cherub

Some key biblical terms that were directly transliterated from the Hebrew have ended up with unforeseen meanings in the lexicons of various recipient languages.

Take, for example, the English word “cherub,” from Hebrew “kĕrȗb.” Whereas the original Hebrew term meant something like “angelic being that is represented as part human, part animal” (…), the English word now means something like “a person, especially a child, with an innocent or chubby face.” Semantic shift has been conditioned in English by the Renaissance artistic tradition that portrayed cherubim in the guise of cute little Greek cupids. This development was of course impossible to foresee at the time when the first English translations borrowed this Hebrew word into the English Bible tradition, following the pattern of borrowing set by the Greek and Latin translations of the Old Testament.

In Russian, the semantic shift of this transliteration was somewhat different: the -îm ending of “kĕrūbîm,” originally signifying plurality in Hebrew, has been reanalyzed as merely the final part of the lexical item, so that the term херувим (kheruvim) in Russian is a singular count noun, not a plural one. (A similar degrammaticalization is seen in English writers who render the Hebrew plural kĕrūbîm as “cherubims.”) Apparently, this degrammaticalization of the Hebrew ending is what led the Russian Synodal translator of Genesis 3:24 to mistakenly render the Hebrew as saying that the Lord God placed a kheruvim (accusative masculine singular in Russian) to the east of the garden of Eden, instead of indicating a plural number of such beings. (Source: Vitaly Voinov in The Bible Translator 2012, p. 17ff. )

In Ngäbere the Hebrew that is translated in English as “cherub” is translated as “heavenly guard” (source: J. Loewen 1980, p. 107), in Nyamwezi as v’amalaika v’akelubi or “Cherubim-Angel” to add clarity, in Vidunda as “winged creature,” in Makonde as “winged creature from heaven” (source for this and two before: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext), in Bura-Pabir as “good spirit with wings,” and in Northern Pashto it is either translated as “heavenly creature” (Afghan Pashto Bible, publ. 2023) or “winged creature” (Holy Bible in Pakistani [Yousafzai] Pashto, publ. 2020) (source for Bura-Pabir and Northern Pashto: Andy Warren-Rothlin).

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines “angel” and “spinning sword” (referring to Genesis 3:24):


“Cherub” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

See also seraph and ark of the covenant.

complete verse (1 Kings 6:29)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 6:29:

  • Kupsabiny: “He beautified the walls of that House of God all around while engraving/carving cherubs, palm trees and flowers.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He adorned all the walls of the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place of the Temple with carved palm trees, and blossoming flowers.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “All the walls of the two rooms of the temple Solomon had- carved with cherubim, palms, and blooming flowers.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Solomon told them to decorate the walls of the main room and the Very Holy Place by carving representations of winged creatures and palm trees and flowers.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 6:29

He carved: Once again the active verb here with Solomon as the implied subject may have to be adjusted in translation in other languages; for example, “He caused workers to make carvings” or “He had people decorate the room with carvings.” As in verse 15, Parole de Vie says “the craftsmen….”

The house: As noted in verses 21 and 22, the reference here may be specifically to the Most Holy Place, which is called literally “the inner house” in verse 27, rather than to both the Most Holy Place and the nave.

Open flowers: See the comments on verse 18.

The inner and outer rooms (literally “the inside and the outside”) may refer to the Most Holy Place (here called “the inner room” in Good News Translation) and to the nave, that is, the room in front of the Most Holy Place. But it is also possible that this verse describes the carvings in the Most Holy Place only, since verse 18 describes the carvings on the walls of the nave. If verse 29 refers only to the Most Holy Place, then “the inside and the outside” may refer to the two sides of a partition between the Most Holy Place and the nave. Some translations follow the Masoretic Text literally. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible (similarly Nouvelle Bible Segond), for example, says “On all the walls of the House round about, on the interior and the exterior, he carved cherubim…” but the meaning of “on the interior and the exterior” is certainly not clear in such a literal translation.

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 .