certainly the meaning of Naomi’s instructions to Ruth.

The rendering get dressed in your best clothes is a very satisfactory idiomatic equivalent of the Hebrew expression. However, it is true that most Hebrew manuscripts simlotayik is the reading of Q and 7 MSS. have at this point a singular noun, and one may therefore appropriately translate “put on your best cloak.” This may very well refer to a large piece of cloth worn as an outer garment, but this is not the mantle or cloak mentioned in verse 15 which Ruth used to carry home the relatively large quantity of barley.

Rather than merely go where he is threshing, the Hebrew specifies “go down to the threshing floor.” This would imply that the threshing floor was situated at a point lower than the town of Bethlehem, but there is no specific information as to its location. Bethlehem was built on two hills. So for Haller (op. cit., ad loc.) the threshing floor was to be found on the lower hill. On the other hand, Hertzberg (op. cit., ad loc.), exploring local tradition about the “field of Boaz,” thinks that the threshing floors of Bethlehem were to be found on the same spot where in our time the threshing floors of the village Beit Sahur, a village east of Bethlehem, are located. Midrash on Ruth only concludes from the use of the verb that the threshing floors were to be found on low spots. Where languages do employ rather precise indications of movement, such as “going up” or “going down,” one should attempt to follow the Hebrew usage, but the indication of elevation in this context is by no means crucial or particularly significant.

What is rendered in Good News Translation as don’t let him know you are there represents a Hebrew expression which may be translated literally as “do not make yourself known to the man” (Revised Standard Version). The obvious meaning here is “do not let yourself be recognized by him.” See Joüon, par. 132, note 2. The Hebrew expression must be restructured in a number of languages; for example, “do not let your presence be known to the man,” “don’t let him recognize that you are there,” or “don’t let him know who you are.” Even some ancient translators recognized the need for restructuring and translated the Hebrew expression as “do not show yourself to him.” So Syriac version. Gerleman rightly sees that this variant reading does not presuppose a different Vorlage.

In this context drinking refers to the drinking of wine or some other alcoholic beverage. In some languages the process of eating and drinking is represented by a single verb.

Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Ruth. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

3rd person pronoun with high register (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used.

In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also third person pronoun with exalted register.