Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


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

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

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

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("living")

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 rare (られ) 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, ikite-rare-ru (生きておられる) or “living” is used.

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

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 1:26

In languages that distinguish masculine and feminine pronouns, the referent of the pronoun she may be perfectly clear. But where this distinction is not made, it may prove necessary to supply the name “Hannah” in order to make clear who is speaking. Also it may be helpful in certain languages to indicate more clearly to whom Hannah is speaking. Bible en français courant, for example, says “Hannah said to Eli.”

The words “Excuse me, sir” (Good News Translation) translate a Hebrew formula for beginning a conversation with a person of higher status or rank. Translators should use the appropriate functional equivalent in their language. Good News Translation does not, however, capture the fact that this is an oath formula nor indicate that Hannah is emphatically stating that she is the same woman whom Eli had seen there before. The translation “Hannah greeted Eli” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) similarly fails to maintain the force of the Hebrew oath. Other passages where a similar oath formula is used are 2 Sam 11.11 and 14.19. It is probably legitimate in this context to translate “surely you remember me….”

Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord: Hannah reminds Eli that she was the woman several years earlier who had stood praying to the LORD (see 1.9-18). The words As you live, literally “life of your soul my lord,” are an oath formula. Hannah is swearing a solemn oath, and the sense is “I swear that I am the woman who was standing here.” Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje provides a good model here: “My lord, I swear by your life that I am that woman….” It will be recalled that the words my lord constitute a kind of politeness, but that they are not to be translated literally in most cases. A term like “sir” (Revised English Bible, New Century Version) will be much more natural. See the comments at verse 15.

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 .