thresh (illustration)

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “thresh” in English is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:

Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

See also threshing floor.

angel

Click here to view graphically

The Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Aramaic that is translated as “angel” in English versions is translated in many ways:

  • Pintupi-Luritja: ngaṉka ngurrara: “one who belongs in the sky” (source: Ken Hansen quoted in Steven 1984a, p. 116.)
  • Tetela, Kpelle, Balinese, and Mandarin Chinese: “heavenly messenger”
  • Shilluk / Igede: “spirit messenger”
  • Mashco Piro: “messenger of God”
  • Batak Toba: “envoy, messenger”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “holy servant” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida 1961; Igede: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Central Mazahua: “God’s worker” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)
  • Saramaccan: basia u Masa Gaangadu köndë or “messenger from God’s country” (source: Jabini 2015, p. 86)
  • Mairasi: atatnyev nyaa or “sent-one” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “word bringer” (source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
  • Apali: “God’s one with talk from the head” (“basically God’s messenger since head refers to any leader’s talk”) (source: Martha Wade)
  • Michoacán Nahuatl: “clean helper of God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Noongar: Hdjin-djin-kwabba or “spirit good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Wè Northern (Wɛɛ): Kea ‘a “sooa or “the Lord’s soldier” (also: “God’s soldier” or “his soldier”) (source: Drew Maust)
  • Iwaidja: “a man sent with a message” (Sam Freney explains the genesis of this term [in this article ): “For example, in Darwin last year, as we were working on a new translation of Luke 2:6–12 in Iwaidja, a Northern Territory language, the translators had written ‘angel’ as ‘a man with eagle wings’. Even before getting to the question of whether this was an accurate term (or one that imported some other information in), the word for ‘eagle’ started getting discussed. One of the translators had her teenage granddaughter with her, and this word didn’t mean anything to her at all. She’d never heard of it, as it was an archaic term that younger people didn’t use anymore. They ended up changing the translation of ‘angel’ to something like ‘a man sent with a message’, which is both more accurate and clear.”)

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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) is used as in mi-tsukai (御使い) or “messenger (of God).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also angel (Acts 12:15) and this devotion on YouVersion .

wheat

Two kinds of wild wheat have grown in the open deciduous oak woodland in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent for several thousand years: Einkorn Wheat Triticum monococcum and Emmer Wheat Triticum dicoccum. Both came into cultivation together with barley. Just before the time of the Romans, the Naked Bread Wheat or Hard Wheat Triticum durum started replacing the hulled varieties. This then became the favorite type of wheat for bread and macaroni. Spelt is a sub-member of the Triticum aestivum species.

In New Revised Standard Version, updated edition and some other versions, the generic Hebrew word bar has been rendered “wheat” in Jeremiah 23:28 et al. This is legitimate, since the grain referred to by bar was probably wheat. However, it might be better to say “grain” in these passages.

The most important early wheat for the Israelites was emmer, probably the only wheat known in Egypt, and referred to in Hebrew as chittah. However, according to Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992), the seven-headed wheat of the Egyptian king’s dream (Genesis 41:5ff.) suggests that there may also have been Triticum turgidum (rivet wheat) in the emmer group. The Hebrew word kusemeth probably refers to a type of emmer wheat that the Egyptians called swt.

Wheat is a type of grass like rice and barley, growing to around 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) in height and having a head with many small grains in rows.

Bread made from wheat was the staple food for the people of ancient Israel, so God punished them by breaking “the staff of bread” (see, for example, Ezekiel 4:16).

If wheat is unfamiliar, translators can transliterate from a major language in non-rhetorical contexts (for example, English witi, Portuguese trigo, French ble or froment, Swahili ngano, Arabic kama/alkama). The transliteration may add a generic tag such as “grain.” The New Testament passages are mostly rhetorical, opening the possibility for a metaphorical equivalent.

Wheat head, photo by Gloria Suess

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

complete verse (1 Chronicles 21:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 21:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “Araunah was beating wheat and he had his four sons with him. Then he turned and saw the angel, (and) his sons hid themselves. But Araunah continued to beat wheat.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “At that time Araunah and his four sons were threshing wheat on the threshing floor. When they saw the angel, the four sons ran away and hid.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “That time Arauna and his four male children were-threshing wheat. And when they saw the angel of the LORD, the four children of Arauna ran-off and hid.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “While Araunah was threshing some wheat, he turned and saw the angel. His four sons who were with him also saw the angel, and they hid themselves.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 21:20

Now Ornan was threshing wheat; he turned and saw the angel, and his four sons … hid themselves: Many interpreters think that the Hebrew text here as it now stands is not the original text. The variety of different translations reflect the difficulties of interpreting this verse. The Septuagint and the parallel text in 2 Sam 24.20 say that Ornan saw “the king” instead of the angel. If the Septuagint is followed, then his four sons could refer to the king’s sons rather than to Ornan’s sons. In Hebrew the consonants are nearly the same for the words meaning “the king” and “the angel.” Some translations correct the Hebrew here to read “the king.” New American Bible, for example, renders the whole verse as “While Ornan was threshing wheat, he turned around and saw the king, and his four sons who were with him, without recognizing them.” In addition to correcting the text to read “the king” rather than “the angel,” New American Bible has the four sons of Ornan with David and it says nothing about the sons hiding themselves.

The word order at the beginning of this verse in Hebrew is “And Ornan turned and saw the angel, and his four sons with him hid themselves.” This may be understood to mean that both Ornan and his sons hid themselves. Some translations in fact do say that Ornan also hid. New Jerusalem Bible, for example, says “Ornan had turned around and seen the angel, and he and his four sons with him had hidden” (similarly Nouvelle Bible Segond in its alternative translation). The reason for hiding is not stated, but it most likely reflects the fear that looking at an angel of the LORD could cause death (Jdg 6.22-23).

The most likely meaning of this verse is expressed in Good News Translation (also Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). It was not just Ornan who was threshing wheat, but he and his four sons together. And while Ornan continued to thresh wheat after he saw the angel, his sons ran and hid. La Bible du Semeur says “Ornan, who was threshing wheat, had turned and had seen the angel. His four sons who were with him hid themselves” (similarly Nueva Versión Internacional). And Biblia Dios Habla Hoy reads “Ornan, who was threshing wheat, upon turning around had seen the angel, but his four sons, who were with him, had gone to hide themselves.”

In the Hebrew text the clause Now Ornan was threshing wheat comes at the end of the verse instead of at the beginning as in Revised Standard Version; and some versions link this clause to the beginning of the next verse (so New Jerusalem Bible, American Bible). American Bible, for example, reads “20 Now Ornan had turned and was watching the angel while his four sons hid themselves, for Ornan was threshing wheat 21 when David came to Ornan.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Chronicles 21:20

21:20a Now Ornan was threshing wheat when he turned and saw the angel;

Ornan had been beating out his grain when he turned around and saw the angel.
-or-
The angel appeared just when Ornan was threshing his grain. Ornan saw him.

21:20b and his four sons who were with him hid themselves.

His four (4) sons were with him. ⌊They also saw the angel and were afraid. So they ran away and⌋ hid.
-or-
Ornan’s 4 sons were helping him. When they saw the angel, they were afraid and ran away to hide.

21:20:a–b (combined)

Ornan and his 4 sons were hitting their food plants until the seeds fell out. When he and his sons turned around and saw the angel, they were terrified and hid themselves.

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.