bath

The weight measure that is translated as “bath” or with a modern equivalent in English is translated in the 1989 Tsonga BIBELE Mahungu Lamanene into a measurement of what a traditional container can hold rather than weight: yinkho or “large jar” for water, wine and milk or “10 calabashes” for oil (see 2 Chronicles 2:10). (Source: The Bible Translator 1998, p. 215ff. )

complete verse (1 Kings 7:26)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 7:26:

  • Kupsabiny: “The thickness of that thing of water was three inches and the mouth is spread out like flowers flowering. It would take about forty four thousand (44,000) liters of water.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The wall of the tank was 75 millimeters thick. Its rim looked like the rim of a cup, like a lily blossom. That tank had a capacity of 44,000 liters.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The thickness of the container was three inches, and its opening/[lit. mouth] as-if the-same-as the opening/[lit. mouth] of a cup that is-curving towards-outside like a blooming lily flower. And it can be-filled with 11,000 gallons of water.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The sides of the tank were 3 in./8 cm. thick. The rim was like the rim of a cup. It curved outward, like the petals of a lily. When the tank was full, it held about 10,000 gallons of water.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

large numbers in Angguruk Yali

Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”

This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.

Source: Lourens de Vries in The Bible Translator 1998, p. 409ff.

See also numbers in Ngalum and numbers in Kombai.

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 7:26

Its thickness was a handbreadth: The pronoun Its refers to “the tank,” as Good News Translation makes explicit. The Hebrew noun rendered handbreadth refers to the width of four fingers (see verse 15) and not to the thickness of a hand. Many modern versions keep the Hebrew image of measurement, for example, “a handbreadth” (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible) and “a hand’s breadth” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). This may also be converted into local units of measurement, for example, “3 inches” (Good News Translation), “four inches” (Contemporary English Version), or “eight centimeters” (Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Peregrino, La Bible du Semeur).

The rim of the tank was like the flower of a lily in that it curved outward and widened toward the top. See the comments on lily at verse 19.

The Hebrew word rendered bath is a measure of volume. The exact size, however, is uncertain and different translations vary considerably in the amounts given. Some have calculated a bath to be about 21-23 liters (5.5 gallons) and others consider it to have been as much as 45 liters (12 gallons). Transliterations of the Hebrew term bath (so New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) will not indicate a specific size for most readers. If the Hebrew term is kept, translators should give the local equivalent in a footnote or in a chart of weights and measures in an appendix. It will be better, however, to convert the measure in the text into terms that will be understood in the local culture. Compare “about 10,000 gallons” (Good News Translation), “about eleven thousand gallons” (Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation), “forty-four thousand liters” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), “about forty thousand liters” (La Bible du Semeur), and “about eighty thousand liters” (Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Peregrino).

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 7:26

7:26a It was a handbreadth thick,

The reservoir/tank wall was as thick as a man’s palm/fist.
-or-
The wall of the basin/container was four fingers thick.

7:26b and its rim was fashioned like the brim of a cup, like a lily blossom.

The rim resembled the brim of a cup and was shaped like a lily blossom.
-or-
Its top edge was like that of a drinking container, and ⌊it curved out⌋ in the shape of a lily flower.

7:26c It could hold two thousand baths.

The size of the Hebrew measurement called “bath” is uncertain. The Sea could have held anywhere from five to twelve thousand gallons, or forty to eighty thousand liters.

The reservoir/tank held 2,000 liquid measures ⌊of water⌋.
-or-
The tub/basin could contain about fifty thousand (50,000) liters ⌊of water⌋.

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