The Hebrew that is typically translated as “basket” in English is translated in the English translation by Everett Fox (first ed. 1983) as “little-ark.”
Fox explains (Translator’s Preface, p. XVIIIf.): “A powerful example of the (…) allusion occurs near the beginning of Exodus. Baby Moses, floating precariously yet fetus-like on the Nile, is one of the enduring images in the book, as children have long attested. Modern English readers, however, are seldom aware that the Hebrew word for Moses’s floating cradle — rendered by virtually all standard translations as ‘basket’ — is the same as the one used in Gen. 6:14ff. to describe Noah’s famous vessel (teiva). Preserving the connection between the two, as I have tried to do in the Exodus passage with ‘little-ark’ (and which, incidentally, the authors of the King James Version did with ‘ark’), is to keep open the play of profound meaning that exists between the two stories.”
See also papyrus.
The Hebrew in Job 13:27 that typically is translated as “you put my feet in the stocks” or similar in English is translated in the English translation by E.L. Greenstein (2019) as “and mark my feet with lime.” Greenstein (p. 59) explains: “Reading be-sid for ba-sad ‘in stocks,’ which makes no sense: fettered feet cannot go anywhere, so they cannot be followed. Job develops the same point in 14:16.”
See also stocks.
The Hebrew in Job 14:17 that typically is translated as “bag” in English is translated in the English translation by E.L. Greenstein (2019) as “pouch.” Greenstein explains (p. 62): “If the evidencer aggawqinst Job is kept in aw pouch — asw was the ancient practive preceding a trial — Job cannot be convicted. For the image, compare Job 7:1 that typically is translated as “hard service” or similar in English is translated in the English[/tip_languaghttps://tips.translation.bible/tip_verse/hos-1312/”>Hosea 13:12.
The now commonly-used English idiom “bottomless pit” (for something that holds a very large amount of something) was first coined in 1526 in the English New Testament translation of William Tyndale (spelled as bottomlesse pytt) for the Greek abussos. (Source: Crystal 2010, p. 289)
For other idioms in English that were coined by Bible translation, see here.
The Hebrew in Job 33:6 that typically is translated as “formed from a piece of clay” or similar in English is translated in the English translation by E.L. Greenstein (2019) as “pinched from clay,” “a figure for creating a human in the ancient Semitic world.”
Some translations specifically reproduce the voice of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible.
English:
When the earth was wild and waste,
Darkness over the face of Ocean,
Rushing spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters —
Source: Everett Fox 1995
German:
Die Erde aber war Irrsal und Wirrsal.
Finsternis über Urwirbels Antlitz.
Braus Gottes schwingend über dem Antlitz der Wasser.
Source: Buber / Rosenzweig 1976
French:
la terre était tohu-et-bohu,
une ténèbre sur les faces de l’abîme,
mais le souffle d’Elohîms planait sur les faces des eaux.
Source: Chouraqui 1985
For other verses or sections translated with a Hebraic voice, see here.
The Hebrew in Song of Solomon 1:9 that is translated as “a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots” by many translations in English is translated in the English poetic translation of Marcia Falk as “a mare among stallions.”
Falk (2004, p. XXI) explains: “For example, in chapter 1, verse 9, of the Hebrew, a man compares his beloved to a mare in Pharaohs chariotry — an image that becomes especially puzzling when one discovers that in ancient Egypt only stallions, never mares, drew chariots. But the Egyptians’ enemies set mares loose during war to drive the pharaoh’s stallions wild, and this is the crux of the metaphor. Neither regality nor creaturely beauty is what defines the beloved here; rather she is a symbol of allure and temptation, as dangerous as ‘a mare among stallions’ — the phrase I arrived at for my translation. Seen this way, the image is striking, even daunting; the woman possesses a captivating power over her admirer. All the more moving, then, is his response to her, which is not to withdraw but to draw nearer. Although she is already lovely, with braided hair framing her cheekbones and a simple string of shells outlining the curve of her neck, he vows to lavish her with his own gifts — ornaments of gold and silver to gild the lily.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 1:4:
- Kupsabiny: “The young girl was very beautiful. She used to stay with the king and would take care of him. But the king did not sleep with (have sexual intercourse with) that young girl.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Newari: “She was very beautiful. She took care of the king and served him. The king, however, did not have intercourse with her.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “Abishag was very beautiful, and she became the one-who-takes-care of the king. But the king never touched/(had-sexual-relations-with) her.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “She was truly very beautiful. She took care of the king, but the king did not have sexual relations with her.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
