Language-specific Insights

Translation commentary on Ruth 2:4: A Cultural Commentary for Central Africa

Boaz’ words of greeting to his workers (“The Lord be with you!”) and their reply to him (“The Lord bless you!”) have a distinctly liturgical ring about them. They make Boaz sound like the local parish pastor or priest. These were conventional formulas of welcome in Hebrew, but their formal correspondents fit into an entirely different speech register in many receptor languages. By replacing them with local equivalents in the receptor language, however, such as “You are seen, clansmen” . . . “Yes, we are seen” (Chitonga), would eliminate an essential religious component that probably ought to be retained in this story. The wish that God would “be with” a person is conceptually difficult for two reasons. As has been noted, according to traditional belief, God is regarded as living far away from man, personally and psychologically, with no real desire to come any closer (although in times of calamity he may be cajoled into helping by means of prayers and offerings). Secondly, the reason for inviting his immediate presence is not readily apparent. The meaning must there-fore be clarified with an expression such as “May God be good-hearted (i.e., favorable) to you” (Chichewa).

Source: Wendland 1987, p. 172f.

Translation commentary on Ruth 4:5: A Cultural Commentary for Central Africa

A literal translation of Boaz’ proposition, ” . . . you are also buying Ruth,” is in fact a misrepresentation of both Hebrew and Tonga social culture. In neither societies was a wife, or a widow, “bought,” for the “marriage present” (Hebrew mohar [Gn 34:12]; Chitonga — lobold) was in effect a gift of compensation, presented from the family/clan of the bridegroom to the family of the bride which served to seal the marriage and bind the two families together. In this particular situation, i.e., levirate succession, not even the lobola was involved; the man was simply making a public agreement to marry Ruth.

It is difficult to convey the full meaning of the original expression: “in order to restore the name of the dead to his inheritance.”
This is due to the different perspectives between the biblical and the Bantu cultures with regard to the land. The importance of preserving the “name” of the deceased through offspring begotten on his behalf is present in both, but in an African context this practice was more intimately connected with their religious beliefs; i.e., a dead man’s children had the obligation of preserving his presence in the community of the “living dead” (spirits) by “remembering” him in sacrifices and prayers. But that this child (or children) would then inherit his property so as to “keep it in the family” is a foreign notion and would thus require some additional explanation.

Source: Wendland 1987, p. 182.

Translation commentary on Ruth 4:6: A Cultural Commentary for Central Africa

The problem of v. 5 reappears here in the words ” . . . lest I impair my own inheritance.” To a Chichewa/Chitonga reader, this excuse for the man’s refusal to marry Ruth just does not make sense. Even a more explicit statement of what was actually involved here does not help all that much; e.g., ” . . . because it might mean that my own children would inherit less” (Good News Bible). To be sure, the financial burden of polygamous marriages in Africa is being increasingly recognized, but that would not be regarded as a valid reason for refusing to carry out one’s familial responsibility. Fundamentally different presuppositions are being applied to this situation, and these cannot be reconciled in the text of a translation.

Source: Wendland 1987, p. 182.

Translation commentary on Numbers 6:24

The blessing in verses 24-27 was probably used also in Temple worship (see Psa 67.1). All of the Hebrew verbs in these verses may be interpreted as jussives (a form of a verb expressing a command — two of them are explicitly jussive), so in this context they function as wishes, as prayers (so Contemporary English Version with “I pray that…”), or as divine oracles that actually perform each blessing as the priest utters it. (The Septuagint interprets these verbs as jussives by translating them with optative forms [expressing a wish].) As already noted, verse 27 makes the point that the LORD is the sole author of the entire blessing. He, not the priests, will realize these wishes and bring them to pass. No verbal magic is involved.

The LORD bless you: The Hebrew pronouns for you are singular throughout this blessing. Every Israelite is blessed individually. It may indicate that this blessing could also be pronounced on individuals, and not only upon the community as a whole. In this context, where God blesses people, the verb bless means to endue with special power and protection, to grant well-being that can come from God alone. In some languages (for example, Chichewa and Chitonga) there are specific verbs to express such a “blessing,” where God alone must be the expressed or implied agent.

And keep you: The verb keep may be rendered “protect” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “guard” (Revised English Bible), or “care for.”

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Translation commentary on Numbers 6:25

The LORD make his face to shine upon you: This imagery of God’s face shining on people is used in the context of salvation and delivery (see Psa 31.16; 67.1; 80.3, 7, 19). God’s shining face symbolizes his benevolence, kindness, and favor. Good News Bible renders this clause nonfiguratively, saying “May the LORD be kind … to you.” But in many receptor languages there may be ways to render this meaning and at the same time keep some of the figurative language; for example, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “May the LORD look kindly on you,” Chitonga has “May the LORD look on you with love,” and New Living Translation translates “May the LORD smile on you.” In some receptor languages the verb shine may have to be rendered “be without shadow,” and the preposition “toward” may have to be used instead of upon or “on.” Other languages may be able to use another local idiom, featuring another part of the body, such as the heart; for example, Chichewa renders this clause as “and may he be favorable toward you in the heart.”

And be gracious to you: The Hebrew verb rendered be gracious refers to the “kindly action of a superior party to an inferior one in which the inferior has no claim on the superior.” This clause may be rendered “and have compassion on you.”

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .