Apart from the unfamiliar food being eaten (“bread” in “wine,” which would seem very much like a reference to the Lord’s Supper to churchgoers today), Boaz’ invitation must not be made to sound too direct, such as “Come here,” or he could be misinterpreted as having an improper motivation. Furthermore, the whole idea of the master preparing a meal for his servants to eat (as a literal translation into Chichewa/Chitonga suggests) appears to be out of place, for that would signify a great reduction in his social status. Besides, he could have expected that they would have already helped themselves to a portion of his harvest, and so why should he “subsidize” them even more?
Each of the proposals for rendering the measure “ephah” presents its own difficulties: (a) a transliteration would mean nothing in the receptor language; (b) a local substitute (e.g., mtanga ‘large basket’, Chichewa) would distort the cultural context somewhat; (c) a modern equivalent (e.g., “twenty-five pounds,” Good News Bible) would deny the historical setting; and (d) a combination (e.g., “an ephah, which is about a mtanga full/twenty-five pounds”) is rather too long. In Chichewa/Chitonga the cultural substitute appears to be the best choice here because even the original reference did not involve an exact figure: “about an ephah.” “Barley,” too, is unknown, but the context does suggest at least that it was some type of grain crop, an identification which would be supported by the use of “basket” for “ephah” — as long as the loanword bbaali (Chitonga) is not mistaken as referring to the more common cash crop, ‘burley tobacco.’
Naomi’s statement that God (Yahweh) cares for both “the living and the dead” corresponds to the Bantu world view, not so much due to the agency of God as mentioned, but because the dead are seemingly put on an equal plane with the living—they comprise but one social community.
It is difficult to render the Hebrew term go’el adequately in Chichewa/Chitonga due to the cultural differences involved. In general, the function of this person in society was to protect the interests of the family and clan: their land, property, freedom, and posterity. Thus he had the obligation to “redeem” (through personal purchase) what had been lost, to avenge the death of kinsmen, and should he happen to be the closest relative to a deceased male of child-bearing age, to marry the widow. The problem is that, not unexpectedly, there is no single term which would cover all of these functions in any Central African language. There would be a “clan representative” (Chichewa: nkhoswe), usually the senior woman’s eldest brother, who does conduct negotiations with his counterparts in matters such as marriage and legal disputes (customary law). But he would never personally be responsible for carrying out acts of revenge or to act as husband in a levirate marriage (not as nkhoswe, that is). The best, then, that can be done in translation is to employ a descriptive phrase which focuses upon the most relevant components of the term’s meaning in this particular context; e.g., Chichewa: “(he is) one of our relatives, the one who has the responsibility of nourishing us” (or: bringing us up, i.e., caring for us).
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 .
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 .
