Elijah

The name that is transliterated as “Elijah” in English means “God-LORD,” “strength of the LORD,” “my God is YHWH.” “the LORD God.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated as “whirlwind” (according to 2 Kings 2:11) (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Elijah” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

Click or tap here to see how other sign languages are translating “Elijah”

In American Sign Language it is translated with a depiction of being taken up to heaven with a chariot of fire. (Source: ASL Sign Language Directory )


“Elijah” in American Sign Language (source )

Likewise in Estonian Sign Language, but with a different sign (source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff.)


“Elijah” in Estonian Sign Language (source )

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “fire” (referring to 1 Kings 18:38). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Elijah” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Following is a Russian Orthodox icon of Elijah from the late 13h century.

 
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Elijah .

complete verse (1 Kings 18:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 18:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “But, you have said that I should go and tell the king that, Elijah is here, but if he does not find you, will he not kill me?’’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Now you say that I am to go to my master and tell him that Elijah is here. He will kill me."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “And now you are-commanding me to go to my master and tell him that you are here? He will-kill me!’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Now, sir, you say, ‘Go and tell your master that Elijah is here.’ But if I do that, and he comes and you are not here, he will kill me!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("say")

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 18:14

Once again the base text contains three levels of quotation that will have to be reduced in many languages in order to make the translation sound more natural. Good News Translation provides a good model for doing this.

For the first half of this verse, refer to the comments on verses 8 and 11.

The adverb now expresses the sense “in spite of the fact that I worship Yahweh and in spite of the fact that I protected a hundred of his prophets.”

Translators of this verse need to be aware of how it will sound to those who only hear it read. The final words and he will kill me are not part of what Obadiah is supposed to tell King Ahab. If Revised Standard Version is read aloud, the person listening will think that the pronoun he refers to the prophet Elijah. By restructuring this verse, Good News Translation avoids this danger.

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 18:14

18:14a And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord

But now you (sing) command me to go and announce to my master,
-or-
Even so, now you (sing) want me to go and tell my master ⌊the king⌋

18:14b that Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!”

‘Elijah has come/arrived!’ He will have me put to death.”
-or-
that you are here! The king is going to order his men to kill me.”

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