burnt-offering

The Hebrew olah (עֹלָה) originally means “that which goes up (in smoke).” English Bibles often translates it as “burnt-offering” or “whole burnt-offering,” focusing on the aspect of the complete burning of the offering.

The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate Bibles translate it as holokautōma / holocautōsis (ὁλοκαύτωμα / ὁλοκαύτωσις) and holocaustum, respectively, meaning “wholly burnt.” While a form of this term is widely used in many Romance languages (Spanish: holocaustos, French: holocaustes, Italian: olocausti, Portuguese: holocaustos) and originally also in the Catholic tradition of English Bible translations, it is largely not used in English anymore today (the preface of the revised edition of the Catholic New American Bible of 2011: “There have been changes in vocabulary; for example, the term ‘holocaust’ is now normally reserved for the sacrilegious attempt to destroy the Jewish people by the Third Reich.”)

Since translation into Georgian was traditionally done on the basis of the Greek Septuagint, a transliteration of holokautōma was used as well, which was changed to a translation with the meaning of “burnt offering” when the Old Testament was retranslated in the 1980’s on the basis of the Hebrew text.

In the Koongo (Ki-manianga) translation by the Alliance Biblique de la R.D. Congo (publ. in 2015) olah is translated as “kill and offer sacrifice” (source: Anicet Bassilua) and in Elhomwe as “fire offering.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

The English translation of Everett Fox uses offering-up (similarly, the German translation by Buber-Rosenzweig has Darhöhung and the French translation by Chouraqui montée).

See also offering (qorban).

complete verse (1 Samuel 10:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 10:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “After that, go to Gilgal and wait for me there for seven days. When those days are over, I will come and offer whole burnt sacrifices to God and sacrifices for fellowship. Then, I will tell you what you are supposed to do.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Before I come, you go down to Gilgal and I will come to you to offer burnt offering sacrifices and fellowship sacrifices. But until I arrive at your place, you will have to wait for seven days. Then I will come and tell you what you need to do.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘[You (sing.)] go-ahead of me to Gilgal. I will- surely -follow-behind you (sing.) to-offer/sacrifice burnt offerings and offerings for a good relationship. But you (sing.) are-to- surely -wait for me for seven days until I arrive/come, and I will-tell you (sing.) what you (sing.) are-to-do.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then go ahead of me, down to Gilgal city, and wait for me there, for seven days. Then I will join you there, to burn sacrifices and offer other sacrifices to enable you to maintain fellowship with God. When I arrive there, I will tell you what other things you should do.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 10:8

Samuel’s instructions that Saul should go ahead of him to Gilgal anticipate the events of 13.8-14.

Gilgal: see the comment on 7.16.

The particle translated behold serves to focus attention on the words that follow, that is, on the eventual coming of Samuel. The pronoun, I, that follows is also emphatic. Samuel is making a definite promise that he will appear in Gilgal later.

Burnt offerings … peace offerings: these two types of offering are explained in detail in Lev 1.2-17 and 3.1-17. Regarding burnt offerings see the comments on 6.14. The purpose of peace offerings (see also Lev 7.11-38) was to establish or maintain good relations with God. The translation of these two kinds of sacrifices varies in English translations. Peace offerings are also called “fellowship offerings” (Good News Translation and New International Version), “sacrifices of well-being” (New Revised Standard Version), “shared-offerings” (Revised English Bible), and “communion sacrifices” (New Jerusalem Bible). Translators should ensure that their use of such terms is consistent throughout the Bible.

Seven days you shall wait: the future tense has an imperative meaning, and the word order may be considered unnatural in many languages. It may be more natural to say “but you must wait seven days” (New Century Version).

Show you what you shall do: the verb show should not be taken to mean that Samuel plans to put on a demonstration of some kind. Rather it is to be understood as meaning something like “I shall then reveal to you what you must do” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “… instruct you what you are to do next” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The Hebrew is literally “cause you to know what you shall do.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .