bread, loaf

The Greek term that is translated in English as “bread” or “loaf” is translated in Samo, it is translated as “Sago,” which serves “like ‘bread’ for the Hebrews, as a generic for food in the Samo language. It is a near-perfect metonymy that has all the semantic elements necessary for effective communication.” (Source: Daniel Shaw in Scriptura 96/2007, p. 501ff.)

In Chol it is translated as waj, the equivalent of a tortilla. (Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight)

John Beekman (in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 180f. ) explains: “The word ‘bread’ in Scripture primarily occurs as either a specific term for bread (including the Lord’s Supper), or as a generic term for food. It is not surprising, however, the some aboriginal groups use something other than bread as the staff of life. The Chols, with their cultural focus in the cultivation of corn, use waj, a type of thin corn flake. Since a meal is not complete without this main item of food, the term has been extended to include any other foods which may be served along with waj. While bread is known to them, its use is limited to a few occasions during the year when it functions as a dessert. In translating this term in the Chol New Testament, consistent use has been made of the word waj whenever the function of bread as a basic food was in focus. John 6:35, “I am the bread of life,” was thus translated with this word. If the word for bread had been used, it was feared that the Chol would compare Christ to the desirable, but not absolutely necessary, dessert.”

Robert Bascom adds his thoughts to this in relation to other Mayan languages (in Omanson 2001, p. 260): “In many Mayan languages, ‘bread’ can be translated waj or kaxlan waj. The first term literally means anything made from corn meal, while the second term literally means ‘foreigner’s waj,’ and refers to the local wheat-based sweet breads which are so popular within the broader European-influenced culture of the region. On the one hand, waj would be a better dynamic equivalent in cases where ‘bread’ meant ‘food,’ but in cases where the focus is literal or the reference well-known, kaxlan waj would preserve a flour-based meaning (though in biblical times barley was more in use than wheat) and not insert corn into a time and place where it does not belong. On the other hand kaxlan waj is not the staff of life, but refers to a local delicacy. In cases such as these, it is even tempting to suggest borrowing pan, the Spanish word for ‘bread,’ but native speakers might respond that borrowing a foreign word is not necessary since both waj and kaxlan waj are native terms that cover the meaning (though in this case, perhaps not all that well).”

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (1Cor. 10:17)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the addressee).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

complete verse (1 Corinthians 10:17)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 10:17:

  • Uma: “For just one bread is distributed/divided-up, and we all each eat a portion of that bread. That custom means: we who are many, we are just like one-body in our connection with Kristus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Because there is only one bread even though we (incl.) are many, we (incl.) are just like one because we (incl.) share that one bread.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Since there is only one bread which is Christ, even though we are many, we become one just the same because we all eat of that one bread.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Although we are many, it’s as if we are one due to our eating from one bread.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For the reason that the bread is just-a-single-unit, even though we are many, we are like only a single-body-entity because we are-eating-together this single-unit of bread.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “There are many of us now. But our hearts are as though we were all together because the bread we break to distribute that we eat, is one loaf.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 10:17

Here Paul moves from rhetorical questions to a direct statement, perhaps indicating that he is moving from teaching that the Corinthians already know to newer teaching.

The present tense is suggests that Paul is thinking here, as in chapter 11, not of the last supper of Jesus himself with his disciples, but of the Lord’s Supper as people practiced it in the church of Paul’s time.

Bread: Good News Bible adds “loaf” to indicate that a single loaf is broken in the communion service, not just that those taking part eat the same type of food (ao also New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible).

We who are many may be expressed as “all of us, though many” (Good News Bible) or “all of us, no matter how many we are.”

For one body, see introduction to 12.12-31a. Here Paul is saying that as Christians share the Lord’s Supper, they become in every way one with each other and with Christ.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .