Elijah and the bird (image)

Hand colored stencil print on washi by Sadao Watanabe (1979).

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe.

For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

sudden break

In Gbaya, the notion of a sudden break (such as cut-off water, food or strength is emphasized with mgbót-mgbót, an ideophone that expresses a sudden break; to cut something into pieces.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

complete verse (1 Kings 17:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 17:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “But later the small stream dried up because there was no rain in (the) land.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Sometime later, since no rain had come, that small stream went dry.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Some-time later the place-where- water -flows because (it) did- not -rain anymore.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But after a while, the water in the brook dried up, because rain did not fall anywhere in the land.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 17:7

After a while is literally “at the end of days.” The precise length of time is not stated, but it was clearly more than a few minutes. In Hebrew this verse actually begins with the verbal transition meaning “And it happened,” which in itself probably indicates that a considerable amount of time had elapsed. The Hebrew expression by itself may refer to a few days only or a period as long as one year. According to 1 Kgs 18.1, Elijah’s time at Cherith Brook and in Zarephath amounted to at least a couple of years.

Because there was no rain in the land: Good News Translation omits the words in the land, leaving that information implicit in English. New Jerusalem Bible says “for the country had had no rain.” Of course, the land or “country” referred to is Israel.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Kings 17:7

Section 17:7-24

Yahweh sent Elijah to a widow

17:7 Some time later, however, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

After a while, the stream became dry because no rain had fallen there.
-or-
But as time passed and there was still no rain, no more water flowed in the stream.
-or-
Some time went by and there was still no rainfall. The creek/stream no longer held/contained water.

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