stork

The Hebrew that is translated as “stork” in English is translated in Maan as “big water bird,” as the stork is not locally know. (Source: Don Slager)

In the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with mulungu wachilendo it is translated as kakowa or “egret.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

 

There is almost complete agreement that chasidah is the stork. There are two species of stork that pass over Israel, where they stay for a few days as they migrate from Europe to Africa and vice versa. These are the White Stork Ciconia ciconia and the Black Stork Ciconia nigra.

Both of these storks are large birds with long legs and long necks. They are heavier than most herons or cranes. The white stork has a white body, black wings, and a red beak and legs. The black stork is a glossy brownish black color with a white belly. It also has a red beak and legs. These storks migrate from central and eastern Europe to East and Central Africa, occasionally reaching Zimbabwe and parts of South Africa in good rainy seasons. Both types spend most of the time on the ground or in shallow water searching for food. The white stork eats mainly locusts, grasshoppers, and other insects, as well as frogs, lizards, and the chicks of ground-nesting birds. The black stork prefers fish and frogs but also eats the same things as the white stork.

When storks are about to move to another feeding ground, they usually soar around in upward currents of air called thermals, reaching great heights, and then they soar off in the direction they have chosen, conserving their energy by only occasionally beating their wings.

It is possible that the name chasidah is derived from the word chesed, meaning “kindness” or “faithfulness”, perhaps a reference to the fact that they seem to take especially good care of their young when nesting.

Storks of various species are found in most parts of the world, and many of them have migrating habits. There are species of stork that migrate from Europe to India and the Far East, some that migrate from Southeast Asia to Australia, and one, the Abdim’s Stork Ciconia abdimii, which migrates from Ethiopia to Zimbabwe and Botswana, signaling the arrival of the rainy season wherever it goes.

In the few areas where storks are not known, a borrowed word or a transliteration can be used, perhaps with a footnote to indicate that this is a big bird that migrates long distances over Israel.

White stork, Wikimedia Commons
Black stork, Wikimedia Commons

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

See also snow (color).

the poor

The Hebrew that is translated as “the poor” in English is translated in Chichewa as “people without power.” In Chichewa context this refers to those who are in the lower class in terms of both social status and political influence in a community. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

In Cherokee it is translated as “those who are not doing well.” “The concept of poverty was unknown to Cherokee prior to European arrival due to the sharing of resources among clan members and the shared and welfare tradition known as gadugi (ᎦᏚᎩ). In contrast, the concepts of rich and poor play a large role in the world and message or the New Testament (…) This phrase (‘those who are not doing well’), still used today for ‘poor,’ speaks to a more general understanding of well-being than the presence of monetary resources.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 45)

See also poor (Ps. 41:1).

in your anger

The Hebrew in Psalm 38:1 that is translated as “in your anger” or similar in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with the idiom mutapsa mtima, lit. “when your heart has burnt.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

rain in abundance

The Hebrew in Psalm 68:9 that is translated as “rain in abundance” or similar in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with mivumbi the plural form of “mvumbi, a type of rain that falls for a very long time continuously for not less than 12 hours. This type of rain comes when the rains are at the peak when crops are at a crucial stage of needing a lot of rains. Due to lack of a better English word, this translation has rendered it as “continuous rains” to capture the idea of continuity. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also early rain.

abide in your tent

The Hebrew in Psalm 15:1 that is translated as “abide in your tent” or similar in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) as “live in your holy place.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

throat

The Hebrew that is translated as “throat” in English is translated in Sar as “belly of my neck.” (Source: Ngarbolnan Riminan in Le Sycomore 2000, p. 20ff. )

In the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) it is translated with the word for “neck,” which in some cases can also refer to “throat.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

summon your might

The Hebrew in Psalm 68:28 that is translated as “summon your might” or similar in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) as “fasten your power.” The word “fasten” (kungani) is used to refer to an act of pulling strings when binding something together that it becomes more compacted and very strong. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

interest

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “interest” (as in payments for a loan) in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) as chiwongoladzanja which literary means something that stretches the hand. The understanding is that an interest is paid to thank the hand that was stretched out in the process of giving a loan. Since a person gets a loan to be helped from their problems, thanking the hand that has given (stretched out in giving) is considered to be an important way of expressing one’s gratitude. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)